Mersa Matruh, also transliterated as Marsa Matruh, is a port in Egypt and the capital of Matrouh Governorate. It is located 240 km west of Alexandria and 222 km east of Sallum on the main highway from the Nile Delta to the Libyan border. The city is also accessible from the south via another highway running through the Western Desert towards Siwa Oasis and Bahariya Oasis. Mersa Matruh was a major grain port under the Romans and a military base of the British Empire.