(Redirected from Abukir)
'Abū Qīr' (
Arabic أبو قير) (also 'Abukir' or 'Aboukir') is a village on the
Mediterranean coast of
Egypt, 23 kilometers (14.5 miles) northeast of
Alexandria by rail, containing a castle used as a state prison by
Muhammad Ali of Egypt.
The name ''Abū Qīr'' is pronounced ''Abū’īr'' in the
local dialect (with a
glottal stop in place of the ''qaf''). The name is taken from the name of an
Egyptian Christian martyr, named
Cyrus.
Near the village are many remains of ancient buildings, Egyptian, Greek and Roman. About three kilometers (two miles) southeast of the village are ruins supposed to mark the site of
Canopus. A little farther east the Canopic branch of the
Nile (now dry) entered the Mediterranean.
Stretching eastward as far as the
Rosetta mouth of the Nile is the spacious
Abu Qir Bay (Khalīj Abū Qīr), where on
1 August 1798,
Horatio Nelson fought the
Battle of the Nile, often referred to as the "Battle of Aboukir Bay". The latter title is applied more properly to an engagement between the French expeditionary army and the Turks fought on
25 July 1799. Near Abū Qīr, on
8 March 1801, the British army commanded by
Sir Ralph Abercromby landed from its transports in the face of a strenuous opposition from a French force entrenched on the beach.

Specialized hospital at Abu Qir
See also
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Alexandria
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Cyrus and John
References
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