Sallum ( various transliterations include ''El Salloum'', ''As Sallum'' or ''Sollum'') is a harbourside

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

or town in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. It is along the Egypt/Libyan short north–south aligned coast of the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

in the far northwest corner of Egypt. It is, geodesically, east of the

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

with

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

, and from the notable port of

Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclop� ...

, Libya. Sallum is mainly a

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

community of the families of merchants, fishermen and herdsmen. It has little tourist activity and few organized historical curiosities. It is a key trading center for the local Bedouin community. It has a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery and is north of Halfaya Pass. Sallum is on its own pass which, improved since World War II, has become the main pass ascending the related ridge, which obstructs east–west trade. The ridge extends away from its northern part, east-facing sea cliffs, south by , there turning increasingly east. This escarpment is the ''ʿAqaba al-Kabīr'', once called the ''ʿAqaba as-Sallūm'', such as in the 12th century – a descriptor meaning graded (evened out) ascent, then making the name of the town. There are no other roadworthy passes nearby. Sallum was a small Roman port. Some Roman wells remain locally. Sometimes called Baranis, the port should not be confused with the medieval-noted branch of the Berbers, the al-Baranis. At its southern end, scattered homes mark out the end of the northern coast of Egypt. Amenities include a post office and a National Bank of Egypt branch.

History

Early settlement

Local people are mentioned in some Roman accounts of Catabathmus Maior/Magnus (referring to the local, obstructive ridge to east–west land trade, ''ʿAqaba as-Sallūm'' or more commonly today ''ʿAqaba al-Kabīr'', literally 'the great pass.' It may have been Plynos Limen and Tetrapyrgia mentioned in less context-clear early courses. Sallum was the origin for many eastward migrations to Egypt Eyalet and

Bilad al-Sham Bilad al-Sham (), often referred to as Islamic Syria or simply Syria in English-language sources, was a province of the Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid caliphates. It roughly corresponded with the Byzantine Diocese of the East, con ...

. During the 19th century, one family migrated first to Tafilah in southern

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, and thence to the region of

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

. They settled in ancient village of Mulabbis, and lived there for several generations until the establishment of

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally as Em HaMoshavot (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of the Old Y ...

, the first

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

colony, in 1878.

Sovereignty and battles

Sallum was part of the Eyalet then Vilayet of Tripolitania, 1551–1911, the year before its fall mainly to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. That year, during the

Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...

, an Anglo-Egyptian force took over it, relieving its garrison, to prevent it from falling into Italian hands. When the border between Italian Libya and Egypt was settled by treaty in 1925, Sallum was placed on the Egyptian side. During the Senussi Campaign of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Sallum was captured by the Senussi in November 1915 with Ottoman and German assistance. It was re-taken by the British in March 1916. In December 1941, during Operation Crusader in

(and the two other operations affecting nearby Halfaya Pass), Sallum was the location of fighting between the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

with allied

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces against German with Italian forces; the latter were retreating from gains they had made deeper into Egypt. The Halfaya Sollum War Cemetery was established by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

to inter over 2,000 soldiers who died in the region. On July 21, 1977, Libya attacked Sallum, initiating the first clash in the Libyan-Egyptian War.

Solar eclipse

Sallum was a destination in the total solar eclipse on March 29, 2006 among expeditions.

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate, like almost all of Egypt, as hot desert (''BWh''). However, typically for the northern coast, Sallum has its temperatures moderated by blowing winds from the

In Egyptian pop culture

One of the most popular kinds of Muʽassel for Shisha is named sallum after the townhttps://shishkom.com/products/salloum-molasses-175-g ,The reasoning is most likely because it's a coastal and border town where the tobacco used to make the Muʽassel is imported before being distributed to the rest of

Notes

External links

*Photograph of twilight Sidi Barrani

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...

(Oct. 2005, copyright 2005-2007 Magyar Csillagászati Egyesület)
Hungarian-foto Sidi-twilight
(540x345, 38 KB). *Photograph of

at Sidi Barrani (Oct. 2005, copyright 2005-2007 Magyar Csillagászati Egyesület)
Hungarian-foto Sidi-eclipse
(9 kb). *Photograph of Sidi Barrani observers (Oct. 2005, copyright 2005-2007 Magyar Csillagászati Egyesület)
Hungarian-foto Sidi-people
(50 kb). {{Authority control Egypt–Libya border crossings Populated places in Matrouh Governorate