Corniche

A corniche is a road on the side of a cliff or mountain, with the ground rising on one side and falling away on the other. The word has been absorbed into English from the French term ' or "road on a ledge", originally derived from the Italian ', for "ledge".

Europe

France

Three famed corniche roads of the Côte d'Azur in the French Riviera run between the sea and mountains from Nice eastward toward Menton. They are known as the ' (or ') along the coast, the ' slightly inland, and the
' along the upper cliffs.Roads of the French Rivera
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The ' passes through the principality of Monaco. The ' featured prominently in the Alfred Hitchcock film ''To Catch a Thief''.

Italy

The Amalfi Drive, along the Amalfi Coast south of Naples, is a road carved into the cliffs along the Mediterranean Sea, and can be classified as a corniche. It runs between Sorrento and Amalfi and was originally built by the Romans.

Africa

Senegal

The coastal road facing the Atlantic Ocean in the capital city of Dakar is called the ''Corniche Ouest'' and runs along a cliff above the beaches and rocky shores.

South Africa

Many of the roads running around the Cape Peninsular, south of Cape Town, have been constructed in the form of corniches. A good example is part of Victoria Road running through the suburbs of Clifton and Bantry Bay.

Libya

The Tripoli Corniche, also known as Al-Fatah Street, runs along the Mediterranean from the Waddan Bridge to the roundabout at Tripoli's sea port entrance.

Egypt

Any waterfront passage along a body of water is classed as a corniche in Egypt. Most cities in the country have corniches. On the Nile are "Corniche Giza" and "Corniche Cairo", the longest Egyptian corniche. Other cities such as Mansoura, Damietta and Luxor also have corniches.

* The promenade that runs from the Nile Towers hotel to the district of Maadi is colloquially called Corniche El-Nil
* The promenade that runs from the Giza Zoo to the balloon theater in Agouza is colloquially known as Corniche EL-Giza
* The promenade running from Montazah Palace walls to the Qaitbay Citadel in Alexandria is known as Corniche (Alexandria)

Though the word itself comes from French, the Egyptian usage has led neighboring Arab countries, which are not francophone and have no French influence, to adopt the word. These include Sudan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar.

Middle East

Lebanon

The avenue that runs along the western and northern coast of the Beirut peninsula is colloquially called Corniche Beirut.

Oman

The promenade along the waterfront in Muttrah, Muscat, is known as The Corniche.

Qatar

The promenade that runs for several kilometers along the Doha Bay of Doha is colloquially called Doha Corniche.

United Arab Emirates

* The promenade that runs from the Emirates Palace hotel to the fish market in Abu Dhabi is colloquially called the Corniche.
*in Ajman, the corniche is the road that runs from ajman beach to ajman marina, with the beautiful skyline of the city and the tall skyscrapers thar stand along the road.
* In Sharjah, the road surrounding Khalid Lagoon is known as Buheira Corniche, though not a true corniche as it is near sea level and not following a cliff line.
* Several other waterfront roads and promenades in the Emirates are also referred to as Corniche, including the Deira Corniche, Fujairah Corniche, and the Jumeirah Corniche.

Saudi Arabia

Dammam corniche, Qatif corniche, Khobar corniche, Ras Tanura corniche, Jeddah Corniche, Yanbu corniche, Al Jubail corniche, Khafji corniche.

*

Southeast Asia

Philippines

*Manila Bay, Manila, Philippines
* Lamon Bay, Quezon Province, Philippines

India

Marine Drive, Mumbai

References

External links

* {{Wiktionary-inline, corniche

Types of roads

fr:Corniche (homonymie)