Sallum

Sallum, El Salloum, As Sallum or Sollum (Arabic: السلوم‎ Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [essælˈluːm]) is a harbourside village or town in Egypt. It is along the Egypt/Libyan brief east coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the northwest corner of Egypt. It is, geodesically, 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) east of the border with Libya, and 128 km (80 mi) from the notable port of Tobruk, Libya.

Sallum

As Sallum/Sollum

El-Salloum
Village/harbour-side town
The east-facing centre and (to background) south of the town which is where the coast assumes its overall north direction as throughout the rest of Egypt, though having many headlands much further east. The desert hills are the Akabah el-Kebir.
Sallum
Location in Egypt
Coordinates: 31°30′13″N 25°06′54″E
Country Egypt
GovernorateMatruh
Elevation
(by harbour, downtown) to 200 metres (in associated scarp)
3 ft (1 m)
Population
 (2006)
 • Total14,393
Time zoneUTC+2 (EST)

Sallum is mainly a Bedouin 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 of the community. It has a World War II Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery and is 7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi) north of Halfaya Pass.

Its own pass, improved since World War II has become the main pass ascending the related ridge, obstructive to east-west trade. The ridge extends away from its northern part, east-facing sea cliffs, south by 55 kilometres (34 mi), there encroaching increasingly east. This escarpment is the Akabah el-Kebir, once called the Akabah el Sallum, such as in the 12th century – a descriptor meaning graded (evened out) as to this ascent, then making the name of the town. It has no other roadworthy passes.

Sallum was a small ancient Roman port. Some Roman wells remain locally. Sometimes called Baranis, it should not be confused with the medieval-noted branch of the Berbers, the al-Baranis.

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
Wider context, broad reach of the Ottoman Empire such as in 1795, highlighting the local province

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, Akabah el Solum, or more commonly today el-Kebir, the great). It may have been Plynos Limen and Tetrapyrgia mentioned in less context-clear early courses.

Sovereignty and battles

Sallum was part of the Eyalet then Vilayet of Tripolitania, 1551–1911, the year before its fall mainly to Italy. That year, during the Italo-Turkish War, an Anglo-Egyptian force took it over, alleviating its garrison, to prevent its falling into Italian hands. When the border between Italian Libya and Egypt was settled by treaty in 1925, Sallum was left on the Egyptian side.[1]

During the Senussi Campaign of the First World War, Sallum was captured by the Senussi in November 1915 with Ottoman and German assistance. It was re-taken by the British in March 1916.[2]

In December 1941, during Operation Crusader in World War II (and the two other operations affecting nearby Halfaya Pass Sallum hosted fighting between the British Empire associated allied Commonwealth forces and Nazi Germany who were retreating from gains they had made deeper into Egypt. The Halfaya Sollum War Cemetery was established by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to inter over 2,000 soldiers who died in the region.

On July 21, 1977, Libya attacked Sallum, starting the Libyan-Egyptian War.

Solar eclipse

Sallum was a destination in the total solar eclipse on March 29, 2006 among expeditions.[3]

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh), as the rest of Egypt, but typically as the northern coast of Egypt, has its temperatures moderated by blowing winds from the Mediterranean Sea.

Climate data for Salum
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 30.3
(86.5)		 33.4
(92.1)		 37.4
(99.3)		 42.4
(108.3)		 44.2
(111.6)		 47.3
(117.1)		 41.7
(107.1)		 47.2
(117.0)		 43.0
(109.4)		 41.4
(106.5)		 36.6
(97.9)		 32.0
(89.6)		 47.3
(117.1)
Average high °C (°F) 18.6
(65.5)		 19.6
(67.3)		 21.4
(70.5)		 24.2
(75.6)		 26.8
(80.2)		 30.0
(86.0)		 31.3
(88.3)		 31.1
(88.0)		 29.6
(85.3)		 27.4
(81.3)		 23.9
(75.0)		 20.2
(68.4)		 25.3
(77.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) 13.8
(56.8)		 14.5
(58.1)		 16.1
(61.0)		 18.6
(65.5)		 21.2
(70.2)		 24.7
(76.5)		 26.2
(79.2)		 26.4
(79.5)		 25.0
(77.0)		 22.6
(72.7)		 18.9
(66.0)		 15.3
(59.5)		 20.3
(68.5)
Average low °C (°F) 9.8
(49.6)		 10.3
(50.5)		 11.8
(53.2)		 14.1
(57.4)		 16.9
(62.4)		 20.3
(68.5)		 21.9
(71.4)		 22.3
(72.1)		 20.9
(69.6)		 18.5
(65.3)		 14.8
(58.6)		 11.3
(52.3)		 16.1
(61.0)
Record low °C (°F) 3.7
(38.7)		 4.8
(40.6)		 6.1
(43.0)		 8.5
(47.3)		 9.9
(49.8)		 14.0
(57.2)		 18.0
(64.4)		 18.4
(65.1)		 15.4
(59.7)		 12.9
(55.2)		 7.3
(45.1)		 6.5
(43.7)		 3.7
(38.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 21
(0.8)		 15
(0.6)		 7
(0.3)		 6
(0.2)		 2
(0.1)		 1
(0.0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 13
(0.5)		 10
(0.4)		 17
(0.7)		 92
(3.6)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 2.7 1.1 0.7 0.8 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 1.1 1.0 1.3 9.1
Average relative humidity (%) 59 58 59 58 60 59 62 65 64 62 59 59 60.3
Mean monthly sunshine hours 217.0 211.9 279.0 297.0 306.9 369.0 393.7 378.2 327.0 300.7 219.0 210.8 3,510.2
Mean daily sunshine hours 7.0 7.5 9.0 9.9 9.9 12.3 12.7 12.2 10.9 9.7 7.3 6.8 9.6
Source 1: NOAA[4]
Source 2: Arab Meteorology Book (sun only)[5]

See also

Notes
  1. Anna Baldinetti, The Origins of the Libyan Nation: Colonial Legacy, Exile and the Emergence of a New Nation-State (Routledge, 2010), p. 2.
  2. John Slight (2014), "British Understandings of the Sanussiyya Sufi Order’s Jihad against Egypt, 1915–17", The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, 103(2) pp. 233–242.
  3. "Valoria La Buena annular eclipse expedition" (report), Solar Physics Group, Astrophysics Lab, University of Rome, January 10, 2007, webpage (mostly Italian): ICRA-solar: mentions Sidi Barrani observation area.
  4. "Salloum Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  5. "Appendix I: Meteorological Data" (PDF). Springer. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
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