Gulf of Gabès
Gulf of Gabès | |
---|---|
Lesser Syrtis | |
خليج قابس ( Mediterranean | |
Basin countries | Tunisia |
Max. length | 50 km (31 mi) |
Max. width | 70 km (43 mi) |
Settlements | Gabès[1] |
The Gulf of Gabes (or Cabès, Cabes, Gaps;
History
The Latin name Syrtis Minor is used by
An alternative name was Λωτοφαγῖτις σύρτις Lōtophagîtis sýrtis "Syrtis of the lotus-eaters", reported by Strabo.[5] (Compare Syrtis Major, the ancient name of the Gulf of Sidra.)
Syrtis is referred to in the New Testament of the Bible
Strabo refers to Tacape (the modern Gabès) as an important entrepot of the Lesser Syrtis.
In Book IV of the Histories, Herodotus describes a violent ritual that took place in the region:
During a festival dedicated to the goddess Athena, their young women divided into two camps and then set to fighting each other with blows from stones and wooden clubs, thereby enacting, as they say, a ceremonial that was instituted by their ancestors in honor of the indigenous deity whom we call Athena. Some of them who die from the wounds are called false virgins.
A modern counterpart to this festival of violence, involving two opposing gangs near the Shatt al-Jerid annually engaging in combat with stones and clubs was described in Une fete de printemps au Jerid (1942) by G. Payre.[8]
Geography
Most sources[3][9] consider the Gulf of Gabès as just being within the line between the northwest tip of Djerba (Jerba) Island on the southeast and Ras Yonga (Point Yonga) on the northwest. Ras Yonga is just north of the island of Jazīrat Khunayyis and its marshes[9] and some 52 kilometres (32 mi) southwest of Sfax. The geographer Strabo indicated that the entrance to the gulf was located at the islands of Cercinna (Kerkennah) and Meninx (Djerba).[5] Following Strabo gives a larger area with the line being from just north of Sfax to Djerba Island. That larger area would include part of the Kerkennah Islands and the coast around Sfax. The centroid for the smaller gulf is at 33°59′29″N 10°24′09″E / 33.99139°N 10.40250°E, and the distance across is 68.5 kilometres (42.6 mi), with a depth of 51.0 kilometres (31.7 mi). The larger gulf is 150 kilometres (93 mi) across[10] with a depth of 90 kilometres (56 mi), and the centroid is at 34°04′48″N 10°28′36″E / 34.08000°N 10.47667°E.
The entire Gulf of Gabes, both larger and smaller versions, is underlain by the continental shelf of the
Notes
- GoogleEarth
- ^ see e.g.: Cabès in
OCLC 2041456; Gaps in Charles Anthon, A classical dictionary: containing an account of the principal proper names mentioned in ancient authors, 1842, p. 1279.
- ^ a b c National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (2002) Section 8: Tunisia–Cap Serrat to Ras Ajdir" Sailing Directions (Enroute) for Western Mediterranean (tenth edition) National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Bethesda, Maryland, page 102
- ^ Naturalis Historia Book V, Chapter 4 — The Syrtes
- ^ a b Συνεχὴς δ’ἐστὶν ἡ μικρά σύρτις, ἣν καὶ Λωτοφαγῖτιν σύρτιν λέγουσιν. Strabo Geographica Book XVII, Chapter III, Sections 16-18 pages 288-289
- ^ Acts 27:10-19
- OCLC 1240027
- [Accessed 20 April 2016]. page 23
- ^ OCLC 13589103
- ^ It is 150 km from the northwestern point of Djerba Island to the coast just above Sfax, but only 81 km to the island, which comports with the distances from Pliny the Elder, above.
- OCLC 11315850
- ISBN 90-5809-331-X
- ISBN 90-5809-331-X
- ISBN 90-5809-331-X
- ISBN 1-85743-390-4
- ^ National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (2002) Section 8: Tunisia–Cap Serrat to Ras Ajdir" Sailing Directions (Enroute) for Western Mediterranean (tenth edition) National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Bethesda, Maryland, page 101
External links
- Port Gabes, photograph from Panoramio