View source for Gulf of Gabès

{{Short description|A gulf on Tunisia's east coast in the Mediterranean Sea}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name= Gulf of Gabès
| other_name = Lesser Syrtis
| native_name ={{native name|aeb|خليج قابس}}
| image=Gulf of Gabes NASA.jpg
| caption = Satellite image of the Gulf of Gabès
| pushpin_map = Tunisia
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Tunisia
| coords= {{coord|34|00|N|10|25|E|display=inline,title}}
| rivers= 
| oceans=[[Mediterranean]]
| countries= [[Tunisia]]
| length ={{convert|50|km|abbr=on}}
| width ={{convert|70|km|abbr=on}}
| area= 
| frozen= 
| islands= 
| cities= [[Gabès]]<ref name="GE">[[GoogleEarth]]</ref>
}}
The '''Gulf of Gabes''' (or '''Cabès''', '''Cabes''', '''Gaps''';<ref>see e.g.: ''Cabès'' in 
[[John Bostock (physician)|John Bostock]], [[Henry Thomas Riley]] (eds.), ''The natural history of Pliny, Volume 1'', 1855, chapter 4, "The Syrtes", [https://books.google.com/books?id=VzwZAAAAYAAJ&dq=Cabes+Syrte&pg=PA391 p. 391, fn. 7]; ''Cabes'' in the "Atlas" article in [[John Singleton Copley|Copley, John Singleton]] (chairman) (1835) ''The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Volume III, Athanaric-Bassano'' C. Knight, London, [https://books.google.com/books?id=iaYrAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA32 page 32], {{OCLC|2041456}};
''Gaps'' in Charles Anthon, ''A classical dictionary: containing an account of the principal proper names mentioned in ancient authors'', 1842, [https://books.google.com/books?id=kzEoAAAAYAAJ&dq=Gaps+Syrte&pg=PA1279 p. 1279].</ref> {{langx|ar|خليج قابس|ḫalīǧ Qābis}}), also known as '''Lesser Syrtis''' (from {{langx|grc|Μικρά [[:wikt:Σύρτις|Σύρτις]]|Mikrá Sýrtis}}; {{langx|la|Syrtis Minor}}), contrasting with the [[Greater Syrtis]] in Libya, is a gulf on [[Tunisia]]'s east [[coast]] in the [[Mediterranean Sea]], off [[North Africa]]. The gulf roughly spans the coast from [[Sfax]] to [[Djerba]]. At the head of the gulf is the city of [[Gabès|Gabès (Ghannouche)]] where the [[tide]]s have a large range of up to 2.1 m at [[spring tide]]s.<ref name="NGIA-102">[[National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency]] (2002) [http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/websites/pollux/pollux.nss.nima.mil/NAV_PUBS/SD/pub131/131sec08.pdf Section 8: Tunisia&ndash;Cap Serrat to Ras Ajdir"] ''Sailing Directions (Enroute) for Western Mediterranean'' (tenth edition) National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Bethesda, Maryland, page 102</ref> Both Gabès and Sfax are major [[port]]s on the gulf, supporting [[sea sponge|sponge]] and [[tuna]] [[fisheries]], with Gabès being the [[economic]] and administrative center.

==History==
The Latin name ''Syrtis Minor'' is used by [[Pliny the Elder]],<ref>''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historia]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D5%3Achapter%3D4 Book V, Chapter 4 — The Syrtes]</ref> quoting an earlier description in [[Polybius]] [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Plb.%201.39&lang=original 1.39.2], who uses the equivalent {{langx|grc|ἡ μικρά Σύρτις}} (elsewhere also {{lang|grc|Σύρτις ἡ μικρά, Σύρτις ἡ μικροτέρα, ἡ μικροτέρα Σύρτις}}).

An alternative name was {{lang|grc|Λωτοφαγῖτις σύρτις}} ''Lōtophagîtis sýrtis'' "Syrtis of the [[lotus-eaters]]", reported by [[Strabo]].<ref name="Strabo">{{lang|grc|Συνεχὴς δ’ἐστὶν ἡ μικρά σύρτις, ἣν καὶ Λωτοφαγῖτιν σύρτιν λέγουσιν.}} [[Strabo]] ''Geographica'' Book XVII, Chapter III, Sections 16-18 [https://books.google.com/books?id=0cZfAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA288 pages 288-289]</ref>  (Compare [[Gulf of Sidra|Syrtis Major]], the ancient name of the Gulf of Sidra.)

Syrtis is referred to in the New Testament of the Bible<ref>[[Acts 27]]:10-19</ref> where the [[Apostle Paul]] relates being sent in chains to Rome to stand trial before Caesar Nero. The crew of his ship was worried about being driven by a storm into Syrtis,<ref>For usage see Deissmann, Adolf (1912) ''St. Paul: a study in social and religious history'' Hodder and Stoughton, London, [https://books.google.com/books?id=bR1VAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA268 page 268] footnote 1, {{OCLC|1240027}}</ref> and took precautions to prevent it, resulting, eventually, in being shipwrecked on the island of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea.

[[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:{{quote|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 [[Chott el Djerid|Shatt al-Jerid]] annually engaging in combat with stones and clubs was described in ''Une fete de printemps au Jerid'' (1942) by G. Payre.<ref>Brent D. Shaw. (2011). Sacred Violence. [Online]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available from: Cambridge Books Online {{doi|10.1017/CBO9780511762079}} [Accessed 20 April 2016]. page 23</ref>

==Geography==
Most sources<ref name="NGIA-102" /><ref name="BN">British Naval Intelligence Division (1945) ''Tunisia'' London, pages 65-66, {{OCLC|13589103}}</ref> consider the Gulf of Gabès as just being within the line between the northwest tip of [[Djerba|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<ref name="BN" /> and some {{Convert|52|km|mi|0}} southwest of Sfax. The geographer [[Strabo]] indicated that the entrance to the gulf was located at the islands of [[Kerkennah Islands|Cercinna (Kerkennah)]] and Meninx (Djerba).<ref name="Strabo" /> 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 {{coord|33|59|29|N|10|24|09|E}}, and the distance across is {{Convert|68.5|km|mi|1}}, with a depth of {{Convert|51.0|km|mi|1}}.  The larger gulf is {{Convert|150|km|mi|0}} across<ref>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''.</ref> with a depth of {{Convert|90|km|mi|0}}, and the centroid is at {{coord|34|04|48|N|10|28|36|E}}.

The entire Gulf of Gabes, both larger and smaller versions, is underlain by the continental shelf of the [[African Plate]],<ref>International Court of Justice (1984) ''Case concerning the continental shelf (Tunisia/Libya)'' International Court of Justice, The Hague, Netherlands, {{OCLC|11315850}}</ref> and is nowhere deeper than 200 meters.<ref>Tawadros, Edward E. (2001) ''Geology of Egypt and Libya'' A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands, [https://books.google.com/books?id=wBXdka5y9KwC&pg=PA4 page 4], {{ISBN|90-5809-331-X}}</ref> During the [[Permian|Permian Period]] and [[Triassic|Triassic Period]], [[carbonate minerals]] and [[evaporite]]s were deposited in the Gulf of Gabes which now form [[salt dome]]s and [[diapir]]s.<ref>Tawadros, Edward E. (2001) ''Geology of Egypt and Libya'' A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands, [https://books.google.com/books?id=wBXdka5y9KwC&pg=PA6 page 6], {{ISBN|90-5809-331-X}}</ref> In addition carbon and hydrocarbons primarily from vegetation were deposited.  These now form the basis for the oil and gas industry in the gulf. Among the important oil and gas fields in the gulf are the Ashtart Field<ref name="NGIA-102" /><ref>Tawadros, Edward E. (2001) ''Geology of Egypt and Libya'' A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands, page 383, {{ISBN|90-5809-331-X}}</ref> and the Chergui Field.<ref>Dean, Lucy (2006) ''The Middle East and North Africa 2007'' Routledge, London, page 1094, {{ISBN|1-85743-390-4}}</ref> The Ashtart Oil Terminal lies just outside the gulf at {{Coord|34|17|N|11|23|E}} where tankers can easily tranship the oil.<ref name="NGIA-101">[[National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency]] (2002) [http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/websites/pollux/pollux.nss.nima.mil/NAV_PUBS/SD/pub131/131sec08.pdf Section 8: Tunisia&ndash;Cap Serrat to Ras Ajdir"] ''Sailing Directions (Enroute) for Western Mediterranean'' (tenth edition) National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Bethesda, Maryland, page 101</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* [https://www.panoramio.com/photo/40385156 Port Gabes], photograph from Panoramio
{{List of African seas}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gulf Of Gabes}}
[[Category:Gulfs of the Mediterranean|Gabes]]
[[Category:Gulfs of Tunisia|Gabes]]
[[Category:Sfax Governorate]]