Sallum


Sallum, also As Sallum or Sollum is a village in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, east of the border with Libya, and around from Tobruk.
Sallum is mainly a Bedouin community. It has little if any tourist activity or organized historical curiosities. It is a regional trading center.
Sallum was the ancient Roman port of Baranis, and there are some Roman wells still remaining in the area. It rests on the Northern coast of Egypt, but the location along the border with Libya, about as far west as one may travel in Egypt, means that it is out of the way of almost everything, with few attractions other than a World War II Commonwealth war cemetery. There is a local post office and a National Bank of Egypt branch.

History

Sallum was known in antiquity as Catabathmus Maior, Plynos Limen and Tetrapyrgia.
Sallum was part of Ottoman Cyrenaica prior to 1911. That year, during the Italo-Turkish War, an Anglo-Egyptian force took over the city from its Ottoman 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.
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-occupied by the British in March 1916. In December 1941, during Operation Crusader in World War II, Sallum was again the site of fighting between the British and the Germans.
On July 21, 1977, Libya attacked Sallum, starting the Libyan-Egyptian War.
Sallum was a destination point during the total solar eclipse on March 29, 2006, as expeditions traveled to the best observation point.

Climate

classifies its climate as hot desert, as the rest of Egypt, but typically as the northern coast of Egypt, has its temperatures moderated by blowing winds from the Mediterranean Sea.