As-Salīf

Al-Salif lies on the Red Sea coast of Yemen, beside a prominent deposit of rock salt in the northern Tihama. Salt rises through the coastal plain here, forming an exposed ridge near the sea. Mines around al-Salif and nearby Jabal al-Milh were known in medieval times, supplying a valuable mineral in a region where the arid plain meets the shipping routes of the Red Sea. The deposits gave the coastal settlement a resource quite distinct from the crops of the Yemeni highlands.