Central Mediterranean Sea

These central Mediterranean waters lie north of the western approach to the Gulf of Sirte. Cape Misurata marks one end of the great inlet, whose dry southern shore stretches eastward towards Cyrenaica. Ancient mariners knew the gulf as the Greater Syrtis and feared its sandbanks. Along the landward side, a road followed the coast past scattered wells, crossing a region among the least hospitable stretches of the Mediterranean shore.