Coast of Marmarica

Marmarica is the semi-arid country along the North African coast between Cyrenaica and Egypt. Its shores face the Libyan Sea, while the desert margins lie to the south. Water is scarce, shaping settlement, cultivation and pastoral life in the land behind the coast. Routes led inland towards the oasis and oracle of Ammon at Siwa, linking the Mediterranean shore with a well-watered refuge in the desert.