West Bay of Sidrah

The western part of the Gulf of Sirte lies off a dry coast on the southern edge of the Mediterranean. Ancient sailors called this great inlet the Greater Syrtis and feared the shifting sandbanks along its shores. The medieval town of Surt stood near the middle of the bay, at the site now known as Madinat Sultan. A coastal road linked the region westward to Tripolitania and eastward to Cyrenaica.