The Gulf of Gabès (, , also Cabès, Cabes, Gaps;see e.g.: Cabès in John Bostock, Henry Thomas Riley (eds.), The natural history of Pliny, Volume 1, 1855, chapter 4, "The Syrtes", p. 391, fn. 7; Cabes in the "Atlas" article in Copley, John Singleton (chairman) (1835) The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Volume III, Athanaric-Bassano C. Knight, London, page 32, ; Gaps in Charles Anthon, A classical dictionary: containing an account of the principal proper names mentioned in ancient authors, 1842, p. 1279. ), also known as Lesser Syrtis (from ; ), contrasting with the Greater Syrtis in Libya, is a gulf on Tunisia's east coast in the Mediterranean Sea, off North Africa. The gulf roughly spans the coast from Sfax to Djerba. At the head of the gulf is the city of Gabès (Ghannouche) where the tides have a large range of up to 2.1 m at spring tides.National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (2002) Section 8: Tunisia–Cap Serrat to Ras Ajdir" Sailing Directions (Enroute) for Western Mediterranean (tenth edition) National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Bethesda, Maryland, page 102 Both Gabès and Sfax are major ports on the gulf, supporting sponge and tuna fisheries, with Gabès being the economic and administrative center.

History The Latin name Syrtis Minor is used by Pliny the Elder,Naturalis Historia Book V, Chapter 4 — The Syrtes quoting an earlier description in Polybius 1.39.2, who uses the equivalent (elsewhere also ).

An alternative name was Lōtophagîtis sýrtis "Syrtis of the lotus-eaters", reported by Strabo. Strabo Geographica Book XVII, Chapter III, Sections 16-18 pages 288-289 (Compare Syrtis Major, the ancient name of the Gulf of Sidra.)

Syrtis is referred to in the New Testament of the BibleActs 27:10-19 where the Apostle Paul relates being sent in chains to Rome to stand trial before Caesar Nero. The crew of his ship was worried about being driven by a storm into Syrtis,For usage see Deissmann, Adolf (1912) St. Paul: a study in social and religious history Hodder and Stoughton, London, page 268 footnote 1, and took precautions to prevent it, resulting, eventually, in being shipwrecked on the island of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea.

Strabo refers to Tacape (the modern Gabès) as an important entrepot of the Lesser Syrtis.

In Book IV of the Histories, Herodotus describes a violent ritual that took place in the region:

A modern counterpart to this festival of violence, involving two opposing gangs near the Shatt al-Jerid annually engaging in combat with stones and clubs was described in Une fete de printemps au Jerid (1942) by G. Payre.Brent D. Shaw. (2011). Sacred Violence. [Online]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available from: Cambridge Books Online [Accessed 20 April 2016]. page 23

Geography Most sourcesBritish Naval Intelligence Division (1945) Tunisia London, pages 65-66, consider the Gulf of Gabès as just being within the line between the northwest tip of Djerba (Jerba) Island on the southeast and Ras Yonga (Point Yonga) on the northwest. Ras Yonga is just north of the island of Jazīrat Khunayyis and its marshes and some southwest of Sfax. The geographer Strabo indicated that the entrance to the gulf was located at the islands of Cercinna (Kerkennah) and Meninx (Djerba). Following Strabo gives a larger area with the line being from just north of Sfax to Djerba Island. That larger area would include part of the Kerkennah Islands and the coast around Sfax. The centroid for the smaller gulf is at , and the distance across is , with a depth of . The larger gulf is acrossIt is 150 km from the northwestern point of Djerba Island to the coast just above Sfax, but only 81 km to the island, which comports with the distances from Pliny the Elder, above. with a depth of , and the centroid is at .

The entire Gulf of Gabes, both larger and smaller versions, is underlain by the continental shelf of the African Plate,International Court of Justice (1984) Case concerning the continental shelf (Tunisia/Libya) International Court of Justice, The Hague, Netherlands, and is nowhere deeper than 200 meters.Tawadros, Edward E. (2001) Geology of Egypt and Libya A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands, page 4, During the Permian Period and Triassic Period, carbonate minerals and evaporites were deposited in the Gulf of Gabes which now form salt domes and diapirs.Tawadros, Edward E. (2001) Geology of Egypt and Libya A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands, page 6, In addition carbon and hydrocarbons primarily from vegetation were deposited. These now form the basis for the oil and gas industry in the gulf. Among the important oil and gas fields in the gulf are the Ashtart FieldTawadros, Edward E. (2001) Geology of Egypt and Libya A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands, page 383, and the Chergui Field.Dean, Lucy (2006) The Middle East and North Africa 2007 Routledge, London, page 1094, The Ashtart Oil Terminal lies just outside the gulf at where tankers can easily tranship the oil.National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (2002) Section 8: Tunisia–Cap Serrat to Ras Ajdir" Sailing Directions (Enroute) for Western Mediterranean (tenth edition) National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Bethesda, Maryland, page 101

Notes

External links Port Gabes, photograph from Panoramio