Halfaya Pass
| Halfaya Pass | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|||
| Compass direction | Northeast | southwest | |
| region | Matruh , Egypt | ||
| expansion | Street | ||
| Card (Matruh) | |||
|
|||
| Coordinates | 31 ° 30 ′ 0 ″ N , 25 ° 11 ′ 0 ″ E | ||
The Halfaya Pass (مَمَرّ حَلْفَيَا = Mamarr Ħalfayā) is about 3 km away from the Mediterranean coast in Egypt, near the Libyan border and offers a natural passage through a 300 m high demarcation.
In ancient times, the pass was known as Catabathamus Magnus and was considered the border between Asia and Africa in Hellenistic geography . In the Roman Empire he marked the border between the provinces of Marmarica and Egypt . The medieval scholar al-Idrisi referred to the pass asعقبة السلوم( `aqabat as-salūm )" Graduated ascent ", from which the modern name of the nearby town of Sallum is derived. Today is also the nameعقبة الكبير( `aqabat al-kabīr ) which means something like" Great Ascent ", in common use.
During the Second World War , during the African campaign, there were several heavy battles over the strategically important Halfaya Pass. The soldiers on both sides subsequently coined the word play “ Hellfire Pass ” (Eng. “Hellfire Pass”).