Greater Syrtis

Gulf of Sirte خليج سرت Gulf of Sidra Great Sirte
Satellite image of the Gulf of Sirte (2007)
Gulf of Sirte
Coordinates	31°30′N 18°0′E / 31.500°N 18.000°E / 31.500; 18.000Coordinates: 31°30′N 18°0′E / 31.500°N 18.000°E / 31.500; 18.000
Ocean/sea sources	Mediterranean
Basin countries	Libya
Max. length	177 km (110 mi)
Max. width	439 km (273 mi)
Settlements	Sirte, Sidra, Ra's Lanuf, Al Burayqah

Gulf of Sirte (Arabic: خليج سرت‎‎, Khalij Surt), or Gulf of Sidra (Arabic: خليج السدرة‎‎, Khalij as-Sidra) after the port of Sidra, is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea on the northern coast of Libya. Historically it has been also known as the Great Sirte or Greater Syrtis (Latin Syrtis Major, Greek μεγάλη, contrasting with Syrtis Minor in Tunisia).

The Gulf of Sirte has been a major centre for tuna fishing in the Mediterranean for centuries. It gives its name to the city of Sirte situated on its western side.

The gulf measures 439 kilometres (273 mi) from the promontory of Boreum (now Ras Teyonas) on the East side to the promontory of Cephalae (Ras Kasr Hamet) on the West. The greatest extension of the gulf inland is 177 kilometres (110 mi) land inward and occupies an area of 57,000 square kilometers.

Syrtis is referred to in the New Testament of the Bible 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, and took precautions to prevent it, resulting, eventually, in being shipwrecked on the island of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea.

In ancient literature, the Syrtes (the Greater, or maiores, in the eastern and the Lesser, or minores, in the western part of the Gulf) were notorious sandbanks which sailors always took pains to avoid. The local climate features frequent calms and a more than usually powerful north wind. The shoreline between Cyrene in the east and Carthage in the west featured few ports.