Sidi Barrani 5.1

Sidi Barrani is a town in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, about 95km east of the border with Libya, and around 240km from Tobruk, Libya.Named after Sidi es-Saadi el Barrani, a Senussi sheikh who was a head of its Zawiya, the village is mainly a Bedouin community. It has food and gasoline outlets, and one small hotel, but has virtually no tourist activity or visited historical curiosities. It is the site of an Egyptian air force base.HistoryLocated close to the Roman city of Zygra, in the Roman province of Libya Inferior, Sidi Barrani is often mentioned in historical records to mark the limit of the initial Italian invasion of Egypt from Libya. The Italian Tenth Army built a series of forts in the vicinity.American Field Service volunteers, providing ambulance services and serving with the British 8th Army were based in the area, in June 1942, 30 miles east of Sidi Barrani.Sidi Barrani was a destination during the total solar eclipse on October 3, 2005, as expeditions traveled to the best observation point, Zawiet Mahtallah, 27km east of Sidi Barrani.