The Gulf of

Zula Zula ግእዝ ዙላ saba ሰብኣ 𐩸𐩡 is a small town in central Eritrea. It is situated near the head of Annesley Bay (also known as the Gulf of Zula), on the Red Sea coast. Four kilometers away is the archeological site of Adulis, whi ...

, also known as Annesley Bay, Baia di Arafali or Zula Bahir Selat’ē, is a

body of water A body of water or waterbody (often spelled water body) is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another planet. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, but it includes smaller pools of water such as p ...

on the

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

coastline The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

on the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

Geography

The Gulf lies to the east of

Massawa Massawa ( ; ti, ምጽዋዕ, məṣṣəwaʿ; gez, ምጽዋ; ar, مصوع; it, Massaua; pt, Maçuá) is a port city in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak ...

, near the midpoint of the Eritrean coast. It is located between the Foro Subregion and the

Buri Peninsula The Buri Peninsula extends from central Eritrea north into the Red Sea. Geography The Buri Peninsula is an area of land in the Ghela'elo Subregion of Eritrea, that juts out into the Red Sea. To its west lies the Gulf of Zula, also known as Anne ...

of the Ghela'elo Subregion, both in the country's

Northern Red Sea region The Northern Red Sea Region (, it, Regione del Mar Rosso Settentrionale, ) is an administrative region of Eritrea. It lies along the northern three quarters of the Red Sea, and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and the coastal city of Massawa. ...

. On the west side of the gulf are two large mountains,

Jebel Gedem Jabal, Jabel, Jebel or Jibal may refer to: People * Jabal (name), a male Arabic given name * Jabal (Bible), mentioned in the Hebrew Bible Places In Arabic, ''jabal'' or ''jebel'' (spelling variants of the same word) means 'mountain'. * Dzhebel ...

and

Mount Arbalu Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

. Between the two, the Aligede River flows, with the village of

on its right bank. The coast of the gulf is fringed with mangroves on either side of the mouth of the river. The egyptologist Henry Salt identified Zula as the ancient archaeological site of

Adulis Adulis (Sabaean: ሰበኣ 𐩱 𐩵 𐩡 𐩪, gez, ኣዱሊስ, grc, Ἄδουλις) was an ancient city along the Red Sea in the Gulf of Zula, about south of Massawa. Its ruins lie within the modern Eritrean city of Zula. It was the e ...

. Near the head of the gulf is the village of Arafali, beside the extinct

Dola Volcano Dola may refer to: * Dola (mythology), protective spirits in Polish mythology * Dola, Ohio, United States * Dola, Shahdol, India * Dola, Gabon Dola is a Department (country subdivision), department of Ngounié Province in southern Gabon. The c ...

. From here, several roads radiate into the surrounding areas. To the east of the gulf lies the

. This generally low-lying, undulating area is composed of lava flows at the southern end and granite at the north. Fringing reefs border much of this coast. About beyond Arafali is Dolphin Cove, with a low, flat beach, backed by a steep rise to

Mount Abdur Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

behind. further on is the narrow Melita Bay with the village of Macanille at its head. Here there are coastal reefs and mangrove swamps. The Gulf of Zula is a deep water bay, formed as part of the complex rifting system that occurred in these parts where three tectonic plates meet. The rift continues inland to the

Danakil Depression The Danakil Depression is the northern part of the Afar Triangle or Afar Depression in Ethiopia, a geological depression that has resulted from the divergence of three tectonic plates in the Horn of Africa. Geology The Danakil Depression lies ...

, a sandy plain lying below sea level. The gulf also marks the territorial division between the

Saho people The Saho are a Cushitic ethnic group from Eritrea, and they also inhabit some parts of northern Ethiopia. They speak Saho as a mother tongue. Society Ethnicity and societal structure According to Abdulkader Saleh Mohammad, most of the Saho ...

and the

Afar people The Afar ( aa, Qafár), also known as the Danakil, Adali and Odali, are a Cushitic-speaking ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa. They primarily live in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and in northern Djibouti, as well as the entire southern co ...

. File:Gulf of Zula.GIF, The Gulf of Zula and

File:The National Archives UK - CO 1069-5-1.jpg, Photograph taken by 10th Field Company Royal Engineers during the

British Expedition to Abyssinia The British Expedition to Abyssinia was a rescue mission and punitive expedition carried out in 1868 by the armed forces of the British Empire against the Ethiopian Empire (also known at the time as Abyssinia). Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia, t ...

References

{{List of African seas

Northern Red Sea Region