- Bir Tawil
Bir Tawil, or transliterated more exactly, like on some maps, Bi'r Tawīl (بيرطويل in Arabic, Bi'r or بير meaning
water well ), is a small area along the border betweenEgypt andSudan . It is also called Bir Tawil Triangle, never mind that the area is oftrapezoid al shape, with the longer side in the north of the area running along the 22° North circle of latitude. It is the only area where the administrative boundary of 1902 between the two countries runs south of the political boundary of 1899, which had been defined as the 22° Northcircle of latitude . The area is between 46 km (in the south) and 95 km (in the north) long east-west, and between 26 and 31 km wide north-south, and 2060 km² in size. It is named after awater well in the center of the area. The area came under Egyptian administration in 1902, because it was grazing land of theAbabda tribe based nearAswan , Egypt.At the same time, the
Hala'ib Triangle north of the 22° North circle of latitude, and northeast of the area, came under Sudanese administration, because the tribes of this area were based in Sudan. Hala'ib Triangle and Bir Tawil border at one point, aquadripoint .Egypt claims the original border from 1899, the 22° North circle of latitute, which would place the Hala'ib Triangle within Egypt and the Bir Tawil area within Sudan. Sudan however claims the administrative border of 1902, which would put Hala'ib within Sudan, and Bir Tawil within Egypt. As a result, both countries claim Hala'ib, and no country claims Bir Tawil (which is only a tenth of the size of Hala'ib and is landlocked). Unter international law, there is no legal basis for Sudan or Egypt to claim both territories. This is perhaps only land area of the world outside
Antarctica which is not claimed by any country. It would also be difficult if not impossible for any third country to claim the area, since it is accessible only through Sudan or Egypt.In the north of the area is the mountain
Jabal Tawil (جبل طويل in Arabic, located at coord|21|57|56|N|33|48|05|E), with a height of 459 meters. In the east isJabal Ḩajar az Zarqā' , with a height of 662 meters.In the south is the
Wadi Tawil (وادي طويل in Arabic, also called "Khawr Abū Bard", located at coord|21|49|25|N|33|43|42|E).External links
* [http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS018.pdf International Boundary Study]
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
