A corniche is a road on the side of a cliff or mountain, with the ground rising up on one side of the roadway and falling away on the other. The English language has adopted the word from the French language term corniche]] or "road on a ledge", itself derived from the Italian language cornice]], for "ledge".
Europe
France
Three famed corniche roads of the Côte d'Azur in the
French Riviera run between the sea and mountains from
Nice eastward toward
Menton. They are known as the
Corniche Inferieure (or
Basse Corniche[ Life in Riviera]) along the coast, the
Moyenne Corniche slightly inland, and the
Grande Corniche along the upper cliffs.
[ Roads of the French Rivera]
The Corniche Inferieure passes through the principality of Monaco. The Grande Corniche featured prominently in the Alfred Hitchcock film To Catch a Thief.
Italy
The
Amalfi Drive, along the
Amalfi Coast south of Naples, is a road carved into the cliffs along the Tyrrhenian Sea, and can be classified as a corniche. It runs between Sorrento and Amalfi and was originally built by the Romans.
Africa
Senegal
The coastal road facing the
Atlantic Ocean in the capital city of
Dakar is called the
Corniche Ouest and runs along a cliff above the beaches and rocky shores.
South Africa
Many of the roads running around the Cape Peninsular, south of Cape Town, have been constructed in the form of corniches. A good example is part of Victoria Road running through the suburbs of Clifton and Bantry Bay.
Libya
The Tripoli Corniche, also known as Al-Fatah Street, runs along the Mediterranean from the Waddan Bridge to the roundabout at Tripoli's sea port entrance.
Egypt
Any waterfront passage along a body of water is classed as a corniche in
Egypt. Most
Nile valley and
Nile Delta cities overlooking the 1000 km river course and two branches in the country have one or two corniche streets (east and/or west banks). For example "Corniche
Giza" and "Corniche
Cairo", the longest Egyptian corniche. Other cities such as
Mansoura,
Damietta and
Luxor also have corniches.
-
The 18 km Corniche al-Nil Street (Arabic: شارع كورنيش النيل) promenade in Cairo (east bank of the Nile) runs from the Maadi district in the south, to the mouth of the Ismailia Canal in El Sahel district in the north. Building numbers take on one to two digits in Maadi where numbering starts, where for example the Holiday Inn hotel is 29 A Corniche al-Nile,
-
The promenade that runs from the Giza Zoo to the balloon theater in Agouza is colloquially known as the Giza Corniche.
-
The promenade running from Montazah Palace walls to the Qaitbay Citadel in Alexandria is known as Corniche (Alexandria)
Though the word itself comes from French, the Egyptian usage has led neighboring Arab countries, which are not francophone and have no French influence, to adopt the word. These include Sudan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar.]]
Middle East
Qatar
This is a waterfront promenade extending for along Doha Bay in Qatar's capital city, Doha. Annual celebrations of national holidays such as Qatar National Day and National Sports Day are centered on the Doha Corniche. It is a popular tourist and leisure attraction within Qatar.
Lebanon
The avenue that runs along the western and northern coast of the
Beirut peninsula is colloquially called
Corniche Beirut.
Oman
The promenade along the waterfront in
Muttrah, Muscat, is known as The Corniche.
United Arab Emirates
-
The promenade that runs from the Emirates Palace hotel to the fish market in Abu Dhabi is colloquially called the Corniche.
-
in Ajman, the corniche is the road that runs from Ajman Beach to ajman marina, with the beautiful skyline of the city and the tall skyscrapers thar stand along the road.
-
In Sharjah, the road surrounding Khalid Lagoon is known as Buheira Corniche, though not a true corniche as it is near sea level and not following a cliff line.
-
Several other waterfront roads and promenades in the Emirates are also referred to as Corniche, including the Deira Corniche, Fujairah Corniche, and the Jumeirah Corniche.
Saudi Arabia
Dammam corniche,
Qatif corniche, Khobar corniche, Ras Tanura corniche,
Jeddah Corniche, Yanbu corniche, Al Jubail corniche, Khafji corniche.
Iraq
In
Basra, the corniche runs along the
Shatt al-Arab
Southeast Asia
Philippines
India
External links
