=Halaib=, the only permanent village on the Red Sea coast of Egypt south of Qoseir,[102] is situated in latitude 22° 13′ 25″ N., longitude 36° 38′ 56″ E.[103] The name of the place is pronounced locally Oleiyib, and though I have retained the established European spelling as given on the charts, none of the natives would recognise the name if pronounced in its Europeanised form. Its most conspicuous buildings, and the only ones composed of masonry in any form, are a fort and a block-house; there are a few rude wooden shanties, mostly built of timber which has been cast up on the beach, but the bulk of the population live in little reed huts and tents of matting. Halaib is the headquarters of a small police force under the command of a moawen, the men being lodged in the fort. The fort, which stands about forty metres from the sea on low ground, is an irregular octagon in plan, about ten metres in diameter by six and a half metres high. As its top is only eight metres above the sea and there are low banks west of it, the fort is not very conspicuous as one approaches it from the landward side, but being whitewashed and open to the sea it is a good landmark for sailors in the neighbourhood. It has two flagstaffs, from which the British and Egyptian flags are flown on Fridays. The fort is entered by a ladder, the floor forming the police quarters being about three metres above ground. Below are water tanks, and above a trap door gives access to the roof, which is carried on iron rails and plastered over with stucco. The roof vibrates too much for it to be used as a triangulation station, and observations here were taken from an eccentric point on the ground and afterwards reduced to centre. The block-house is a smaller rectangular structure, whitewashed, situated on a low bank about 400 metres south-west of the fort. A small jetty, built of coral, runs out from near the fort far enough for a small boat to get alongside.