# Corniche

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{{short description|Road on the side of a cliff or mountain}}
{{other uses}}
{{about||the architectural feature|Cornice|snow feature|Snow cornice}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2018}}
[[File:Storm King from across Hudson.jpg|thumb|right|A corniche carrying [New York State Route 218](/source/New_York_State_Route_218) along [Storm King Mountain](/source/Storm_King_Mountain_(New_York)) can be seen on the left from across the [Hudson River](/source/Hudson_River)]]
[[File:Hawks' Nest.jpg|thumb|alt= The Hawk's Nest corniche on NY Route 97|The [Hawk's Nest](/source/Hawk's_Nest_(Orange_County%2C_New_York)) is part of a corniche which carries [New York State Route 97](/source/New_York_State_Route_97) above the [Delaware River](/source/Delaware_River)]]

A '''corniche''' is a [road](/source/road) on the side of a [cliff](/source/cliff) or [mountain](/source/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](/source/French_language) term ''{{lang|fr|route à corniche}}'' or "road on a ledge", itself derived from the [Italian](/source/Italian_language) ''{{lang|it|cornice}}'', for "ledge".

==Europe==
===France===
Three famed corniche roads of the [Côte d'Azur](/source/C%C3%B4te_d'Azur) in the [French Riviera](/source/French_Riviera) run between the sea and mountains from [Nice](/source/Nice) eastward toward [Menton](/source/Menton). They are known as the ''{{lang|fr|Corniche Inferieure}}'' (or ''{{lang|fr|Basse Corniche}}''<ref>[http://www.lifeinriviera.com/guide/les-trois-corniches/#.WpNRuK6nHb0 Life in Riviera]</ref>) along the coast, the ''{{lang|fr|Moyenne Corniche}}'' slightly inland, and the
''{{lang|fr|Grande Corniche}}'' along the upper cliffs.<ref>[https://frenchmoments.eu/corniche-roads-of-the-french-riviera/ Roads of the French Rivera]</ref>

The ''{{lang|fr|Corniche Inferieure}}'' passes through the principality of [Monaco](/source/Monaco). The ''{{lang|fr|Grande Corniche}}'' featured prominently in the [Alfred Hitchcock](/source/Alfred_Hitchcock) film ''[To Catch a Thief](/source/To_Catch_a_Thief)''.

===Italy===
The [Amalfi Drive](/source/Amalfi_Drive), along the [Amalfi Coast](/source/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](/source/Atlantic_Ocean) in the capital city of [Dakar](/source/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 Peninsula](/source/Cape_Peninsula), south of [Cape Town](/source/Cape_Town), have been constructed in the form of corniches. A good example is part of Victoria Road running through the suburbs of [Clifton](/source/Clifton%2C_Cape_Town) and [Bantry Bay](/source/Bantry_Bay%2C_Cape_Town).

===Libya===
The [Tripoli](/source/Tripoli%2C_Libya) 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===

thumb|270px|left|Nile Corniche in Aswan

Any waterfront passage along a body of water is classed as a corniche in [Egypt](/source/Egypt). Most [Nile](/source/Nile) valley and [Delta](/source/Nile_Delta) cities overlooking the 1000&nbsp;km river course and two branches in the country have one or two corniche streets (east and/or west banks). For example "Corniche [Giza](/source/Giza)" and "Corniche [Cairo](/source/Cairo)", the longest Egyptian corniche. Other cities such as [Mansoura](/source/Mansoura), [Damietta](/source/Damietta) and [Luxor](/source/Luxor) also have corniches.

* The 18&nbsp;km '''Corniche al-Nil Street''' (Arabic: شارع كورنيش النيل) promenade in Cairo (east bank of the [Nile](/source/Nile)) runs from the [Maadi](/source/Maadi) district in the south, to the mouth of the Ismailia Canal in [al-Sahel](/source/El_Sahel) district in the north. Building numbers take on one to two digits in [Maadi](/source/Maadi) where numbering starts, where for example the Holiday Inn hotel is 29 A Corniche al-Nile,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Holiday Inn & Suites Cairo |url=https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/cairo/caims/hoteldetail |website=IHG}}</ref> and up to four digits in the northern half due to it length, where the [Ramses Hilton](/source/Ramses_Hilton) hotel's address in [Bulaq](/source/Boulaq) is 1115 Corniche al-Nil.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Egypt Holidays - Ramses Hilton, EG |url=https://www.hilton.com/en/hilton/ |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=Hilton |language=en}}</ref> The street colloquially takes on the names of some of the districts and neighbourhoods it passes through such as the [Maadi](/source/Maadi) Corniche,<ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=Cornich El Maadi |url=https://aqarmap.com.eg/en/neighborhood/cairo/el-maadi/kornish-el-maadi/ |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=Aqarmap |language=en}}</ref> and Corniche Masr al-Qadima ([Old Cairo](/source/Old_Cairo)).
* The promenade that runs from the [Giza Zoo](/source/Giza_Zoo) to the balloon theater in [Agouza](/source/Agouza) is colloquially known as the Giza Corniche.
* The promenade running from [Montazah Palace](/source/Montazah_Palace) walls to the [Qaitbay Citadel](/source/Qaitbay_Citadel) in Alexandria is known as [Corniche (Alexandria)](/source/Corniche_(Alexandria))
[[File:Alexandria - Egypt.jpg|thumb|The [corniche at Alexandria](/source/Corniche_(Alexandria)) by sunset, stretching along the city's residential coast line]]

Though the word itself comes from French, the Egyptian usage has led neighboring Arab countries, which are not [francophone](/source/francophone) and have no French influence, to adopt the word. These include Sudan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar.{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}[[File:DumyatCorniche.jpg|thumb|[Corniche Damietta](/source/Corniche_Damietta)]]
[[File:Luxor New Corniche R01.jpg|thumb|The newly renovated [Corniche of Luxor](/source/Corniche_of_Luxor)]]

==Middle East==
In the Middle East the word is used for several waterfront roads that are not true corniches, as they are near sea level and do not follow a cliff line. 

===Qatar===
The [Doha Corniche](/source/Doha_Corniche) is a waterfront promenade extending for {{convert|7|km|mi|abbr=off|spell=in}} 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](/source/Beirut) [peninsula](/source/peninsula) is colloquially called [Corniche Beirut](/source/Corniche_Beirut).

===Oman===
The promenade along the waterfront in [Muttrah](/source/Muttrah), [Muscat](/source/Muscat%2C_Oman), is known as The Corniche.

===United Arab Emirates===
thumb|Driving along the Abu Dhabi Corniche
* The promenade that runs from the [Emirates Palace](/source/Emirates_Palace) hotel to the fish market in [Abu Dhabi](/source/Abu_Dhabi) is colloquially called the [Corniche](/source/Corniche_(Abu_Dhabi)).
*in [Ajman](/source/Ajman), the corniche is the road that runs from [Ajman Beach](/source/Ajman_Beach) to Ajman Marina, with a view of the skyline of the city and the tall skyscrapers that stand along the road.
* In [Sharjah](/source/Sharjah), the road surrounding [Khalid Lagoon](/source/Khalid_Lagoon) is known as [Buheira Corniche](/source/Buheira_Corniche). 
* Several other waterfront roads and promenades in the Emirates are also referred to as Corniche, including the [Deira Corniche](/source/Deira_Corniche), [Fujairah Corniche](/source/Fujairah_Corniche), and the [Jumeirah Corniche](/source/Jumeirah_Corniche).

===Saudi Arabia===
thumb|Qatif corniche
Dammam corniche, [Qatif](/source/Qatif) corniche, Khobar corniche, Ras Tanura corniche, [Jeddah Corniche](/source/Jeddah_Corniche), Yanbu corniche, Al Jubail corniche, Khafji corniche.

=== Iraq ===
alt=The corniche in Basra|thumb|The corniche in Basra
In [Basra](/source/Basra), the corniche runs along the [Shatt al-Arab](/source/Shatt_al-Arab).

==Southeast Asia==
===Philippines===
*[Manila Bay](/source/Manila_Bay), [Manila](/source/Manila), [Philippines](/source/Philippines)
*[Lamon Bay](/source/Lamon_Bay), [Quezon Province](/source/Quezon_Province), [Philippines](/source/Philippines)

'''<big>India</big>'''

*[Marine Drive, Mumbai](/source/Marine_Drive%2C_Mumbai)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Wiktionary-inline|corniche}}

Category:Types of roads

[fr:Corniche (homonymie)](/source/fr%3ACorniche_(homonymie))

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Corniche](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corniche) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corniche?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.