Bardia

Bardia, also El Burdi or Bardiyah (Arabic: البردية, romanized: al-Bardiyya or Arabic: البردي, romanized: al-Burdiyy) is a Mediterranean seaport in the Butnan District of eastern Libya, located near the border with Egypt. It is also occasionally called Bórdi Slemán.

The name Bardia is deeply rooted in the ancient history of the early ancestors of the Tebu (Goran), an Indigenous people—namely, the Tehenu and Temehu, ancient Libyan tribes who were the original inhabitants of the Mediterranean basin at the end of the Old Stone Age (circa 10,000 B.C.). The continuous presence of the region's Indigenous populations extended into the early periods of ancient Egypt and persisted throughout its history, long before the arrival of later groups and the external invasions that reached the Mediterranean coastlines in search of fertile lands. The historical footprint of these populations predates any significant foreign influence on the Mediterranean regions of North Africa, reflecting their deep-rooted connection to the land.

The correct pronunciation of the name is "Bardai" (also rendered as "Burdu"). In the Tebu language, "Bar" (or "Bur") means "the marked" or "the distinctive mark," and "Dai" (or "Du") means "self," making the full meaning "the marked one" or "the one with the distinctive mark". Leo Africanus (Hassan al-Wazzan), during his travels in the early 16th century (1520s), referred to the Tebu—also known as Goran—as the people of "Bardoa," reflecting this nomenclature.