|
Tunis
Tunis (ancient Tunes), city, port, and capital of Tunisia,
on the Lake of Tunis, northeastern Tunisia. The city
is served by a nearby international airport and is
connected by rail with other northern African ports.
A commercial and industrial center, Tunis has plants
producing chemicals, processed foods, and textiles;
distilleries are also here. A ship channel connects
the city with the Mediterranean Sea. The chief exports
include carpets, fruit, iron ore, and olives. The
city, which occupies an elevated isthmus, is divided
into two parts: the old, walled, Muslim quarter and
the newer European quarter. The streets of the older
section are narrow and winding, with many well-furnished
bazaars and splendid mosques. The Muslim quarter
also contains the palace of the bey, or native ruler,
which now houses a museum of arts and antiquities;
and the Mosque of the Olive Tree (ad 732), which
served as an Islamic university. The city is also
the site of the University of Tunis (1960). Nearby
are ruins of the ancient city of Carthage.
Tunis was probably founded as a Phoenician settlement
in the 6th century bc but was overshadowed by neighboring
Carthage in ancient times. With Carthage, it was conquered
by the Romans in 146 bc. A revived Tunis flourished
after the Arabs took control during the 7th century
ad and was especially prominent under the Hafsid dynasty
(1228-1574). Pirating and trading assured the city's
continued prosperity during the 17th and 18th centuries.
The modern city of Tunis was built while Tunisia was
under French rule (1881-1956). During that period the
population increased dramatically as thousands of Europeans
and Muslims were drawn to the area by growing commercial
and industrial facilities. When Tunisia won its independence,
Tunis became its capital, and living conditions in
the city were improved by an urban redevelopment program.
Population (1995 estimate) 674,100.
Sousse
Susah, also Sousse, town in eastern Tunisia, in Susah
Governorate, on the Gulf of Hammamet (an arm of the
Mediterranean Sea). It is a port and a commercial
center. Major manufactures include transportation
equipment,
processed food (especially canned sardines and olive
oil), and textiles. The Phoenicians established the
community of Hadrumetum here about the 9th century
bc. It was destroyed by the Vandals in the 5th century
ad and was rebuilt by the Byzantine emperor Justinian
I in the 6th century. Susah was an important port
from the 9th to the 11th century, and it was revived
as
a port by the French in the late 19th century. The
Great Mosque, a 9th-century fortress, and marketplaces
are enclosed within the old quarter's ancient walls.
Population (1994) 125,000.
Djerba
Jarbah, also Djerba (ancient Meninx), island, southeastern
Tunisia, in the Gulf of Gabès, an arm of the
Mediterranean Sea. The island's terrain is flat and
arid but the soil is arable; artesian wells are the
principal source of water. Olives, dates, and figs
are the chief crops. Besides farming, the island's
principal occupations include sponge and oyster fishing,
pottery and jewelry making, and the manufacture of
cloth and olive oil. ?awmat as Suq on the northern
side of the island is the administrative and trade
center. In ancient Greek and Roman legend the island
is the home of the lotus-eaters. As Meninx, it was
a Roman possession, and during the Middle Ages, it
was taken successively by the Normans of Sicily,
the Spanish, and the Turks. In 1881 Jarbah, together
with
the mainland of Tunisia, was occupied by the French.
Area, 510 sq km (200 sq mi); population (1984) 92,269.
Sousse
The rich Roman commercial city of Hadrumete takes
the name of Sousse under the Aghlabide dynasty. Occupied
successively by the Norman of Sicily, the Spanish,
the French and the Venetian, it will be very damaged
by the bombardments during the campaign of Tunisia
(1942-1943). Sousse is the capital of the Sahel, the
third port of Tunisia and a big tourist centre.
Kairouan
Kairouan is the 4th Holy
City of Islam, after Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem.
The name of Kairouan would come
from Kaïrawane (encampment). According to historians',
towards 671, Oqba Ibn Nafii, companion of the Mahomet
prophet, stop his cavalrymen in a valley, halfway of
the East coast, ocupied by Byzantines, and of the Big
Dorsal, occupied by the Berber ones. To give to its troops
courage to fight without moving back, Oqba decides to
found a city which will serve Islam until the end of
time.
Sbeïtla
Under the name of Sufetula,
Sbeïtla was a prosperous
colony which lived on farming of the olive-tree, then
at the Byzantine time, a strategic city and a crossroads.
In 646, the Father Gregoire rejects the authority of
Byzance, and leaves Carthage for Sbeïtla, where
he was proclaimed emperor. One year later, the Arabs
will ransack the city.
Sfax
Sfax is a industrial city, surrounded by factories of
phosphates, very modern and pleasant, and also the first
port of Tunisia.
Chott el Djerid
The green oases are the queens of Djerid, or country
of the palms. They sit prominently in a desolate environment
where three deserts mix: the blond sand desert of the
dunes of Douz, the stony desert, where the esparto grows,
and the salt desert of Chott el Djerid.
Medenine
Medenine is a small town of 5000 inhabitants and a
starting point of many tracks and many excursions.
|
