Safaqis

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Sfax

Port city (pop., 2004: 265,131), east-central Tunisia. Built on the site of two ancient settlements, the city grew as an Islamic trading centre. It was occupied by the Normans in the 12th century and by the Spanish in the 16th century, and later served as a stronghold of the Barbary Coast pirates. The town was bombarded by the French in 1881 prior to their occupation of Tunisia and again in World War II (1939 – 45), when it was a base for German forces until taken by the British in 1943. One of Tunisia's largest cities, it is a transportation hub and a major fishing port.

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Columbia Encyclopedia: Safaqis

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Safaqis (säfä'kĭs) or Sfax (sfäks), city (1994 pop. 230,900), E Tunisia, on the Gulf of Qabis (Gabès), an arm of the Mediterranean Sea. It is Tunisia's second largest city and has exports of phosphates, olive oil, cereals, and sponges. A major fishing port, there are oil fields nearby. Safaqis was the site of Phoenician and Roman colonies. It was briefly held by Roger II of Sicily (c.1150) and by the Spanish (16th cent.). Later it became a stronghold of the Barbary pirates.

Mideast & N. Africa Encyclopedia: Sfax

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Tunisian seaport on the northeast coast of the Gulf of Gabès.

Sfax (also Sfaqes or Safaqis) was a Phoenician trading center before it was settled in the eighth century by Arab invaders spreading Islam; they built a mosque in the mid-ninth century. It continued as an important seaport for the Mediterranean olive oil trade and was one of the few Tunisian towns to resist the French occupation after the protectorate of 1881, thus suffering bombardment. After Tunisia became independent in 1956, Sfax became the center of a governorate and the second-largest Tunisian city, with a population of some 232,000 (as of 1984).

Today it has a medical school, one of three appellate courts, a large prison, the regional radio station, an international airport and an air-force base, and a busy port that handles mainly phosphates and olive oil.

Bibliography

Nelson, Harold D., ed. Tunisia: A Country Study. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1986.

— MATTHEW S. GORDON

Dialing Code: The telephone dialing code for: Sfax, Tunisia

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The country code is: 216
The city code is: 4

Wikipedia: Sfax

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Sfax صفاقس
A Sfax street (Rue Hédi Chaker)
Sfax
Coordinates: 34°44′N 10°36′E / 34.733°N 10.6°E / 34.733; 10.6
Country	Tunisia
Governorates	Sfax Governorate
Government
- Mayor	Mohamed Hadj Taïeb
Population (2004)
- Total	265.131
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)

Sfax (Arabic: صفاقس‎, Safaqis, or /sfa:qs/ in Tunisian Arabic, whence the French name) is a city in Tunisia, located 270 km (168 miles) southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD 849 on the ruins of Taparura and Thaenae, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate, and a Mediterranean port on the Gulf of Gabès. Sfax has population of 340,000 (2005)^[1], and is an industrial center for processing phosphates. The city is often described as Tunisia's Second city, because only Tunis has more inhabitants.

1 History
2 Transport
3 Communications
4 Education
5 Famous people
6 International relations
- 6.1 Twin towns — Sister cities
7 References
8 See also

History

Looking across the Place de la République towards Sfax city hall (photographed in 2005).

By the end of the 10th century Sfax had become an independent city-state. The city was conquered by Roger II of Sicily in 1148 and occupied until it was liberated in 1156 by local forces, and was briefly occupied by European forces again, this time by the Spanish, in the 16th century. Sfax became an integral base of the Barbary piracy, prompting an unsuccessful invasion by Venice in 1785. In the late 19th century Sfax and the rest of Tunisia were conquered by France and incorporated into the French empire. During World War II, the Axis powers used the city as a major base until they were defeated by British forces. After World War II, Tunisia was returned to France only to gain independence in 1956.

Transport

Sfax is served by a narrow gauge railway system of SNCFT that delivers phosphates and iron ore for export. Sfax is also served by an international airport (Sfax Thyna) with regularly scheduled flights to Paris CDG and Tripoli, Libya and charter flights to Jeddah for the pilgrimage to Mecca for daily airport activity see www.oaca.nat.tn.

Roads

The A1 motorway connects Sfax with Tunis.

Communications

Founded in 1961, Radio Sfax broadcasts twenty hours a day on MW 720 kHz/105.21 MHz.

Education

ENIS (Ecole Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Sfax) issued a number of well known scientists and industrials. [1]
ESCS (Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Sfax) issued a number of Managers, Economy and Management Researchers and Youth Entrepreneurs. [2]
FLSHS (Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines de Sfax) issued a number of renowned poets and prose writers .(http://www.flshs.rnu.tn)
Sfax Faculty of Medicine (Faculté de Médecine de Sfax). [3]

Famous people

Hédi Bouraoui, a poet and writer now living in Canada.
Nizar Chaari, media personality
Hedi Chaker, patriot who fought the French colonisation.
Saber Rabaii, eastern singer renowned all over the east for his songs.
Hatem Trabelsi, former football defender for Ajax Amsterdam, Manchester City and captain of the Tunesian national football team.
Max Azria, Fashion Designer.

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Tunisia

Twin towns — Sister cities

Sfax is twinned with:

Grenoble, France^[2]
Makhachkala, Russia

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sfax

^ LookLex Encyclopaedia accessed 10 July 2008
^ Jérôme Steffenino, Marguerite Masson. "Ville de Grenoble - Coopérations et villes jumelles". Grenoble.fr. http://www.grenoble.fr/jsp/site/Portal.jsp?page_id=92. Retrieved 2009-10-29.

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