Tunis

 

(tūnĭs) , city (1994 pop. 674,100), capital of Tunisia, NE Tunisia, on the Lake of Tunis. Access to the Gulf of Tunis (an arm of the Mediterranean) is by a canal terminating at a subsidiary port, Halq al Wadi (La Goulette). Products include textiles, carpets, and olive oil. There are railroad workshops and a lead smelter. Popular resorts make tourism an important source of revenue. Tunis has notable mosques, the Univ. of Tunis, and a national museum. The ruins of Carthage are nearby, to the northeast. The famous Festival of Carthage is held there each year.

Tunis is probably pre-Carthaginian. Surviving from the Middle Ages are walls, an aqueduct, and a mosque. Tunis became the capital of Tunisia under the powerful Hafsid dynasty (13th–16th cent.) and was a leading center of trade with Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. Turks under Barbarossa took it in 1534 but were temporarily (1535–69, 1573–74) dislodged by the Spanish. After 1591, the Turkish governors (the beys) were practically independent, and the city prospered as a center of piracy and trade. Under the French occupation (1881–1956), a modern European quarter was built and the port was improved. In World War II, Tunis was held by Axis forces from Nov., 1942, to May 7, 1943, and was the base for their final stand in Africa. The Arab League was headquartered in Tunis from 1979 to 1990.

Tunis تونس
Tunis Night
Coordinates: 36°8′N 10°17′E / 36.133, 10.283
Country	Tunisia
Governorates	Tunis Governorate
Government
- Mayor	Abbes Mohsen
Area
- City	km²  ( sq mi)
Population (2007)
- City
Time zone	CET ([[UTC+1]])
- Summer (DST)	CEST ([[UTC+2]])
Website: commune-tunis.gov.tn

Tunis (Arabic: تونس, Tūnis) is the capital of the Tunisian Republic and also the Tunis Governorate, with a population of 728,453 in 2004. Informal estimates state that the population of greater Tunis approaches two million.

Situated on a large Mediterranean gulf, (the Gulf of Tunis), behind the Lake of Tunis and the port of La Goulette (Halq al Wadi), the city extends along the coastal plain and the hills that surround it. At the centre of more modern development (colonial era and post) lies the old medina. Beyond this section lie the suburbs of Carthage, La Marsa, and Sidi Bou Said.

The medina is found at the centre of the city: a dense agglomeration of alleys and covered passages, full of intense scents and colours, boisterous and active trade, a surfeit of goods on offer ranging from leather to plastic, tin to the finest filigree, tourist souvenirs to the works of tiny crafts-shops.

Just through the Sea Gate (also known as the Bab el Bahr and the Porte de France), begins the modern city, or Ville Nouvelle, transversed by the grand Avenue Bourguiba (considered by many to be the Tunisian Champs-Élysées), where the colonial-era buildings provide a clear contrast to smaller older structures. As the capital city of the country Tunis is the center of Tunisian commercial activity, as well as focus of political and administrative life in the country. The expansion of the Tunisian economy in the last decades is reflected in the booming development of the outer city where one can see clearly the social challenges brought about by rapid modernization in Tunisia.

Geography

Tunis is located in north-eastern Tunisia on the Lake of Tunis, and is connected to the Mediterranean sea's Gulf of Tunis by a canal which terminates at the port of La Goulette / Halq al Wadi. The ancient city of Carthage is located just north of Tunis along the coastal part. Tunis is located at 36°81′N, 10°16′E (36.81881° N 10.16596° E).

History

Early history

In the 2nd millennium BCE a town, originally named Tunes, was founded by Berbers and also over time occupied by Numidians. In the 9th century BCE, the city was taken over by Phoenicians from Carthage. The Berbers^[specify] took control of Tunis in 395 BCE but it was soon lost when Agathocles invaded Africa and established his headquarters there. When Agathocles left Africa, the Carthaginians took control of the city once again.

In 146 BCE, the Romans destroyed Tunis (along with Carthage). However, the city was subsequently rebuilt under the rule of Augustus and became an important town under Roman control and the center of a booming agricultural industry.

Islamic Control

It was not until the 7th century, after the final destruction of Carthage, that the city achieved its own importance under the control of Arab Muslims. It was at this time that the medina of Tunis was first built.

From the 12th century to the 16th century, the old city was controlled by the Almohad and the Hafsid Berber dynasties. During this time, Tunis was one of the richest and grandest cities in the Islamic world, with a population of about 100,000.

Ottoman rule and piracy

The Ottoman Empire took nominal control of the city in 1534 when Barbarossa Hayreddin captured it from the Hafsid Sultan, Mulai Hassan. Mulai Hassan fled to the court of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain. Charles, who suffered at the hands of the corsairs operating out of Djerba, Tunis and Algiers, agreed to reinstate Mulai-Hassan in exchange for an acceptance of Spanish suzerainty by Mulai-Hassan. A naval expedition led by Charles himself was dispatched in 1535 and the city was quickly recaptured. The victory against the corsairs is recorded in a tapestry at the Royal Palace of Madrid. The resulting protectorate lasted until the Ottomans retook Tunis in 1574. After 1591, the Ottoman governors (Beys) were relatively independent and piracy and trade continued to flourish.

In April 1655, English Admiral Robert Blake was sent to the Mediterranean to extract compensation from states that had been attacking English shipping. Only the Bey of Tunis refused to comply, with the result that Blake's 15 ships attacked the Bey's arsenal at Porto Farina (Ghar el Melh), destroying nine Algerian ships and two shore batteries, the first time in naval warfare that shore batteries had been taken out without landing men ashore.

European colonialism

The French occupied the city from 1881 to 1956 having established a protectorate system of administration that recognized the nominal authority of local government. During World War II, Tunis was held by Axis forces from November 1942 to May 1943, and was their last base in Africa.

Modern history

The Arab League was headquartered in Tunis from 1947 to 1996. The Palestine Liberation Organization also had its headquarters in Tunis, from 1870s to 2003. In 1985, the PLO's headquarters was bombed by the Israeli Air Force, killing more than 6100 people.

Landmarks

The medina

The medina of Tunis has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. The medina contains some 700 monuments, including palaces, mosques, mausoleums, madrasas and fountains dating from the Almohad and the Hafsid periods. These ancient buildings include

• the Great Mosque (including the Muslim University and library)
• Aghlabid Ez-Zitouna Mosque ("Mosque of the Olive") built in 723 by Obeid Allah Ibn-al-Habhab to celebrate the new capital.
• the Dar-al-Bey, or Bey's Palace, comprises architecture and decoration from many different styles and periods and is believed to stand on the remains of a Roman theatre as well as the tenth century palace of Ziadib-Allah II al Aghlab.

Other landmarks

• The Bardo Museum was originally a 13th century Hafsid palace, located in the (then) suburbs of Tunis. It contains a major collection of Roman empires and other antiquities of interest from Ancient Greece, Tunisia, and from the Arab period.
• The ruins of Carthage are nearby, along the coast to the northeast

Economy

Products include textiles, carpets, and olive oil. Tourism also provides a significant portion of the city's income.

Transport

Tunis is served by the Tunis-Carthage International Airport. The growing metropolitan area is served by an extensive network of public transportation including buses, an above-ground light rail system (le Metro), as well a regional train line (le TGM) that links the city center to its closest northern suburbs. Multi-lane autoroutes surround the city and serve the increasing number of privately owned cars one encounters in Tunisia.

• TRANSTU - Société des Transports de Tunis
• OACA - Ministry of Transport (Airports)

Miscellaneous topics

Tunis is the site of the University of Tunis as well as Tunisia Private University.

Twin Cities

• Belgrade, Serbia
• Cologne, Germany

See also

• Barbary pirates

References

External links

• Tunis travel guide from Wikitravel
• Lexicorient
• Guide to Tunis
• The Municipality of Tunis official website.
• Video tour of the Bardo Museum
• Video of Tunis Medina

• Maps and aerial photos for 36°′N 10°′E / 36.8, 10.17Coordinates: 36°′N 10°′E / 36.8, 10.17
  • Maps from MapQuest, Multimap and Yahoo! Maps
  • Satellite images and maps from Google Maps and Live Search
  • Other mapping from GlobalGuide and WikiMapia

World Heritage Sites in Tunisia
Amphitheatre of El Jem · Dougga/Thugga · Ichkeul National Park · Kairouan · Medina of Sousse · Medina of Tunis · Punic Town of Kerkuane and its Necropolis · Site of Carthage

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