Tunis

From Freepedia

Tunis is the capital of Tunisia. It is a mixture of modern city and ancient medina, with a population estimated in 2003 at 699,700 inhabitants.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Sights
4 Economy
5 Transportation
6 Miscellaneous topics
7 See also
8 External links

Geography

Tunis is located in north-eastern Tunisia on the Lake of Tunis, and is close to Mediterranean Gulf of Tunis by a canal which terminates at the port of Halq al Wadi.

Tunis is located at 36°50′ N 10°9′ E (36.8333° N 10.15° E).

History

The historical city of Carthage was located across from the center of modern Tunis.

Under the Almohads and the Hafsids, from the 12th to the 16th century, Tunis was considered one of the greatest and wealthiest cities in the Islamic world.

Tunis became the capital of Tunisia under the Hafsid dynasty, and was a leading center of trade with Europe. The Turks took the city in 1534. However, the former Sultan, Mulai-Hassan, fled to the court of Charles the 5th. Charles agreed to reinstate Mulai-Hassan in exchange for an acceptance of Charles's suzerainty by Mulai-Hassan and a navel expedition was dispatched in 1535. This quickly captured Tunis and the resulting protectorate lasted until the Turks retook it in 1574. After 1591, the Turkish governors (Beys) were virtually independent, and the city prospered as a center of piracy and trade.

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 9 Algerian ships and 2 shore batteries, the first time in naval warfare that shore batteries had been taken out without landing men ashore.

The French occupied the city from 1881 to 1956. During World War II, Tunis was held by Axis forces from November, 1942, to May, 1943, and was their last base in Africa.

The Arab League was headquartered in Tunis from 1979 to 1990. The Palestinian Liberation Organization also had its headquarters in Tunis, from 1982 to 1993. In 1985, the PLO's headquarters was bombed by the Israeli Air Force, killing more than 60 people.

Sights

The ruins of Carthage are nearby, to the northeast
The medina of Tunis is on the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1979
Some 700 monuments, including palaces, mosques, mausoleums, madrasas and fountains dating from the Almohads and the Hafsids periods