Borj El Kebir, also known as Borj El Ghazi Mustapha, is an ancient

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in Houmt El Souk,

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

on the island of

Djerba Djerba (; ar, جربة, Jirba, ; it, Meninge, Girba), also transliterated as Jerba or Jarbah, is a Tunisian island and the largest island of North Africa at , in the Gulf of Gabès, off the coast of Tunisia. It had a population of 139,544 a ...

. It is the largest and best preserved local castle, and is one of the most visited historical sites on the island.

Etymology

The name Borj El Ghazi Mustapha comes from the

Qaid Qaid ( ar , قائد ', "commander"; pl. '), also spelled kaid or caïd, is a word meaning "commander" or "leader." It was a title in the Norman kingdom of Sicily, applied to palatine officials and members of the ''curia'', usually to those w ...

who settled in Djerba in 1559. This qaid extended the castle and gives it its actual architecture.

Localistation

The castle is located in the

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

of Houmt El Souk near the fishing port.

History

It was built in the end of the 14th century over the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Griba, after the deportation of the soldiers of

Alfonso V of Aragon Alfonso the Magnanimous (139627 June 1458) was King of Aragon and King of Sicily (as Alfonso V) and the ruler of the Crown of Aragon from 1416 and King of Naples (as Alfonso I) from 1442 until his death. He was involved with struggles to the t ...

following the orders of the

hafsid The Hafsids ( ar, الحفصيون ) were a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Berber descentC. Magbaily Fyle, ''Introduction to the History of African Civilization: Precolonial Africa'', (University Press of America, 1999), 84. who ruled Ifriqiya (western ...

sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. In 1450, the castle got extended. On July 28, 1881, during the French occupation, French troops settled in the castle after invading the island. In 1903, it became a property of the Tunisian authorities who gave it the status of a national historical monument on March 15, 1904 and transformed it into a museum. Restoration started in 1969 and was completed by the early 1980s.

Description

The borj has a rectangular form. Nowadays, the monument has two

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

s: Sidi saad, and Ghazi Mustapha, for Ghazi Mustapha Bey.Kamel Tmarzizet, op. cit., p. 153

Gallery

Borj ghazi Mustapha002.jpg, Entrance of castle Borj El Kebir on Djerba (Tunisia).jpg, View of the walls Borj Ghazi Mustapha.JPG, One of the towers of the castle Borj Ghazi Mustapha5.jpg, Sidi Saad and Ghazi Mustapha mausoleums Borj Ghazi Mustapha4.jpg, The hall Borj Ghazi Mustapha3.jpg, An old tool found in 1975

References

{{coord, 33.5302, N, 10.5137, E, source:dewiki_region:TN_scale:2000_type:landmark, format=dms, display=title Djerba Castles in Tunisia