Béni Khalled is a town and commune in the west of

Nabeul Governorate Nabeul Governorate ( aeb, ولاية نابل ' Tunisian pronunciation: ) is one of the 24 governorates of Tunisia. It is situated in north-eastern Tunisia. It covers an area of 2,788 km2 and has a population of 787,920 (2014 census). T ...

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, about 42 km from the capital

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

. As of 2004 it had a population of 12,573.Recensement de 2004 (Institut national de la statistique)
/ref> Béni Khalled is considered an important agricultural town in the region due to its citrus fruit production; it contributes by about 45% of the total of the national export. It also produces a high percentage of multiple strategic crops including grapes, potatoes and spices as well as raising livestock, milk production and beekeeping. The municipal area covers around 600 ha. In 1999, the commune received Presidential Award "The Cleanest Municipality of Tunisia".

History

The origins of the city of Béni Khalled go back to the Amazighen era, when it had the name "Sholl". It was later influenced by the Punic civilization after the establishment of

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

; epigraphic texts show the history of the municipal system of the city during the

Punic The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

era. The city acquired the Roman municipal system which especially includes municipal councils and ceremonial. No mention has been traced of the city of Béni Khalled in old Arabic sources; there is only some information about the Muslim "conquest" of the

Cape Bon Cape Bon ("Good Cape") is a peninsula in far northeastern Tunisia, also known as Ras at-Taib ( ar, الرأس الطيب), Sharīk Peninsula, or Watan el Kibli; Cape Bon is also the name of the northernmost point on the peninsula, also known as Ra ...

. A short film about the history of Beni Khalled was released by th
Virtual Experience Company
in 2020, and can be foun
HERE

Institutions

Cultural events and institutions

Several cultural events, such as the Spring Festival (held more than 32 times) and the Golden Orange Festival (held for the first time on 14 March 2015), are organized by the city of Béni Khalled. There are three primary schools, a prep school, a secondary school and a private secondary school. Other cultural and youth institutions include a library, Youth and Children's Club House, several kindergartens, 20 mosques, and the Quran House.

Economic institutions

Farming services ARPEL comprise several orange, dates and olive oil roll stations for export. There are six branches of major commercial banks in

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Personalities

The notable personalities of Béni Khalled include: * Amor Chachia, politician * Hmaida Ben Gacem, expert in economics

References