Hammamet ( ar, حمامات ', literally " Baths") is a town in

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

. Thanks to its beaches, it is a popular destination for swimming and water sports and is one of the primary tourist destinations in Tunisia. It is located in the south-eastern section of

Cap 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 ...

and is part of the Nabeul Governorate. The reported number of inhabitants varies from 100,000 to 400,000 and the population quadruples due to tourists' arrival in the summer. It is particularly known for

jasmine Jasmine ( taxonomic name: ''Jasminum''; , ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely cultiva ...

, which is the namesake of the tourist resort of

Yasmine Hammamet Hammamet ( ar, حمامات ', literally " Baths") is a town in Tunisia. Thanks to its beaches, it is a popular destination for swimming and water sports and is one of the primary tourist destinations in Tunisia. It is located in the south-easte ...

. All over Hammamet, souvenirs crafted from jasmine can be found. Around Hammamet, suburbs are being built as migrants from the southern region of the country come to find employment. As a popular tourist destination, the city is economically important to Tunisia. The 2005

World Scout Conference The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 173 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have around 43 million participants. WOS ...

was held in Hammamet.

History

In the 1st century, there was a settlement here known as

Pupput Pupput, also spelled "Putput", "Pudput", "Pulpud" and "Pulpite" in Latin, sometimes located in Souk el-Obiod ou Souk el-Abiod ( ar, أبيض or "white market"), is a Colonia in the Roman province of Africa which has been equated with an archaeolo ...

. It was a town (now in the suburbs of Hammamet) that became a

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 ...

colony in the 2nd century. In the 13th century, walls around town were built and

medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

of Hammamet was built in the 15th century. Then it came under Spanish and Turkish rule. In 1601 it was the object of a successful Spanish attack. At that time the Spanish name for the place was "La Mahometa".

Alonso de Contreras Alonso de Contreras (Madrid, Spain, 6 January 1582 - 1641), was a Spanish sailor (captain of a frigate), soldier (captain of infantry and then of cavalry), privateer, adventurer and writer, best known as the author of his autobiography; one of the ...

participated and tells the story in his autobiography. Three hundred men took seven hundred prisoners, mostly women, and children because most of the men in the town had fled. On 14 August 1605 there was another Spanish attack in which Contreras also participated but this time the result was disastrous for the attackers. It was carried out by six

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

s, four from

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, six from

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

carrying Spanish and other Christian troops. The initial taking of the town was successful as the Spanish managed to climb the walls and open the gates but then there was an unexpected call to retreat – it could not be later determined where or how it originated. In the confusion, the retreat fell into disorder and the Spanish were massacred at the beach by a much smaller number of Moors. There were 1200 men gathered at the beach trying to get back to their ships but the wind had changed and conditions were difficult. The leader of the expedition,

Adelantado ''Adelantado'' (, , ; meaning "advanced") was a title held by Spanish nobles in service of their respective kings during the Middle Ages. It was later used as a military title held by some Spain, Spanish ''conquistadores'' of the 15th, 16th and 17 ...

de Castilla, lost his life as he tried to swim out to the Spanish ships and as the captain in charge of his skiff fled and ignored his calls for help. That captain was later court-martialed and, when it became clear he would be sentenced to death, his own brother poisoned him. This story and more details can be found in Contreras' autobiography. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, it became one of the headquarters of the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

general

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...

Festival international d'Hammamet The Hammamet International Festival (french: Festival international d'Hammamet) ( ar, مهرجان الحمامات الدولي) is an annual festival of music and art in the coastal city of Hammamet in Tunisia. It was established in 1964 and i ...

was established in 1964. Former Italian prime minister

Bettino Craxi Benedetto "Bettino" Craxi ( , , ; 24 February 1934 – 19 January 2000) was an Italian politician, leader of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) from 1976 to 1993, and the 45th prime minister of Italy from 1983 to 1987. He was the first PSI membe ...

moved to Hammamet in 1994 as a fugitive. He died and was buried there in 2000.

Geography

Hammamet is located in Nabeul Governorate in the east of

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

, it located to in the coast of Hammamet Golf. Hammamet is limited by

Nabeul Nabeul (; ar, نابل ,Tamazight: ⵏⴰⴱⴻⵍ), is a coastal town located in northeastern Tunisia, on the south coast of the Cape Bon peninsula and surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea on both sides. It is the first seaside resort in Tunisia ...

in northeast,

Bou Argoub Bou Argoub is a town and commune in the Nabeul Governorate, Tunisia. As of 2004 it had a population of 10,331.

in North and Grombalia in northwest. Hammamet CentreVille 2014 09

Transport

Hammamet is located near of two

airports An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

: Tunis-Carthage Airport (70 km) and Enfidha Airport (50 km). A fast and comfortable coach service runs from Tunis bus station. In and around town, hail a taxi.

Tourism

Tourism represents a big sector of the city's economy. There are many touristic sites in Hammamet:

Yassmine Hammamet

Yassmine Hammamet is a

seaside resort A seaside resort is a resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, suc ...

developed in the late 1990s. It's a touristic station modeled on Port El-Kantaoui located in the Gulf of Hammamet. It was Developed by the ''Société d'études et de développement d'Hammamet-Sud'' (SEDHS), and covers 277 hectares.Insaf Boughediri, « Tunisie : Yasmine Hammamet malade de ses hôtels ? », ''Business News'', 14 juillet 2009
/ref> Yassmine Hammamet has 11 hotels of 5 stars, 25 hotels of 4 stars and 8 hotels of 3 stars. A reproduction of an Arab medina called ''Medina Mediterranea'', with its ramparts, souks, traditional housing, a theme park (Carthage Land) and a conference center have been set up. In addition, two casinos, seven thalassotherapy centers, a 1.5-kilometer long esplanade with its shopping malls, green spaces and entertainment centers complete the resort's layout. 2007-11-21-Yasmine-Hammamet-2.JPG 2007-11-21-Yasmine-Hammamet-9.JPG Avenue Bordant le front de mer à Yasmine Hammamet.jpg Hammamet Yasmine R02.jpg Promenade de minuit, Yasmine Hammamet, oct 2010 - panoramio.jpg Uferpromenade von Yasemine Hammamet, Januar 2015.JPG Vue sur la mer à Yasmine Hammamet.jpg

Others tourist resorts

Hammamet has others tourist resorts like Hammamet Nord, Hammamet Sud and the Medina.

Festival

Hammamet is served by the Hammamet International Festival; a big Festival that takes place in summer.

Gallery

Old city hammamet.jpg Remparts de la médina arabe d'Hammamet, septembre 2013, 06.jpg Les Orangers 4* Hammamet - Вид на пляж и новый корпус - panoramio.jpg Yasmine Hammamet, Tunisia - panoramio (2).jpg Hammamet (65103181).jpeg Yasmine Hammamet at night - panoramio.jpg Yassemine Hammamet Tunisie juillet 2017 DSC 5434.jpg CarthagelandYamineHammamet 06.jpg Yasmine Hammamet, Tunisia - panoramio.jpg Hammamet Yasmine R01.jpg

Notable people

, former Italian Prime Minister *

Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...

, whose painting ''Hammamet with its Mosque'' (1918) is in the Berggruen Klee Collection *

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...

has a house situated on the beach just outside Hammamet centre * German footballer

Sami Khedira Sami Khedira (; born 4 April 1987) is a German former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. He began his career at VfB Stuttgart, winning the Bundesliga in 2007, before moving to Real Madrid in 2010. In his five seasons i ...

's paternal family is from Hammamet * Italian Fashion Designer

Elsa Schiaparelli Elsa Schiaparelli ( , also , ; 10 September 1890 – 13 November 1973) was a fashion designer from an Italian aristocratic background. She created the house of Schiaparelli in Paris in 1927, which she managed from the 1930s to the 1950s. ...

owned a house in Hammamet

Climate

The climate is very much like the climate in

Sousse Sousse or Soussa ( ar, سوسة, ; Berber:''Susa'') is a city in Tunisia, capital of the Sousse Governorate. Located south of the capital Tunis, the city has 271,428 inhabitants (2014). Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf ...

. It borders a Hot-summer

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(Csa) and a Hot

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

climate (BSh) due to dry ground and hot temperatures in the summer.

International relations

Twin towns and sister cities

Hammamet is twinned with: *

Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the principal city of the ...

, France *

Aqaba Aqaba (, also ; ar, العقبة, al-ʿAqaba, al-ʿAgaba, ) is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on the Gulf of Aqaba. Situated in southernmost Jordan, Aqaba is the administrative centre of the Aqaba Govern ...

, Jordan

References

External links

tripadvisor.com: Getting around Hammamet
{{Authority control Populated places in Tunisia Communes of Tunisia Seaside resorts in Tunisia