Sousse or Soussa ( ar, سوسة, ;

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–19 ...

:''Susa'') is a city in

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

, capital of the

Sousse Governorate Sousse Governorate ( ' ) is one of the twenty-four governorates (provinces) of Tunisia. It is beside the eastern coast of Tunisia in the north-east of the country and covers an area of 2,621 km2 and has a population of 674,971 (2014 census). ...

. Located south of the capital

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

, the city has 271,428 inhabitants (2014). Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf of Hammamet, which is a part of the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

. Its economy is based on transport equipment, processed food,

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: ...

, textiles, and tourism. It is home to the

Université de Sousse The University of Sousse ( ar, جامعة سوسة) is a public university in Sousse, Tunisia. History The University of Sousse was created in 2004 from a division of the University of the Center, which had been created in 1991 from the Unive ...

Toponymy

''Sousse'' and ''Soussa'' are both French spellings of the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

name ''Sūsa'', which may derive from

(cf., e.g.,

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

Sous River The Sous River, Sus River or Souss River ( Berber: Asif en Sus, Arabic: واد سوس) is a river in mid-southern Morocco located in the Sous region. It originates in the High Atlas and flows west passing Aoulouz, Taroudannt, Oulad Teima, Inezga ...

and

Region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

). The present city has also grown to include the ruins of

Hadrumetum Hadrumetum, also known by many variant spellings and names, was a Phoenician colony that pre-dated Carthage. It subsequently became one of the most important cities in Roman Africa before Vandal and Umayyad conquerors left it ruined. In the early ...

, which had many names in several languages during

antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...

.Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World, Gazeteer, page 511, Map 33 Theveste-Hadrumetum, Compiled by R.B. Hitchner, 1997, in file BATL033_.PDF i
B_ATLAS.ZIP
fro
Princeton University Press , Subjects

, Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. R.J.A. Talbert, ed.
Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World, Edited by Richard J. A. Talbert , Map-by-Map Directory
ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) Report – The Medina of Sousse
fro
Site Officiel de la Ville de Sousse , Découvrir Sousse

Histoire et Patrimoine , Sousse Patrimoine Mondial de l'humanité
.Sousse Archaeological Bulletin
"SOCIÉTÉ ARCHÉOLOGIQUE DE SOUSSE, Assemblée générale du 29 Février 1903, Extraits des procès-verbaux des réunions." etc., fro
''Institut National du Patrimoine Tunisie'' / National Heritage Institute (INP) , Digital Library , Sousse Archaeological Bulletin
(near bottom of page).

Geography

Sousse is in the center of

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

Tunisian Sahel The Tunisian Sahel ( ar, الساحل) or more precisely the Central East Tunisia Region is an area of central eastern Tunisia and one of the six Tunisian regions. It stretches along the eastern shore, from Hammamet in the north to Mahdia ...

coast and on the

bordering the east of the country. The city covers 45 km2 and is 25 meters above sea level. Sousse is between two

wadi Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water ...

s: the Wadi Bliban (and its tributary the Wadi al-Kharrub) to the north and northwest and the Wadi al-Halluf to the southeast. The subsoil is mostly sedimentary with some deep alluvial deposits, which are more recent closer to the coast. Winters are generally mild, there is an average of 69 days of rainfall per year, and there is a lot of sunshine year-round with relatively few cloudy days.

Administration

The Municipality of Sousse is the capital of a

governorate A governorate is an administrative division of a state. It is headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is often used in translation from ...

that extends over 2669. It is divided into four municipal districts: ''Sousse Nord'', ''Sousse Sud'', ''Sousse Médina'' and ''Sousse Riadh''. The first two were created on 11 February 1976 and the last two on 19 February 1982. Its main constituencies and

Delegation Delegation is the assignment of authority to another person (normally from a manager to a subordinate) to carry out specific activities. It is the process of distributing and entrusting work to another person,Schermerhorn, J., Davidson, P., Poole ...

are four in number: Sousse Sidi Abdelhamid, Sousse Médina, Sousse Jawhara and Sousse Riadh. Its geographic code is 31.

History

Hadrumetum

In the 11th centuryBC, Tyrians established

as a trading post and waypoint along their trade routes to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medi ...

. Its establishment (at a river mouth about north of old Sousse).. preceded

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 ...

's but, like other western Phoenician colonies, it became part of the

Carthaginian Empire Carthage () was a settlement in modern Tunisia that later became a city-state and then an empire. Founded by the Phoenicians in the ninth century BC, Carthage reached its height in the fourth century BC as one of the largest metropolises in ...

following 's long siege of Tyre in the 580s and 570sBC. The city featured in the

Third Sicilian War The Sicilian Wars, or Greco-Punic Wars, were a series of conflicts fought between ancient Carthage and the Greek city-states led by Syracuse, Sicily over control of Sicily and the western Mediterranean between 580 and 265 BC. Carthage's econo ...

, the

Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ea ...

and Third Punic Wars (in the latter of which it secured additional territory and special privileges by aiding

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

against what was left of the Carthaginians), and

Caesar's Civil War Caesar's civil war (49–45 BC) was one of the last politico-military conflicts of the Roman Republic before its reorganization into the Roman Empire. It began as a series of political and military confrontations between Gaius Julius Caesar an ...

, when it was the scene of Caesar's famously deft recovery: upon tripping while coming ashore, he dealt with the poor

omen An omen (also called ''portent'') is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. It was commonly believed in ancient times, and still believed by some today, that omens bring divine messages fr ...

this threatened to become by grabbing handfuls of dirt and proclaiming "I have you now, Africa!" ( la, Teneo te Africa!) The second city in Roman Africa after Carthage, it became the capital of the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

of Byzacena during the Diocletianic Reforms. Its native sons included the jurist

Salvius Julianus Lucius Octavius Cornelius Publius Salvius Iulianus Aemilianus (c. 110 – c. 170), generally referred to as Salvius Julianus, or Julian the Jurist, or simply Julianus, was a well known and respected jurist, public official, and politician who ser ...

, the emperor

Clodius Albinus Decimus Clodius Albinus ( 150 – 19 February 197) was a Roman imperial pretender between 193 and 197. He was proclaimed emperor by the legions in Britain and Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula, comprising modern Spain and Portugal) after the murd ...

, and numerous

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orth ...

. The Roman and Byzantine

catacombs Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred ...

beneath the city are extensive. The

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...

sacked Hadrumetum in 434 but it remained a place of importance within their kingdom; a bishop and

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

were martyred there during the Vandals' periodic forced conversions of their subjects to

Arianism Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...

. The

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

reconquered the town in 534 during the Vandal War and engaged in a public works program that included new fortifications and churches. The town was sacked during the

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...

's 7th-century conquest of North Africa. According to a 1987 ICOMOS report,

Uqba ibn Nafi ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ ibn ʿAbd al-Qays al-Fihrī al-Qurashī ( ar, عقبة بن نافع بن عبد القيس الفهري القرشي, ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ ibn ʿAbd al-Qays al-Fihrī), also simply known as Uqba ibn Nafi, was an Arab general ser ...

's siege and capture of the city resulted in its almost complete destruction, such that no monument of Hadrumetum "subsists in situ".

Medieval Susa

Muslim Arab armies rapidly spread

Arab culture Arab culture is the culture of the Arabs, from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean in the southeast. The various religions the Ara ...

across what had been a thoroughly Romanized and Christianized landscape. Under the

Aghlabids The Aghlabids ( ar, الأغالبة) were an Arab dynasty of emirs from the Najdi tribe of Banu Tamim, who ruled Ifriqiya and parts of Southern Italy, Sicily, and possibly Sardinia, nominally on behalf of the Abbasid Caliph, for about a ...

, Susa was established near the ruins of Hadrumetum and served as their main port. Their 827 invasion of Sicily was mainly launched from the town's harbor. After the Byzantine city of Melite (modern

Mdina Mdina ( mt, L-Imdina ; phn, 𐤌𐤋𐤈, Maleṭ; grc, Μελίττη, Melíttē; ar, مدينة, Madīnah; ), also known by its Italian-language titles ("Old City") and ("Notable City"), is a fortified city in the Northern Region of Ma ...

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 ...

) was captured by the Aghlabids in 870,

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

from its churches was used to build the Ribat. A soaring structure that combined the purposes of a minaret and a watch tower, it remains in outstanding condition and draws visitors from around the world. Its mosque is sometimes accounted the oldest surviving in the region and the town's main mosque, also built during the 9th century, has a similarly fortress-like appearance. Susa was briefly occupied by

Norman Sicily Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Nor ...

in the 12th century; it fell to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

in the 16th; and it was bombarded by a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

fleet in the 18th. Medieval Susa was known for its textile industries, producing silk and

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...

fabrics called ''Sūsī''. Especially renowned were its robes called , some of which were mass-produced and sold ready-to-wear throughout the Mediterranean. After the decline of Mahdia in the 15th and 16th centuries, Susa remained as the most important town in the Sahel region, with a population of about 15,000.

Colonial Sousse

Tunisia became a French protectorate in 1881. Around the end of the 19th century, Sousse had a population of 7,000 and was the second-most-important city in Tunisia after Tunis itself. At this point, the entire population of Sousse lived in the walled ''medina''. The medina was surrounded by agricultural settlements, two of which -

Kala Kebira Kala or Kalah may refer to: Religion Hinduism *Kāla, a Sanskrit word meaning ''time'' *Kāla, a Hindu deity of time, destiny, death and destruction closely related to Yama and Shiva. *Kalā, a Sanskrit word meaning ''performing arts'' * Kala Bo ...

and

Msaken M'saken ( ''Msākan''; also spelled ''Masakin'', ''Msaken'') is a town in north-eastern Tunisia, close to Sousse. Etymology The origin of the word comes from "Msaken" masken (plural masken) meaning "habitat", "house" or "dwelling". This ref ...

- were more densely populated than the city itself. The French Protectorate reinforced Sousse's role as a commercial and administrative center by establishing public buildings, enlarging the city's port, and building railways. Between 1896 and 1911, railways were built connecting Sousse with Tunis, Kairouan, Sfax, Mahdia, Moknin, and Henshir Suwatir. Food industries were also established in the city. Before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Sousse had about 25,000 inhabitants, including around 10,000 French and roughly 5,000 other Europeans, mostly Italians and Maltese. The port was the garrison of the 4th Tunisian Rifle Regiment. The first developments outside the ''medina'' walls were begun during this period, but they were home to a relatively small number of people until after the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

. Sousse was devastated by the war and suffered 39 bombardments between December 1942 and May 1943. In 1946, after the war was over, the authorities decided to give a high priority to reconstruction efforts in Sousse.

Modern Sousse

When Tunisia became independent in 1956, Sousse was made a ''wilayah'' capital and it continued to expand in all directions. Over the course of the 20th century, its growth was explosive: from just 8,577 residents in 1885, it had grown to 134,835 residents in 1994. Its physical area had also increased massively, from a compact 29

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre i ...

s in 1881 to 3,100 hectares in 1992. The

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

and

tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

sectors of the economy also grew accordingly. Sousse has retained the Arabian look and feel it assumed in the centuries after its initial conquest. Today it is considered one of the best examples of seaward-facing fortifications built by the Arabs. With a population of about 200,000, Sousse retains a medieval heart of narrow, twisted streets, a kasbah 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, ...

, its ''ribat'' fortress and long wall on the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

. Surrounding it is a modern city of long, straight roads and more widely spaced buildings. Sousse was the site of the chess interzonal in 1967, made famous when American Grandmaster

Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11� ...

withdrew from the tournament even though he was in first place at the time. On 26 June 2015, a lone gunman, Seifeddine Rezgui Yacoubi, opened fire on tourists sunbathing on a beach near the Riu Imperial Marhaba and Soviva hotels, killing 38 and wounding 39, before being shot dead by the police.

Cityscape

Demography

As of 2019, Sousse's population was 737,027. Males represent 50.1% of the population structure (with a population of 509,456) against 49.9% by females (with a population of 507,426) in 2014.

Public services

The city contains the University of Sousse, formerly known as the University of the Center, including its Ibn El Jazzar, Faculty of Medicine, the Sousse National School of Engineers, and the Higher Institute of Music of Sousse, founded in 1999. There are a number of high schools, such as the pilot high school of Sousse, the boys' high school, the Tahar-Sfar high school (formerly the young girls' high school), the 20 – March 1934 high school (technical high school), the Abdelaziz-El-Bahi high school or the Jawhara high school, and colleges, such as the Pilot College of Sousse, the Mohamed El Aroui College and the Constantine College. Sousse is served by a hospital, the Hospital of Sahloul, the largest in the region. Hôpital Sahloul Sousse, juin 2013.jpg CHU Sahloul, Sousse Tunisie 2013.JPG CHU Sahloul, Sousse 13 avril 2016.jpg

Economy

Sousse's most important economic activity takes place in the tertiary sector, which employs over 50% of the city's workforce and includes administration, education, healthcare, trade, communications, and banking. Not far behind is the

secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in construc ...

, which employs another 45% of the city's workers and includes industries like textiles and leather, construction, chemicals, electronics, and mechanical and electrical components. The small remainder is engaged in the

primary sector The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining. The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy ...

, mainly fishing. Although smaller than the port in Sfax, Sousse has a port that serves an important commercial outlet for central Tunisia, particularly for the regions around Kairouan and Kasserine. Sousse is the third largest city in Tunisia after

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

and Sfax. Although it is associated with

manufacture and has other industries, tourism predominates today. An

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ' ...

grove covering more than constitutes one of its main riches since

. The busy port near downtown adds a touch of liveliness to its activity. Sousse also had many

oil well An oil well is a drillhole boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas ma ...

s in the area during its colonial period.

Tourism

Sousse is an important tourist resort. It has a

hot semi-arid climate 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- ...

, with the seaside location moderating the climate, making it an all-season resort with hot, dry summers and warm, mild, wet winters. The fine sandy beaches are backed by orchards and

groves. Only from Monastir and Monastir Habib Bourguiba International Airport, hotel complexes with a capacity of 40,000 beds extend from the old city (

) north along the seafront to

Port El Kantaoui Port El Kantaoui ( ar, مرسى القنطاوي) is a tourist complex 10 kilometres north of Sousse city in central Tunisia. It was built in 1979 specifically as a tourist center, around a large artificial harbour that provides mooring with 340 ...

. Some 1,200,000 visitors come every year to enjoy its hotels and restaurants, nightclubs, casinos, beaches, and sports facilities. Sousse is considered a popular tourist destination, especially due to its nightlife. Well-known nightclubs include Bora Bora, Living, Rediguana, Platinum, and The Saloon. The top producers and DJs in dance come to play at the various clubs. The season traditionally begins at the start of June and finishes on the first weekend of October with the closing parties. Beach in Sousse.jpg ElHana Beach 3* Sousse - вид с крыши на территорию отеля - panoramio.jpg Hôtel Riadh Palm Sousse, 4 mars 2017.jpg Windy w hotelu Royal Salem - panoramio.jpg Muraille Sousse du côté du Ribat.JPG Plage boujafar sousse.JPG Zjeżdżalnie w hotelu Marhaba Royal Salem - panoramio.jpg Riadh Palm Sousse.jpg Отель Марабу, Тунис - panoramio.jpg Sun set BOUJAAFAR3.jpg Sus more.jpg

Transport

Sousse is well-connected with the main Tunisian Railways network, having non-electrified lines to

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

(since 1899), Sfax (since 1911), and

Kasserine Kasserine ( ar, القصرين, al-Qasrīn, Tunisian Arabic: ڨصرين ') is the capital city of the Kasserine Governorate, in west-central Tunisia. It is situated below Jebel ech Chambi ( جبل الشعانبي), Tunisia's highest mountain. It ...

(since 2004) with

diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

and

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the ...

-driven trains. The main Gare Sousse terminus is in the city center, while Gare Kalaa Seghira serves a bypass route. Since 2010 the electrified Sahel Metro line goes south to Monastir Habib Bourguiba International Airport, Monastir, and Mahdia. This line has the

Sousse - Bab Jadid 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 ...

station as its northern terminus in Sousse's city center, and 4 additional stations in the city. Intercity buses and red-strip microbuses (so-called ''

louage A louage is a minibus share taxi in Tunisia. In French, the name means "rental." Departing only when filled with passengers not at specific times, they can be hired at stations. Louage ply set routes, and fares are set by the government. In cont ...

s'') connect Sousse with many cities in Tunisia. Urban transit in Sousse is served by routes of articulated and conventional buses, blue-strip louages, and cheap taxis. The Sousse–Kairouan Decauville railway operated from 1882 to 1996, before it was regauged to gauge.

Sights

Medina

, surrounded by its city walls and fortifications, is of historical interest. The medina includes open and covered bazaars (souks). Buildings of historical interest include the ''ribat'' castle, the central mosque, and a historical museum in the Casbah with mosaics from the area's many Roman villas. The Carthaginian

can be visited.

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

declared the

of Sousse a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

in 1988, citing among various things its preservation from modern development.

Port Kantaoui

The Kantaoui Port, is a touristic station in the form of a Port. It was built in 1979 specifically as a tourist center. The architecture, although modern and dazzlingly white, has been modeled on the more traditional buildings in Tunisia, complete with narrow streets and arches. The hotels that line the beachfront extend from Sousse itself along miles of sparkling clean sea to the harbor of Port El Kantaoui and to the north of the harbor. DevantEntreePortEl-Kantaoui.JPG Entrance of the Port El Kantaoui.jpg Port El Kantaoui - panoramio (34).jpg Port El Kantaoui - panoramio (35).jpg Dock of Port El Kantaoui.JPG El Kantaaoui marina from the tower - panoramio.jpg

Religious buildings

Great Mosque

Located at the entrance to the medina, it was erected by the Aghlabid sovereign Aboul Abbas I (841–856) in 850–851, almost thirty years after the construction of the Ribat of Sousse. This mosque is the most emblematic of a city that became a few years after the reign of Ziadet-Allah I (817–838), the second city of Ifriqiya and the Sahel. Subsequently, the building is enlarged during the reign of Ibrahim II (875–902).

Other religious sights

* Bou Ftetah Mosque * Médersa El Zaqqaq * Église Saint-Félix Mosquée Bou Ftetah, medina de Sousse, 30 septembre 2013 (04).jpg, Mosquée Bou Fetatah Zouia Al Zouqaq, Sousse, 30 septembre 2013 (06).jpg, Minaret Al Zaqqaq Église Saint Félix Sousse, Tunisie 2013.JPG, Saint Félix Cathedral

Sport

Sousse is represented by Étoile Sportive du Sahel, a large multisport club.

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

is the city's most popular sport, and ES Sahel has won the Tunisian football championship ten times and the

Tunisian Cup The Tunisian Cup , officially named the President's Cup, is the official competition of the Cup in Tunisian football and is considered the second most important local title after the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1. The first cup competition was ...

ten times. The team's home ground is

Stade Olympique de Sousse The Stade Olympique de Sousse is a multi-purpose stadium in Sousse, Tunisia. It is used by the football team Étoile du Sahel, and was used for the 2004 African Cup of Nations. The stadium holds 40,000 people. It hosts within it the meetings ...

Handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

are also popular.

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies Sousse's climate as

hot semi-arid Hot or the acronym HOT may refer to: Food and drink *Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality *Hot, a wine tasting descriptor Places *Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand ** Hot subdistrict, a sub-district of Hot Distric ...

(''BSh'') bordering with

hot-summer Mediterranean 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 cool semi-arid (''BSk''). The highest recorded temperature was on 28 August 2007, while the lowest recorded temperature was on 27 December 1993.

Notable people

or Julian the Jurist, a master jurist, public official, and politician who served in the Roman imperial state under four successive emperors. *

Primasius of Hadrumetum Primasius (died around 560) was bishop of Hadrumetum and primate of Byzacena, in Africa. One of the participants in the Three Chapters Controversy, his commentary on the Book of Revelation is of interest to modern scholars for its use of the lost co ...

, Roman bishop and exegete, noted for his Commentary on the Apocalypse *

Mohamed Ghannouchi Mohamed Ghannouchi ( ar, محمد الغنوشي ''Muhammad Al-Ghannushi''; born 18 August 1941) is a Tunisian politician who was Prime Minister of Tunisia from 1999 to 2011. Regarded as a technocrat, Ghannouchi was a long-standing figure in th ...

, former prime minister * Hamadi Jebali, former prime minister * Aymen Abdennour, footballer * Makrem Ben Romdhane, basketball player *

Dov Alfon Dov Alfon ( he, דב אלפון) (born 1961) is an Israeli journalist and author. He was the chief editor of Kinneret Zmora-Bitan Dvir, Israel's largest publishing house. From 2008 to 2011, he was editor in chief of ''Haaretz'', a respected Israel ...

, author and journalist * Marcel Dadi, guitarist who died in the TWA accident of 1996. *

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ( ar, زين العابدين بن علي, translit=Zayn al-'Ābidīn bin 'Alī; 3 September 1936 – 19 September 2019), commonly known as Ben Ali ( ar, بن علي) or Ezzine ( ar, الزين), was a Tunisian politician ...

former President

In films

Sousse's old city has aspects that made it an ideal film location. Most famous is ''

Raiders of the Lost Ark ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. It stars Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ro ...

'' (1981), where Sousse represents

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

, though its architectural style, white-washed houses with blue details, bears no resemblance to Cairo's.

Twin towns – sister cities

Sousse is twinned with: *

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious commune in the Parisian area, located from its centre. It is a subprefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department and t ...

, France *

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

, Germany * Constantine, Algeria *

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...

, Turkey *

Latakia , coordinates = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = 11 , elevation_ft = , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code = Country code: 963 City code: 41 , geocode ...

, Syria *

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

, Slovenia *

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...

, Morocco *

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...

, France *

Thiès Thiès (; ar, ثيس, Ṯyass; Noon language, Noon: ''Chess'') is the third largest city in Senegal with a population officially estimated at 320,000 in 2005. It lies east of Dakar on the N2 road (Senegal), N2 road and at the junction of railwa ...

, Senegal *

Weihai Weihai (), formerly called Weihaiwei (), is a prefecture-level city and major seaport in easternmost Shandong province. It borders Yantai to the west and the Yellow Sea to the east, and is the closest Chinese city to South Korea. Weihai's popul ...

, China

Gallery

Av. Hedi Chaker, Sousse, Tunisia.JPG Вечерний Сусс - вид из номера 750 ElHana Beach 3* - panoramio.jpg Sousse1.jpg Тунис-2011. отдых начался... - panoramio (2).jpg كرنيش بوجعفر سوسة - panoramio.jpg Fete de la republique & l'ntree du mois d'awessou.jpg Port of sousse 2.jpg Sousse Ribat Aussicht.JPG

References

External links

Official: * * > 'Sousse Patrimoine Mondial de l'humanité' and 'Sousse dans l'histoire' * * General references and travel guides: *
Interactive Virtual Tour of Sousse
* Photographs: *

{{Authority control Cities in Tunisia Archaeological sites in Tunisia Communes of Tunisia Seaside resorts in Tunisia Mediterranean port cities and towns in Tunisia Ports and harbours of the Arab League Transport in the Arab League Sousse Governorate

Toponymy

Geography

Administration

History

Hadrumetum

Medieval Susa

Colonial Sousse

Modern Sousse

Cityscape

Demography

Public services

Economy

Tourism

Transport

Sights

Medina

Port Kantaoui

Religious buildings

Great Mosque

Other religious sights

Sport

Climate

Notable people

In films

Twin towns – sister cities

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links