Hammamet ( ', literally " Baths") is a town in the Nabeul Governorate of

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. Due to its beaches, it is a popular destination for swimming and water sports and is one of the primary

tourist destinations A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...

in Tunisia. It is located in the south-eastern section of Cape Bon. 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 (botanical name: ''Jasminum'', pronounced ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family of Oleaceae. It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are wid ...

, which is the namesake of the tourist resort of Yasmine Hammamet. 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 was held in Hammamet.

History

In the 1st century, there was a settlement here known as Pupput. 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

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

medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

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 frigate), soldier (captain of infantry and then of cavalry), privateer, adventurer and writer, best known as the author of his autobiography; one of the v ...

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. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, it became one of the headquarters of the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

general

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (; 15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944), popularly known as The Desert Fox (, ), was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal) during World War II. He served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of ...

. Festival international d'Hammamet was established in 1964. Former Italian prime minister

Bettino Craxi Benedetto "Bettino" Craxi ( ; ; ; 24 February 1934 – 19 January 2000) was an Italian politician and statesman, leader of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) from 1976 to 1993, and the 45th Prime Minister of Italy, prime minister of Italy from 1 ...

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

, it located to in the coast of Hammamet Golf. Hammamet is limited by Nabeul in northeast, Bou Argoub 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. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface such ...

: 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 city, 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 an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requi ...

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 Yasmine 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 Fishing boat wreck at the shore of Hammamet.png

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, active in her native country and the United States. With a career spanning over 70 years, she is one of the ...

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 Association football, footballer who played as a central midfielder. He began his career at VfB Stuttgart, winning the Bundesliga in 2007, before moving to Real Madrid CF, Re ...

's paternal family is from Hammamet * Italian Fashion Designer Elsa Schiaparelli owned a house in Hammamet

Climate

The climate is very much like the climate in

Sousse Sousse, Sūsah , or Soussa (, ), 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 of Hammamet, which ...

. It borders a Hot-summer

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(Csa) and a Hot

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...

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

, France *

Aqaba Aqaba ( , ; , ) 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 center of the Aqaba Governorate. The city had a population of 148, ...

, Jordan

References

External links

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