Monastir, also called Mestir ( ar, المنستير ', from the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
"hermit's cell,
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
"), is a city on the central coast of
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
, in the
Sahel
The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...
area, some south of
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 ...
and south of
Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
, population_density_km2 =
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 ...
. Traditionally a fishing port, Monastir is now a major tourist resort. Its population is about 93,306. It is the capital of
Monastir Governorate
Monastir Governorate ( ' ) is one of the twenty-four governorates of Tunisia. It is situated in north-eastern Tunisia. It covers an area of 1,019 km2 (393 mi2) and has a population of 548,828 (2014 census). The capital is Monastir.
A ...
.
Geography
Location
Monastir is a
peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
surrounded by 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 the ea ...
on three sides and forming, to the south, the Gulf of Monasti of the same name, which extends to Cap of
Ras Dimass
Ras or RAS may refer to:
Arts and media
* RAS Records Real Authentic Sound, a reggae record label
* Rundfunk Anstalt Südtirol, a south Tyrolese public broadcasting service
* Rás 1, an Icelandic radio station
* Rás 2, an Icelandic radio statio ...
. It offers diverse landscapes, in particular its sandy and rocky beaches as well as a
cliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...
stretching over nearly six kilometers.
History
![MonastirRibat](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/MonastirRibat.jpg)
Monastir was founded on the ruins of 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 ...
–
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 ...
city of
Ruspina Ruspina was a Phoenician, Carthaginian and Roman town near Monastir, Tunisia, situated in Roman times in '' Africa propria'', and mentioned by Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy.
Name
The Phoenician and Punic name () or () seems to mean "Angle Cape" ...
. The city features a well-preserved
Ribat of Monastir
The Ribat of Monastir ( ar, رباط المنستير) is a ribat, an Islamic defensive structure, located in Monastir, Tunisia. It is the oldest ribat built by the Arab conquerors during the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb.[ulema
In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...]
came to stay in the ''ribat'' of this peaceful city for contemplation. The ribat was, in the 1970s, also one of the filming locations for both the
miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
''
Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
'' and
Monty Python
Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...
's ''
Life of Brian
''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (also known as ''Life of Brian'') is a 1979 British comedy film starring and written by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin). It wa ...
''. There are panoramic views of the city taken from a French naval intelligence airship in 1924.
Transportation
The city is on the electrified, metre-gauge
Sahel Metro
The Sahel Train is an electrified, metre gauge railway and suburban rail line with trains serving Sousse and Mahdia, with a spur to Monastir, in Tunisia. The line has overhead electrification at 25 kV, 50 Hz.
Stations
The line's stations ...
line with trains serving
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 ...
and
Mahdia
Mahdia ( ar, المهدية ') is a Tunisian coastal city with 62,189 inhabitants, south of Monastir and southeast of Sousse.
Mahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax
Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located ...
which the city is served by 5 stations of the metro : ''Hôtels Monastir'',''Aéroport Skanès-Monastir'',''Faculté Monastir'',''Monastir'',''Monastir-Zone indistruelle''.
Monastir – Habib Bourguiba International Airport
Monastir Habib Bourguiba International Airport (french: link=no, Aéroport International de Monastir–Habib Bourguiba, AIMHB, ar, مطار الحبيب بورقيبة الدولي) is an airport serving Monastir and Sousse areas in Tunisia. Th ...
has flights from most Western European countries. It is run by
Tepe Akfen Ventures Airport Holding (TAV).
Climate
Monastir 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-ar ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''BSh'') with hot summers, pleasant winters, much sunshine and low rainfall year-round. The city sits in the northeast of Tunisia, on its central coast. It is milder than inland areas of Tunisia, forty percent of which is part of the Sahara. In the summer, while humidity is low, the soaring heat can still be hard to handle. The average high temperature of in June skips past the mark in the middle of the month and rises to in July and August.
Economy
The
industrial
Industrial may refer to:
Industry
* Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry
* Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems
* Industrial city, a city dominate ...
sector,
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
and agriculture constituting the main activities of the population :
The economy of this region is also based on
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
. The 86% of land used for agriculture, of which 13,125 ha are public or private irrigated areas. 450 ha are forests against 4,600 ha for rangelands. The livestock production is around 74,500 head (cattle, goats, sheep). Regarding the main agricultural products, the region produces in particular fishery products (23,983 t / year), red meat, poultry, milk, oil and olive. Olive cultivation covers an area of 60,000 ha. Monastir is also making a reputation for the production of vegetable crops (169,702 t / year) and arboriculture (11,297 t). The development of agriculture is favored by the presence of 8 hill lakes and hill dams. The establishment of a dozen aquaculture sites in the lagoon of Monastir also allows the region to engage in the breeding of sea bream and sea bass.
The tourist sector occupies the third occupation of the population with luxury hotels by the sea, golf courses ... the region attracts many foreign tourists. The tourism sector has more than fifty hotel units with a total accommodation capacity of more than 25,440 beds. These hotels provide 9,000 jobs. In addition to the 8th century ribat, the great mosque, the Bourguiba mosque, the museums, the souk, the Kiriates islands, the city also has other assets such as the marina, diving centers, two golf courses. , a racecourse, night clubs etc. Entertainment abounds between fun and sporting activities. For its last 5 decades, it has attracted tourists by the seaside potential of Saknes. It has two hotel units, a museum, a marine district and the marina. There is also the tourist area of Jinène El Oust which has 6 residential units and the Bekalta area which has 6 hotel units and entertainment lots. In addition, the region's transport infrastructure is also one of the determining factors in the growth of this governorate. Indeed, it has an international airport, a train station, and a metro that connects it to Sousse and
Mahdia
Mahdia ( ar, المهدية ') is a Tunisian coastal city with 62,189 inhabitants, south of Monastir and southeast of Sousse.
Mahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax
Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located ...
. Buses, taxis, rental vehicles also connect it to these two other governorates.
Nouvelair
Nouvelair Limited Company (french: Nouvelair Société Anonyme, ar, الطيران الجديد تونس), trading as Nouvelair Tunisie, or simply Nouvelair, is a Tunisian airline with its registered office in Tunis, while its head office in th ...
has its head office in Monastir in the Dkhila Tourist Zone, near the Hôtel Sahara Beach.
Tunezja, Monastir, wejście do hotelu Rosa Beach - panoramio.jpg
Royal Thalassa Monastir - panoramio.jpg
Skanes - panoramio (4).jpg
Tunezja, Monastir, hotel - panoramio.jpg
Hotel "Esplanade" - panoramio.jpg
Culture
Cultural Heritage
![Monastir73](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Monastir73.jpg)
Monastir has a museum of Islamic arts, inaugurated on August 5, 1958, and which is housed on the first floor of the south wing of the ribat; it contains nearly 300 works (fragments of wood, funerary stelae, polished ceramics, etc.) and receives the visit of almost 100,000 visitors every year.
Music
The ethnomusicologist and clarinetist Hassine Haj Youssef is one of Monastir's most active personalities in the musical field. A disciple of Salah El Mahdi, he is also the father of the violinist and composer Jasser Haj Youssef. He is a professor at the National Conservatory of Monastir and at the Higher Institute of Music of Sousse. He has adapted the method of
Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály (; hu, Kodály Zoltán, ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music edu ...
to the teaching of Arabic music, he is also the producer of several programs of traditional music and anthropology on Radio Monastir and on national television.
Since 2005, he has devoted his time to composition and research on Sufi music in Tunisia.
Education
![Université de Monastir 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Universit%C3%A9_de_Monastir_2.jpg)
The city of Monastir has:
* Five Junior High Schools of basic education: Ali-Bourguiba, Moufida-Bourguiba Imtiez, Salem-Bchir and a pioneer junior high school;
* Four High Schools: Fatouma-Bourguiba, Hedi-Khefacha, Bourguiba and a Pioneer high school (open since the school year 2003–2004).
Monastir is also a university city, incorporating the
University of Monastir
The University of Monastir ( ar, جامعة المنستير) or UM is a Tunisian multidisciplinary university with its own financial and administrative autonomy located in Monastir, Tunisia. It was founded in 2004 following the reform of the unive ...
which was founded on September 2, 2004 and covers the governorates of Monastir and
Mahdia
Mahdia ( ar, المهدية ') is a Tunisian coastal city with 62,189 inhabitants, south of Monastir and southeast of Sousse.
Mahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax
Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located ...
. The university of Monastir includes sixteen faculty departments, of which ten are located in Monastir:
*
Faculty of science
Faculty may refer to:
* Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage)
* Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States)
* Faculty (instrument), an instrument or warra ...
*
Faculty of medicine
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...
*
Faculty of dental medicine
*
Faculty of pharmacy
Faculty may refer to:
* Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage)
* Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States)
* Faculty (instrument), an instrument or warra ...
* The
National Engineering School of Monastir
The National Engineering School of Monastir ( ar, المدرسة الوطنية للمهندسين بالمنستير) or ''ENIM'', is a Tunisian engineering school based in the city of Monastir located in the east of the country. It is part of t ...
* The Higher School of science and technologies of health
* The Higher Institutes of Biotechnology
* The Higher Institutes Computer Science and Mathematics
* The Higher Institutes Fashion Trades
*
The Preparatory Institute for Engineering Studies
The student population of Monastir exceeded 27,000 in 2007–2008, making the city one of the largest in terms of university studies along with
Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
, population_density_km2 =
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 ...
,
Sfax
Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Berber Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterrane ...
and
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 ...
.
Sport
Monastir is represented by the
US Monastir in
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 c ...
and 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 ...
. In 2022, the
US Monastir won the
BAL
Bal may refer to:
* Bal (surname), a Dutch, Indian, and Turkish surname
* Bal, Iran (disambiguation)
* Bal, Zira, a village in Punjab, India
* ''Bal'' (film), a 2010 Turkish film
* Bäl, a settlement on the Swedish island of Gotland
* 8678 Bä ...
after being the finalist in
2021 BAL season
The 2021 BAL season, also known as BAL Season 1, was the inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). Established as a joint effort between the National Basketball Association (NBA) and FIBA, the BAL is the highest tier continental leag ...
.
The monastirian team plays its matches in the ''
Mustapha Ben Jannet stadium'' for the football, and the ''Mohamed-Mzali indoor'' for the basketball.
Notable people
Tunisian ex-president
Habib Bourguiba
Habib Bourguiba (; ar, الحبيب بورقيبة, al-Ḥabīb Būrqībah; 3 August 19036 April 2000) was a Tunisian lawyer, nationalist leader and statesman who led the country from 1956 to 1957 as the prime minister of the Kingdom of T ...
was born in Monastir, and his mausoleum is located in the city.
Many other famous politicians are also from Monastir:
*
Mohamed Mzali
Mohammed Mzali ( ar, محمد مزالي, 23 December 1925 – 23 June 2010) was a Tunisian politician who served as Prime Minister between 1980 and 1986.
Early life
Mzali was born in Monastir, Tunisia on 23 December 1925. His family has ancest ...
,
prime minister of Tunisia
The prime minister of Tunisia ( ar, رئيس حكومة تونس, ra’īs ḥukūmat Tūnis) is the head of the executive branch of the government of Tunisia. The prime minister directs the executive branch along with the president and, together ...
from 1980 to 1986
*
Hedi Amara Nouira, prime minister of Tunisia from 1970 to 1980
Among other notable people:
*
Jawhar Mnari, footballer, born in Monastir and winner of
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...
(2006/2007).
*
Hamza Younés
Hamza Younés ( ar, حمزة يونس; born 16 April 1986) is a Tunisian professional footballer who plays as a striker.
After starting out at Sfaxien in his native country, Younés went on to compete in Romania, Bulgaria, Iran, Greece, Turke ...
, footballer
Twin towns – sister cities
Monastir is
twinned with:
*
Dushanbe
Dushanbe ( tg, Душанбе, ; ; russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (r ...
, Tajikistan
*
Manisa
Manisa (), historically known as Magnesia, is a city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province.
Modern Manisa is a booming center of industry and services, advantaged by its closeness to the international port ci ...
, Turkey
*
Münster
Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...
, Germany
*
Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
Saint-Étienne is the t ...
, France
*
Tétouan
Tétouan ( ar, تطوان, tiṭwān, ber, ⵜⵉⵟⵟⴰⵡⴰⵏ, tiṭṭawan; es, Tetuán) is a city in northern Morocco. It lies along the Martil Valley and is one of the two major ports of Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea, a few miles so ...
, Morocco
*
Tizi Ouzou
Tizi Ouzou or Thizi Wezzu (, Kabyle: Tizi Wezzu) is a city in north central Algeria. It is among the largest cities in Algeria. It is the second most populous city in the Kabylie region after Bejaia.
History
Etymology
The name ''Tizi Ouzou' ...
, Algeria
Gallery
Neighbouring area
Monastir's northeastern territories lead into a place called Route de la Falaise, through which one can reach its most notable suburb, Skanes, which is from Monastir's town centre. Hugging Tunisia's coastline, Skanes is a holiday resort known mostly for its professional golf courses; white, sandy beaches; clear blue sea; and hotels that fuse Moorish architecture with modern designs. It is frequented throughout the summer by tourists from around the world. They also come for the
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, ...
, where it is possible to sample fresh Tunisian cooking and bargain for local goods.
References
Notes
External links
USMonastir.com official web site of the local multi-sports team
Photo gallery of the city of Monastir by French naval intelligence in 1924.
{{Authority control
Cities in Tunisia
Communes of Tunisia
Seaside resorts in Tunisia
Populated places in Monastir Governorate