Zarzis: Hidden Treasures from the Capital of Olive Trees and Sea Sponge

Zarzis is a coastal and port city in southeast Tunisia.

It lies 540 km south of Tunis. According to the Tunisian National Institute of Statistics the city had a population of approximately 71,000 people in 2004.

Zarzis also has an area of 340 square kilometers.

It is part of the governorate of Medenine. Early in 2011, the city became the scene of massive illegal immigration to Italy by young Tunisians, following the escape of former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Zarzis is located on a peninsula situated in the extreme southeast of Tunisia, near the border with Libya. It sits on the Jifarah plain, a coastal region that starts in the Gulf of Gabes and extends until Eastern Tripoli in Libya.

The city is defined by being a place where the desert intersects the sea. It is possible to find a variety of landscapes with a great diversity of climate conditions in Zarzis. The primary economic activities of Zarzis are tourism, fishing, agriculture and the sea food-processing industry. The island of Djerba is north of Zarzis. The city was built was on the Punic site of Giktis, in the 4th century BC.

Zarzis has a commercial harbor with commercial traffic of two million tons per year. The Zarzis Free Trade Zone was established in 1993, also known as the Zarzis Park of Economic Activities.

Zarzis also enjoys three fishing ports: Zarzis, El Bibane and Hessi El Jerbi. The city has a Berber market in the area of Mouansa.

Many locals in Zarzis are fishermen and tradesmen. Famous figures from the town include Ahmed Ibraham of the Ettajdid political party and Ahmed Friaa who was Ben Ali’s Interior Minister during his final days in power.

The city is nicknamed the capital of olive trees, given the importance of olive trees to the economy of the city, there are 1,228,700 feet of olive trees occupying a surface of 61,335 hectares. In total there are 1,300,000 olive trees in Zarzis.

Zarzis hosts a number of historical monuments, the most prominent is the Museum of Zarzis. The museum is unique in Tunisia in that it combines archaeology and anthropology, as well as ancient and contemporary history in one museum.

The collection is housed in an early 20th century church, Notre Dame de la Garde. Collections exposed in the museum were found from different excavations made in the various archaeological sites of the peninsula of Zarzis which date back to the many civilizations that Zarzis has known: Berber, Punic, Carthiginian, Roman and Islamic.

The museum also tells visitors of the lifestyle of Akkaras (name given to the people of Zarzis) throughout history, their ancestral links to the land, sea and other people from other civilizations through trade. Famous archaeological sites of Zarzis include:

-Zita where excavations started in the early 20th century. It revealed the presence of a Roman square/plaza surrounded by roofed galleries and a tiled courtyard. A temple dedicated to the North African Berber goddess Tanit, the goddess of fertility, birth and growth, was also found with different sculpted statues, marble and memorial stones with Latin and Greek inscriptions, many of which are now housed in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

-Henshir El Kelakh a site situated in the north of Zarzis with two main monuments: a room with rectangular-shaped arches carved inside that is believed to have served as a bath, close to it is an ancient structure in an open field that served as a basin Romans used for bathing.

-Al Kantara Tower: this archaeological monument is situated in the Hessi Jerbi area, near the main road linking Zarzis to the island of Djerba also known as the “Roman Causeway.” The tower is made up of high external jagged edged walls, with steel stairs. It served as a control tower to watch passengers and goods loading in Djerba on boats. The tower also has a roofed gallery with Islamic-style domes. The Roman Causeway crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Djerba was repaved in 1952.

-The Meghara site: Meghara means cave in Arabic. The Meghara has been used for centuries as an olive oil mill, operated by a camel. The cave was dug in rocky land in the area of Ksar Zawiya between the beach and the forest of olive trees.

-Site of Chammakh: an archaeological site situated 13 km north of Zarzis. The site has recently suffered from modern arbitrary structural development. In 1909, French soldiers discovered a Roman statue, bearing a text by the Roman magistrate ordering the building of the seat of government here in 113 B.C. In 1988, 43 relics in good condition were discovered inside a cemetery and are now housed in the Museum of Zarzis.

-Site of the Bibane Tower: the tower is situated near the Lake of Bibane, which was used to control lake and sea road traffic used by salt traders. The tower was cited by several Roman travelers and geographers as “Zinkaris” and “Priasium.”

Zarzis has also been dubbed the Tunisian capital of sea sponge. The city has known this activity since 1875 when Italian and Maltese fishermen came to the port finding sea sponge prized for it’s very high quality.

The first sponging season starts in October and lasts until April in the area next to Bibane Lake. The second season starts in the summer and sponging takes place in the archipelago of Kerkennah, the city of Sfax and the eastern coast of Tunisia.

Zarzis has a special training center for sea fishing, skipper training, and the use of specific equipment for sea diving and sponging.

The Zarzis International Sea Sponge Festival is held annually from late July until early August. It lasts 15 days.

Zarzis is home to a Jewish community of around 100 people, all living in the Jewish quarter of the city near the central market.

Many have jewelry shops and run other businesses such as carpentry and the Shimon Haddad and sons general store, the shop sells natural remedies and other miscellaneous products.

The community is served by the Zarzis Synagogue, built in the early 20th century to host the local Jewish community that numbered approximately1000 people at the time.

The synagogue was subject to an arson attack in 1982 that followed the Israeli occupation of Lebanon and the Sabra and Chatila massacre before it was restored to its original status. Prayers are read in the synagogue every Saturday morning and the synagogue hosts a Yeshiva, a Jewish Torah learning school during the week. The synagogue has a distinctive Andalusian architectural style.

Main touristic areas are Sangho, Souihel and Ogla.

Zarzis is famous for its long sandy beaches stretching over 10 kilometers that are bordered by oases, which gives it spectacular scenery.

The touristic zone of Zarzis has some four and five star hotels that cater to a Western, especially European clientele.

Giktis Hotel is a resort hotel situated in the Sangho area. Other hotels include: Odysee Resort and the Thalasso Hotel, the Vincci Resort Eden Star Hotel is also in the Sangho area.

Source: http://www.tunisia-live.net/2012/01...om-the-capital-of-olive-trees-and-sea-sponge/

Thanks Roulla for posting the beautiful pictures!

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