My Tunisia

Abstract

Tunisia is situated on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Nile Delta, with an area of 164,000 square kilometers It is bordered by Algeria on the west and southwest and Libya on the south east. An abrupt southward turn of the Mediterranean coast in northern Tunisia gives the country two distinctive Mediterranean coasts, It has a lengthy Mediterranean coast and is very open to Mediterranean influences. Tunisians are a maritime people and have always maintained extensive contacts by sea with other Mediterranean countries. The main cities are all on the coast, and contemporary development, including tourism, is also concentrated on the coast. Tunisia’s accessible Mediterranean Sea coastline and strategic location have attracted conquerors and visitors through the ages, and its ready access to the Sahara has brought its people into contact with inhabitants of the African interior. According to Greek legend, Dido, a princess of Tyre, was the first outsider to settle among the native tribes of what is now Tunisia when she founded the city of Carthage in the 9th century BCE. Carthage nonetheless grew into one of the great cities and preeminent powers of antiquity, and its colonies and entrepots were scattered throughout the western Mediterranean region. Carthage fought a series of wars with its rival, Rome. Tunisia was called Ifriqiyyah in the early centuries of the Islamic period. That name, in turn, comes from the Roman word for Africa and the name also given by the Romans to their first African colony following the Punic Wars against the Carthaginians in 264–146 BCE. Rome prevailed in the mid-2nd century BCE, razed Carthage, and ruled the region for the following 500 years. In the 7th century Arab conquerors converted the native Berber (Amazigh) population of North Africa to Islam. The area was ruled by a succession of Islamic dynasties and empires until coming under French colonial rule in the late 19th century. After achieving independence in 1956, Tunisia pursued a progressive social agenda and sought to modernize its economy to be an independent country ‘the Republic of Tunisia’ Tunisia’s culture is highly diverse, in part because of long periods of Ottoman and then French rule but also because populations of Jews and Christians have lived among a Muslim majority for centuries. Similarly, the capital, Tunis, blends ancient Arab souks and mosques and modern-style office buildings into one of the most handsome and lively cities in the region. Other cities include Sfax, Sousse, and Gabes on the fertile coast and Kairouan and El-Kef in the arid interior.