Tunisia Way

Sousse is a city of Tunisia. Located 140 km south of Tunis, the city has 220,000 inhabitants (2003 estimate). It is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf of Hammamet, which is a part of the Mediterranean Sea. The name may be of Berber origin: similar names are found in Libya and in the south of Morocco (Bil�d al-Sūs). It is the capital of Sousse Governorate with 540,000 inhabitants (2005 estimate).

Its economy is based on transport equipment, processed food, olive oil, textiles and tourism. It is home to the University of Sousse.

History

In the 7th century A.D. Arab-Islamic armies conquered what is now Tunisia and rapidly spread Arab cultureArabs seized the city, which in the aftermath of Rome's fall was but a remnant of its former self. They renamed the city Sûsa and within a few decades elevated it to the status of main seaport of the Aghlabid Dynasty. across what had been a thoroughly Romanized and Christianized landscape. The When the Aghlabids invaded Sicily in 827, Sûsa was their main staging ground.In the centuries that followed, as Europe gained technological ascendancy and began pushing back at Islam, Sûsa was briefly occupied by the Normans in the 12th century, was later more substantially occupied by the Spanish, and in the 18th century was the target of bombardments by the Venetians and the French. The French renamed the city Sousse.

Despite the turmoil around it, Sousse's character had retained the solidly Arabian look and feel it had assumed in the centuries after Islam's wars of conquest. Today it is considered one of the best examples of seaward-facing fortifications built by the Arabs. Its ribat, a soaring structure that combined the purposes of a minaret and a watch tower, is in outstanding condition and draws visitors from around the world.