Tabarka

The city enjoys an exceptional site: a gulf protected by a cone-shaped island and surrounded by the Kroumirie mounts, known for their cork-oaks. Mimosas, cork- oakes and pines form together a crown of greenery in this city of six thousand inhabitants.

Being at the same time a small port for fishing and for the transport of cork, and also a seaside resort, Tabarka attracts on its coasts, in July and August, a primarily young international clientele. In spite of this very seasonal animation, which transforms it into a superb place for spending holidays, Tabarka enjoys the rest of the year a speaceful existence, amidst its mimosas and eucalypti.

Recent investments have revived the city’s local economy, particularly in the field of poultry farming which employs a hundred people. This in addition to the heather and the coral.

Morover, a new activity has emerged through an earthenware factory making building ceramics. Outside July and August, the hotels of Tabarka accommodate only the amateurs of loneliness and those fond of fishing the merou and hunting the wild boar. In summer, thousands of tourists invade the beaches, and spread themselves joyfully in the terraces of the cafés.

The city starts with a roundabout, where the Friday market is held. This is the starting point of the GP 17 toward Ain Draham, and of the road leading to the Mimosas hotel. Straightahead, begins the Habib Bourguiba Avenue, which constitutes the main axis of the city. It is there that you find ( on the right) the tourist office and the majority of the shops selling coral. When you reach the Hedi chaker street, turn left to find yourself in the picturesque Andalousian café. To the right, you find the basilica, which is in fact an old Roman tank. Long ago, it was transformed into a church by the White Fathers ;it then underwent restorations. Its three naves contain small expositions, while the courtyard is used as an open theater. In the adjacent enclosure, you can see a lapidary collection ( free visit ) . Beside the basilica, a trak allows you to join, beyond the Algeria street, the Sidi Messaoud tower, another tank transformed into a fortress.

Further up, Borj-El-Jedid ( the New Tower) , an ancient Turkish fort , is now used as a barracks. A walk along the Habib Bourguiba streets leads you to a group of monolithic rocks, 20 to 25 meters high.

The island that you can see from 400 meters of the shore, is now tied to the land, following some renovation works in the port. A road suitable for motor vehicles allows to draw close to the Genoese fort. To the east, opposite the fort,the coast is steep. A long and wide beach stretches endlessly , bordered with large dunes .