Arabic: طبرقةṬbarqaⓘ) is a coastal town located in north-western Tunisia, close to the border with Algeria. Tabarka was occupied at various times by Punics, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Genoese and Ottomans. The town is dominated by an offshore rock on which there remains a Genoese castle. Nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba, later president of post-independence Tunisia, was exiled on Tabarka by the French colonial authorities in 1952.[1] Tourist attractions include coral fishing, the Coralis Festival of underwater photography,[2] and its annual jazz festival.[3]
Name
Tabarka was known to the Carthaginians as TBRKʿN (
Arabic
name is Ṭbarqa (طبرقة).
History
Tarbarka island, 17th century. Note the Genoese flag on the castle.
Although older sources placed Thabraca within the
Simitthu, which it served as a port for the export of its famous marble.[12] The rebellious Roman official Gildo, the brother of Firmus, committed suicide in Thabraca.[12] Under the Vandal king Gaiseric, the town had a monastery for men and a convent for women.[12]
Fort diagram
From 1540 to 1742, the Genoese maintained a garrison on the adjacent island, also called Tabarka, which lies about 365 yards (334 m) off the town. In 1540 the island was given by the Ottoman Bey of Tunis as a concession to the Genoese Lomellini family.[13] The Genoese were in the service of Spain during 1553 at the request of Emperor Charles V who was interested in coral fishing. The Lomellini were part of the circle of Andrea Doria, Doge of Genoa, and were related to the Grimaldi family. The grant was possibly due to a secret ransom for the release of the pirate Turkish Dragut, captured in 1540 by Giannettino Doria, nephew of Andrea Doria. The Lomellini colonized Tabarca with a group of inhabitants of Pegli,[14] near Genoa, where they had various properties and a huge palace. The community of Pegliesi lived in Tabarka for several centuries.
In 1738 due to the exhaustion of the coral reefs and the deterioration of relations with the Arab population a large group of "Tabarkini" moved to
Bey of Tunis
. At Tabarka, the ruins consists of a pit once used as a church and some fragments of walls which belonged to Christian buildings. There were also two Ottoman Turkish fortresses, one of which has been repaired.
Close view
Under French colonial rule it was annexed to the civil district of
Souk el-Arba, now in the Tunisian governorate of Jendouba, and a rather important fishing centre. Tabarka Jazz Festival
The weather in Tabarka is usually variable from year to year. Summers are mostly hot and dry, but milder than the Saharan hinterland. It barely rains in July and August. The average temperatures for this season is 28.2 °C (82.8 °F). Winters are mostly rainy and mild. The average temperature for this season is 12.0 °C (53.6 °F).
Climate data for Tabarka (1981-2010, mean monthly temperature and precipitation 1994–2019, extremes 1953–2017)
^"Calasetta". Sardegna Turismo. Archived from the original on 5 February 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
^Varela, Santiago (1983). "Nueva Tabarca / Nova Tabarca: 1. Generalidades / 1. Generalitats". Alicante / Alacant, Tabarca: Rutas de aproximación al patrimonio cultural valenciano / Rutes d'aproximació al patrimoni cultural valencià (in Spanish and Catalan). Juan Calduch; Joaquín Lara (graphic dessing). Servicio de patrimonio arquitectónico: Conselleria de Cultura, Educación y Ciencia: Generalidad Valenciana.
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