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Kebili ڨبلي | |
|---|---|
 Entrance of the Kebili town | |
  Kebili | |
| Coordinates:33°42′18″N08°57′54″E / 33.70500°N 8.96500°E /33.70500; 8.96500 | |
| Country |  Tunisia |
| Governorate | Kebili Governorate |
| Delegation(s) | Kebili North, Kebili South |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ahmed Yacoub (Ennahda) |
| Population (2014) | |
• Total | 28,081 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Kebili (Arabic:ڨبلي,romanized: Gibillī,pronounced[ˈɡbɪlli]ⓘ) is a town in the south ofTunisia and one of the main cities in theNefzaoua region. It is located in southern Tunisia near theChott el Djerid salt lake. It is the capital of theKebili Governorate.
Kebili is one of the oldest oases in Tunisia and North Africa. It holds the earliest hard evidence of human habitation inTunisia (found near the town) and dates back about 200,000 years.[1] Kebili, along with many other Tunisian cities, became part of theRoman Empire after thePunic Wars.
Kebili's population is more diverse compared to other Tunisian governorates. The population traces its roots to three main groups:
WhileArabic is the dominant language in the region, several differences set it apart from theTunisian Arabic spoken elsewhere in the country. Most notably, the letterqāfق is pronounced as a[g] rather than the guttural[q]. Additionally, some villages use the feminine plural pronounsantunnaأنتن (plural you) andhunnaهن (they). These pronouns are very rare throughout the Arab world and are usually replaced by their masculine counterpartsantumأنتم andhumهم. Bedouin vocabulary and expressions have declined in usage among the new generations.
Islam is the dominant religion. Kebili, as many other Tunisian towns, holds a great number of Soofiat Maqams (Saleheen).[citation needed]
The economy of Kebili has seen diverse orientations throughout its history. Kebili was one source of the African slavery trade to satisfy European needs.[dubious –discuss] Slaves were taken to Europe through the port ofGabès.[dubious –discuss] Nowadays, Kebili relies heavily on agriculture and tourism.
The main agricultural product in the region aredates or "deglets". Kebili produces a very high quality date, exported all around the world and contributing significantly to the local and national economy.
Since national independence, the government of Tunisia has encouraged tourism projects and resorts in the Saharan region. Of theseDouz, south of Kebili, is the most famous Saharian destination of Tunisia (known as the Sahara Gate).
Temperature records have been kept here from 1901–1939, 1949–1953, and 2000–2012. The French colonial authorities of theService météorologique de Tunis maintained the older records. A portion of the original data logs for this early period is in theNCDC archives and at the POR of 1907 to 1932. LikeAzizia, Kebili is subject to thefoehn-like wind phenomena known as a Ghibili.
The World Meteorological Organization cites Kebili as having recorded the highest temperature ever recorded in Africa at 55.0 °C (131.0 °F),[2] which is disputed by some meteorologists[3][4][5] mainly because in the post WW2-era no temperature above 48.8 °C (119.8 °F) (24 July 1997) was recorded in the Kebili station and no temperature above 51.3 °C (124.3 °F) (Ouargla,Algeria, 5 July 2018) was recorded in the whole continent of Africa.[6]
| Climate data for Kebili (1981–2010, extremes 1988–2022) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 26.5 (79.7) | 34.3 (93.7) | 38.2 (100.8) | 40.1 (104.2) | 45.5 (113.9) | 48.1 (118.6) | 48.8 (119.8) | 48.5 (119.3) | 45.8 (114.4) | 41.2 (106.2) | 35.7 (96.3) | 28.9 (84.0) | 48.8 (119.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 17.1 (62.8) | 19.5 (67.1) | 23.3 (73.9) | 26.9 (80.4) | 31.8 (89.2) | 36.3 (97.3) | 39.2 (102.6) | 39.2 (102.6) | 34.9 (94.8) | 30.0 (86.0) | 23.0 (73.4) | 17.9 (64.2) | 28.3 (82.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 10.5 (50.9) | 12.5 (54.5) | 16.3 (61.3) | 19.9 (67.8) | 24.5 (76.1) | 28.6 (83.5) | 31.2 (88.2) | 31.5 (88.7) | 28.0 (82.4) | 23.2 (73.8) | 16.2 (61.2) | 11.3 (52.3) | 21.1 (70.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 4.6 (40.3) | 5.9 (42.6) | 9.8 (49.6) | 13.4 (56.1) | 17.7 (63.9) | 21.6 (70.9) | 23.9 (75.0) | 24.7 (76.5) | 22.0 (71.6) | 17.2 (63.0) | 10.0 (50.0) | 5.3 (41.5) | 14.7 (58.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −3.3 (26.1) | −4.5 (23.9) | −0.9 (30.4) | 2.8 (37.0) | 6.1 (43.0) | 13.7 (56.7) | 16.6 (61.9) | 16.2 (61.2) | 10.6 (51.1) | 5.3 (41.5) | −1.6 (29.1) | −4.5 (23.9) | −4.5 (23.9) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 22.9 (0.90) | 4.6 (0.18) | 12.9 (0.51) | 10.9 (0.43) | 6.6 (0.26) | 1.1 (0.04) | 0.1 (0.00) | 1.9 (0.07) | 8.1 (0.32) | 8.8 (0.35) | 10.1 (0.40) | 13.3 (0.52) | 101.3 (3.98) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 3.4 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 16.3 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 68 | 61 | 56 | 52 | 53 | 48 | 47 | 50 | 51 | 55 | 62 | 68 | 56 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 212.9 | 226.4 | 244.5 | 251.0 | 277.0 | 307.5 | 323.7 | 306.2 | 249.0 | 236.1 | 217.3 | 203.6 | 3,055.2 |
| Source: Institut National de la Météorologie (precipitation days/humidity 1961–1990)[7][8][9][10][11][12][note 1] | |||||||||||||
| International | |
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| National | |
