Tabarka طبرقة | |
|---|---|
 From top to bottom, left to right: The Genoese Fort of Tabarka,Tabarka Golf Course, Tabarka Forest | |
  Tabarka Location in Tunisia | |
| Coordinates:36°57′16″N8°45′29″E / 36.95444°N 8.75806°E /36.95444; 8.75806 | |
| Country |  Tunisia |
| Governorate | Jendouba Governorate |
| Elevation | 15 ft (4.7 m) |
| Population (2022) | |
• Total | 22,119 |
| • Density | 10,090/sq mi (3,894/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC1 (CET) |
| Postal Code | 8110 |
Tabarka (Arabic:طبرقةṬbarqaⓘ) is a coastal town located in north-westernTunisia, close to theborder withAlgeria. Tabarka was occupied at various times byPunics,Greeks,Romans,Arabs,Genoese andOttomans. The town is dominated by an offshore rock on which there remains aGenoese castle. Nationalist leaderHabib Bourguiba, later president of post-independence Tunisia, was exiled on Tabarka by theFrench colonial authorities in 1952.[1] Tourist attractions include coral fishing, the Coralis Festival ofunderwater photography,[2] and its annualjazz festival.[3]
Tabarka was known to the Carthaginians asTBRKʿN (Punic:𐤕𐤁𐤓𐤊𐤏𐤍).[4][5] This was transcribed intoGreek asThaúbraka (Θαύβρακα) and intoLatin asThabraca.[6][7] In modern dayBerber it is known asTabarka orTbarga, while itsArabic name isṬbarqa (طبرقة).
Although older sources placed Thabraca within theRoman province ofNumidia, recent ones agree on placing it in the Roman province ofAfrica, known also asAfrica Proconsularis.[8][9][10][11] It was aRoman colony.[12] It was connected by a road withSimitthu, which it served as a port for the export of its famousmarble.[12] The rebellious Roman officialGildo, the brother of Firmus, committed suicide in Thabraca.[12] Under theVandal kingGaiseric, the town had a monastery for men and a convent for women.[12]
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 ofEmperor Charles V who was interested in coral fishing. The Lomellini were part of the circle ofAndrea Doria, Doge of Genoa, and were related to theGrimaldi family. The grant was possibly due to a secret ransom for the release of the pirate TurkishDragut, captured inGirolata in 1540 by Giannettino Doria, nephew of Andrea Doria. The Lomellini colonized Tabarca with a group of inhabitants ofPegli,[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 toSan Pietro Island off Sardinia, then uninhabited, where they founded a new town ofCarloforte. The transfer was made possible thanks to the King of Sardinia,Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia who wanted to colonize those of his lands which were not yet inhabited. The name of Carloforte was chosen in honor of the sovereign. Another group of Tabarkini was resettled in the town ofCalasetta on the adjacent Island ofSant'Antioco, whose population still speaks a variant ofGenoese dialect originating from Tabarka.[15] Others were moved to the Spanish island ofNew Tabarca.[16] In 1741[citation needed] or 1742,[12] the Genoese fortress surrendered to the (nominally Ottoman but essentially autonomous)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. A Frenchexpedition was dispatched to capture Tabarka but failed.
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Under French colonial rule it was annexed to the civil district ofSouk el-Arba, now in the Tunisian governorate ofJendouba, and a rather important fishing centre.Tabarka Jazz Festival was established in 1973.
Thabraca became aChristianbishopric that is no longer a residential see but is included in theCatholic Church's list oftitular sees.[11]
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was also theseat of an ancientBishopric and in antiquity it had amonastery for men and one for women,[12] and severalchurch Buildings andChristian cemeteries have been uncovered.[17] The city contains several Christian cemeteries, many of the tombs covered with curiousmosaics. An inscription (C.I.L., VIII, 173-82) mentions the cult of the martyr Anastasia and her companions.
Bishops
Thebishops of Thabraca, who met with the other bishops ofProconsular Africa, included:
TheBishopric was founded during theRoman Empire and survived through thearianVandal andOrthodoxByzantine empires, only ceasing to function with theMuslim conquest of the Maghreb. Thediocese was re-founded in name at least in the 20th century as atitular see of theRoman Catholic church.[19][20]
Titular bishops
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 (1991-2020, extremes 1953–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 26.1 (79.0) | 29.2 (84.6) | 36.5 (97.7) | 37.0 (98.6) | 41.4 (106.5) | 47.1 (116.8) | 47.4 (117.3) | 48.4 (119.1) | 43.3 (109.9) | 39.7 (103.5) | 33.2 (91.8) | 28.1 (82.6) | 48.4 (119.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 16.0 (60.8) | 16.1 (61.0) | 18.5 (65.3) | 21.0 (69.8) | 24.9 (76.8) | 28.9 (84.0) | 31.7 (89.1) | 32.3 (90.1) | 29.1 (84.4) | 25.8 (78.4) | 20.8 (69.4) | 17.1 (62.8) | 23.5 (74.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 11.8 (53.2) | 11.8 (53.2) | 13.9 (57.0) | 16.2 (61.2) | 19.6 (67.3) | 23.2 (73.8) | 25.9 (78.6) | 26.7 (80.1) | 24.1 (75.4) | 20.9 (69.6) | 16.4 (61.5) | 13.1 (55.6) | 18.6 (65.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 7.7 (45.9) | 7.6 (45.7) | 9.2 (48.6) | 11.3 (52.3) | 14.2 (57.6) | 17.5 (63.5) | 20.2 (68.4) | 21.0 (69.8) | 19.0 (66.2) | 15.9 (60.6) | 12.0 (53.6) | 9.0 (48.2) | 13.7 (56.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −0.5 (31.1) | −2.4 (27.7) | 0.2 (32.4) | −1.4 (29.5) | 3.0 (37.4) | 7.5 (45.5) | 8.5 (47.3) | 9.0 (48.2) | 8.5 (47.3) | 4.0 (39.2) | 0.5 (32.9) | 0.0 (32.0) | −2.4 (27.7) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 148.1 (5.83) | 126.1 (4.96) | 97.3 (3.83) | 70.0 (2.76) | 41.0 (1.61) | 16.2 (0.64) | 3.8 (0.15) | 15.3 (0.60) | 79.4 (3.13) | 116.2 (4.57) | 160.8 (6.33) | 166.1 (6.54) | 1,040.4 (40.96) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1 mm) | 12.4 | 11.2 | 9.2 | 7.7 | 5.2 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 7.0 | 8.5 | 11.7 | 13.2 | 90.7 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 72 | 73 | 73 | 72 | 72 | 70 | 65 | 68 | 70 | 71 | 75 | 74 | 71 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 137.7 | 153.1 | 204.6 | 221.4 | 279.4 | 313.0 | 355.5 | 319.6 | 239.9 | 205.4 | 147.7 | 130.6 | 2,707.9 |
| Source 1:NOAA[21] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Institut National de la Météorologie (humidity 1961–1990, sun 1981-2010)[22][23][24][25][note 1] | |||||||||||||
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 °C (61 °F) | 15 °C (59 °F) | 15 °C (59 °F) | 16 °C (61 °F) | 18 °C (64 °F) | 21 °C (70 °F) | 24 °C (75 °F) | 26 °C (79 °F) | 25 °C (77 °F) | 23 °C (73 °F) | 20 °C (68 °F) | 17 °C (63 °F) |
The airport in Tabarka was namedAirport 7 Novembre until theTunisian revolution; it was then renamedTabarka-Ain Draham International Airport.
Featured in film, The Golden Salamander, with Trevor Howard, Herbert Lom and Anouk Aimee.{Paul Thomson}
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