Tunisia, the eastmost part of the Maghreb (p. 93), a territory of about 50,000 sq. M., has a population of ca. 1½–2 millions, the great majority being Mohammedans (Berbers, Arabs, Moors, Kuluglis, and negroes). Of the remainder about 60,000 are Jews (Arabic Ihûdi, pl. Ihûd), either natives or settlers (from Spain and the so-called Livornese), 105,680 Italians, 40,850 French, 12,200 Maltese (p. 397), and 4800 other Europeans. The coast, about 620 M. long, extends from Cape Roux (p. 131) to Râs Adjir (p. 406).

The abrupt coast of the Tell Atlas (p. 169), which stretches from the Fedja Grandpré (3783 ft.) on the Algerian frontier to Cape Blanc (p. 129), and comprises the wooded hill-country of the Kroumirie, the Nefza and Mogod Mts., and several ranges of lower heights, is broken by the small coast-plain of Tabarca alone. The dunes to the E. of Bizerta, rising to 1033 ft., the greatest range of sand-hills on the Mediterranean, separate the Lake of Bizerta from the Gulf of Tunis (p. xxx), into which fall the Medjerda and the Oued Miliane, the two chief rivers of the country, forming a number of lagoons and tongues of land at their mouths.

The Algerian Sahara Atlas (p. 170) extends to the N.E. from Jebel Bou Roumane (5250 ft.) and Jebel Zebissa (4167 ft.) near Tebessa (p. 315) to Cape Bon (p. 153), broken by stony plateaux (Hammada, Kalaâ, Dyr), and finally descends abruptly to the sea. Its most important peaks in Tunisia are Jebel Chambi (5217 ft.), Jebel Bireno (4655 ft.), Jebel Rekaba (or Râs Ali Bou-Mouzine, 4987 ft.), Jebel Serd (4511 ft.), and, beyond the deep depression of Jebel Faroua (2362 ft.), Jebel Zaghouan (4249 ft.), which last is the most striking landmark for mariners in all Tunisia. The S. slope of the Sahara Atlas is remarkable for its terraced formation due to the action of water. The whole country consists mainly of great basins with floors of clay or sand of recent origin, separated from each other by elliptically shaped hills of more solid rock, chiefly of chalk formation. The Oued Hathob (pp. 362, 370) flows through no fewer than six basins of the kind.

From the Gulf of Hammamet, on the S. margin of the peninsula of Cape Bon, to the Lesser Syrtis, now the Gulf of Gabes, extends an alluvial plain of marine formation. This steppe-like tract, with its large fresh-water lake (Lac de Kelbia, p. 370) and many salt-marshes (Sebkha, comp. p. 169), is thinly peopled by nomads only, except on the strip of coast, with its lagoons, flanking the Sahel. To the W. of the Gulf of Gabes lies the region, 250 M. long, of the Shotts (Chotts el-Fedjedj, Djerid, and Rharsa), belonging to the great Bassin du Melrir (p. 170); it forms the N. fringe of the desert, lying largely below the sea-level, and contains the finest palm-oases in Barbary. The transition from the shotts to the highlands of Tripoli is formed by Jebel Tebaga (1608 ft.), and by the Monts des Ksour (2460 ft.), famed ever since the time of Herodotus for their troglodytes or cave-dwellers, and bounded on the S.W. by the Erg Oriental (p. 285).

Tunisia, unlike its neighbour Algeria, which is shut in all round by high mountains, covered with snow in winter, opens due E. upon the Mediterranean and enjoys a mild winter climate, but in summer and autumn is directly exposed to the sirocco (Arabic samûm), the burning wind from inland Africa, which is hotter and drier here than in Algeria. The mean temperature of January is at Tunis 51° Fahr. (minimum 28½°), at Aïn-Draham 42½° (min. 9½°), at Le Kef 45° (min. 23°), at Kairwan and Tozeur 50° (min. 25°), at Djerba 54½° (min. 35½°). The mean temperature of August at Tunis is 81° (maximum 122°), at Kairwan 85° (max. 120°), at Djerba 81° (max. 115°), and at Tozeur reaches 91° (max. 120°). The greatest rainfall in N. Africa is in the region of the Kroumirie (65 inches per annum at Aïn-Draham); to the S. of the Medjerda it decreases to 20–24 inches (at Le Kef 21½ in.); it is still lower at Tunis (17¾ in.), on the E. coast (Susa 16½, Sfax 9¾ in.), and particularly in the district of the shotts (at Tozeur 5 in.). The rain falls in short, torrential showers; owing to the destruction of the forests and the paucity of reservoirs the water rushes down unhindered to the salt-lakes and the sea, inundating the plains on its way. A few hours after each shower the thirsty soil is as dry as before, but the devastation caused by erosion is aggravated.

The fauna and flora are almost identical with those of Algeria (p. 171). The chief products of Tunisia are the tanner’s bark and cork of the Kroumirie, early vegetables from the environs of Tunis, cereals from the Medjerda valley and from the dales of the Sahara Atlas (here horse and cattle breeding also thrive), alfa or esparto grass (p. 171), olive-oil from the Sahel and from Sfax, and dates from the oases of the Sahara. Fish abound on the coast and the sponge fishery also is productive, while the coral-fishing has sunk into complete insignificance. The principal ores worked here are zinc, lead, iron, and copper. At Kalaât es-Senam, Kalaâ-Djerda, Metlaoui, Redeyef, and Aïn-Moularès there are immense deposits of phosphate, the yield of which has rapidly increased the traffic of Tunis and Sfax, and is expected greatly to augment that of Susa after the completion of its harbour.

Tunisia owes its ancient culture, the earliest in Barbary, to its numerous Phœnician colonies, such as Utica, Kambe, Hadrumetum (Susa), Leptis Minor, and Carthage. The Carthaginians wisely introduced the irrigation system of Mesopotamia into N. Africa and promoted the corn and vine culture, but the agricultural prosperity of the country was confined chiefly to the littoral, inhabited by Libyan-Phœnicians, a mixed Berber and Phœnician race, and to the valley of the Medjerda. The contiguous region of Numidia was first opened up to Punic culture by Masinissa (B.C. 201–149), the most distinguished of the ancient Berber kings.

The Roman republican period was unfavourable for the development of the new province of Africa. The chief events were the war with Jugurtha (111–106), the grandson of Masinissa, and the battles between Pompey, whose adherents were aided by Juba I., and Cæsar, which, after the battle of Thapsus (p. 369), led to the annexation of Numidia as the province of Africa Nova. The marvellous progress of the country during the first centuries of the Roman empire is evidenced by the colonization of the central Tunisian and S. Algerian steppe, a triumph of Roman enterprise. A great network of roads was constructed, chiefly from the reign of Hadrian onwards, to connect Carthage, the new capital, and other towns with Tebessa, Hippo Regius (p. 309), Tripolitania, and even the distant Mauretania Tingitana (p. 95), and numerous towns were founded in the interior of Tunisia and Numidia. But soon (about 238) a period of decline set in. Its causes were manifold. The Berbers were constantly rebelling, the Roman soldiers quarrelled, advancing Christianity and expiring paganism were struggling fiercely for the mastery, and the Christians, at length victorious, persecuted with the greatest ferocity. To add to these troubles, the terrible peasant-war of the so-called Circumcelliones broke out in the 4th cent., followed in the 4th and 5th cent. by the religious wars between Catholics and Donatists.

Once more, however, the ancient glory of Tunisia revived, though for but a brief period (439–77), under Genseric, the Arian king of the Vandals. After he had completed his victorious expedition from S. Spain to Carthage (429–39) he proceeded, in alliance with the Donatist Berbers and with the still Punic speaking inhabitants of the coast, to attack the effete western empire. With his newly formed fleet he conquered Sicily (440), Rome (455), Tripolitania, Malta (456), and Sardinia (458), and in 476, after the overthrow of the W. Roman empire, was recognized by Zeno, the E. Roman emperor, as lord of the whole western Mediterranean. But the incompetence and intolerance of his successors soon shattered this new empire, and in 533 king Gelimer was defeated by Justinian’s able general Belisarius. Even in Justinian’s time, however, the new rulers were incessantly attacked by the Berbers of the mountains, while the Byzantine governors (534–698) persecuted Donatists and Arians alike, with the result, according to Procopius’s estimate, that five millions of the inhabitants of N. Africa perished. The fate of the country was thus sealed and its conquest by Islam greatly facilitated.

After eight successive campaigns (647–98) the first Arabian governors (representing the caliphs), Abdallah ibn Saâd, Moauya ibn Hodeij, Sidi Okba ben-Nâfi (founder of Kairwan, p. 372), Zoheir ibn Kaïs, and Hassan ibn en-Nôman (destroyer of Carthage, p. 346), drove the Byzantines out of ‘Ifrikia’ and overcame the desperate resistance of the Berber mountaineers, thus sweeping Christianity from African soil and destroying the last vestiges of Punic and Roman culture. Ere long, however, their ineradicable love of independence led the Berbers, who after the conquest of Andalusia (p. 50) had formed the sect of the Kharijites and later that of the Shiites, to unite in opposing the orthodox Arabs and to found (about 740) several small states of their own, such as that of the Ibadites in Tiaret (p. 208) and that of the Sofrites in Sijilmassa (Tafilet, p. 96). In Tunisia the Aglabides (800–909), a Berber dynasty, who were originally governors under Hârûn er-Rashid, declared themselves independent, and in 827 they proceeded to conquer Sicily. Under the Fatimites, who also were Berbers, the seat of government was transferred in 916 from Kairwan to Mehdia (p. 369), and in 973, after the conquest of Egypt, it was removed to Cairo (comp. p. 443). The revolt of the Zirites, a new dynasty of Tunisian governors, named after Bologgîn ez-Ziri, led in 1045 to the fateful irruption of the Beni Hilal (Hilalides) and Beni Soleïm, two marauding tribes of nomadic Arabs. At the instigation of the Fatimites they overran Barbary like a swarm of locusts, defeated the allied Zirites and Hammadites (p. 270), destroyed Kairwan and many other towns, demolished most of the forests and the irrigation-works, and drove the Berbers back to their mountains. After a time the Zirites partly succeeded in subduing these hordes, but in 1148 the whole of the Sahel with its capital Mehdia was wrested from them by the Normans of Sicily (p. 148). In 1160 the Normans were expelled by Abd el-Mûmen (p. 95), and Tunisia was incorporated with the great empire of the Almohades. At length, under the Hafsides (1206–1573), Tunisia regained independence, with Tunis as the capital. Towards the end of this period troubles began anew. After interminable wars with the Merinides (p. 95) Tunis was captured by Kheireddin (p. 221) in 1534, and was attacked, though without permanent success, by the crusading Maltese knights (p. 398), by Emp. Charles V. (in 1535), by Juan de Vega (1551), and by Don John of Austria (1573). From 1574 to 1650 Tunisia was governed by Turkish officials (pashas, deys, beys), after which the dynasty of the Husseinites was founded by Hussein Ali ben-Turki. From 1705 onwards Tunisia, often only a nominal dependency of Turkey, degenerated into a mere pirate-state, which down to 1830 took an active part in the marauding expeditions of its barbaresque Algerian neighbours.

Since 1881 the French protectorate has paved the way for a new period of prosperity and opened up the greatly impoverished and thinly peopled country to European trade and culture. The present bey is Sidi Mohammed en-Nasr (born in 1855). The minister for foreign affairs is the French resident-general, and the minister of war is the commandant of the French garrison. Finance, postal arrangements, public works, and education are all superintended by French officials, with whom are associated a Mohammedan prime minister and a secretary of state. Europeans and their dependents are under the jurisdiction of the French law-courts; the natives are dealt with by the courts of the Ouzara and the ‘Shaâra’. The bey is allowed a body-guard of 600 men of the infantry, cavalry, and artillery, uniformed like the Zouaves.

Lovers of art will find Tunisia a most attractive country. As in Algeria and Morocco, so here also the megalithic monuments (dolmens, basinas, etc.), built of huge blocks of stone, are the chief memorials of the Libyan (or ancient Berber) culture. The Punic art of Tunisia, at first under Assyrian, Egyptian, and Greek influence, but exclusively Greek after the first campaigns in Sicily, has become better known of late, especially since the rich yield of the rock-tombs of Carthage. Apart from the tomb at Dougga (p. 355), as little of Punic architecture remains as in Algeria. On the other hand no other country can boast of such a profusion of Roman ruins (called by the Mohammedans Henshir) as Tunisia.

The early Moorish art of Tunisia, as in the whole of the Maghreb, betrays the influence of Andalusian masters, but most of the buildings are no earlier than the Turkish period. Contrary to their Algerian methods the French have preserved the Oriental character of the country, so that the seaports of the E. coast, Kairwan, and the oasis villages still contain fine Moorish buildings.

Travellers may explore any part of the country in safety and without escort, but they should not enter Mohammedan burial-grounds or shrines (comp. p. xxv). The only mosques and zaouïas open to Christians (but not to Jews) are those of Le Kef, Kairwan, Gafsa, and Tozeur.

The means of communication are similar to those in Algeria (comp. p. 173). The network of Railways, mostly belonging to the company of the Chemins de Fer de Bône-Guelma (p. 173), extends to central Tunisia only. Between Susa and Sfax (until the opening of the new railway) and between Sfax or Graïba and Gabes the motor-omnibus or the diligence (p. 173) is at present the only conveyance. The shotts are visited by carriage from Metlaoui, or, if preferred, from Gabes. A visit to S.E. Tunisia (Monts des Ksour, Gightis, Djerba) is usually paid from Gabes, where introductions had better be obtained from the authorities of the Territoire Militaire. Susa, Sfax, Gabes, and Djerba are also steamboat-stations (comp. R. 64). In Tunisia mid-European time (1 hr. ahead of Greenwich time), which is observed also on the Italian steamers, has recently been introduced.

First-class Hotels are to be found in Tunis only. Those in country places are similar to the Algerian (p. 174), but still plainer and less up to date, apart from a few creditable exceptions. In the steppe and on the Sahara one must often have recourse to the fortified caravanserai or to the hospitality of the local authorities.

The Post Office of the regency of Tunis has its own stamps (letter-postage within Tunisia or to France 10, to Italy 20 c. etc.; post-cards 5 c.). A passport visé by the consul must be shown in order to obtain delivery of registered letters.

The Coinage, since the introduction of the gold standard (1891), has been French, with Arabic and French inscriptions. The gold coins are of 10 and 20 francs, the silver of ½, 1, and 2 francs, the copper of 5 and 10 centimes. Italian, Swiss, Belgian, and Greek silver coins (except 5 fr. pieces) and copper coins are rejected. English or American money should be exchanged for banknotes of the Banque de France or the Banque de l’Algérie (p. 174), or for gold of the Latin monetary union.

Books (comp. also pp. xii, 175). Douglas Sladen, Carthage and Tunis (2 vols., London, 1906; illus.); Frances E. Nesbitt, Algeria and Tunis (London, 1906; illus.); G. Petrie, Tunis, Kairouan, and Carthage (New York, 1909; $4.80); A. M. Broadley’s ‘Tunis, Past and Present’ (London, 1882) gives an interesting account of the French conquest of Tunisia. Of French books may be mentioned La Tunisie (Législation, Gouvernement, Administration) by D. Gaudiani et P. Thiaucourt (Paris, 1910; 12½ fr.); H. Lorin, L’Afrique du Nord (Paris, 1908); J. Toutain, Les Cités Romaines de la Tunisie (Paris, 1896; 12½ fr.); R. Cagnat et H. Saladin, Voyage en Tunisie (Paris, 1887); R. Cagnat, L’Armée Romaine d’Afrique (Paris, 1892; 40 fr.); Charles Diehl, L’Afrique Byzantine (Paris, 1896; 20 fr.); H. Saladin, Tunis et Kairouan (Paris, 1908; 4 fr.). Carthage is the scene of Gust. Flaubert’s historical novel Salammbô.

Maps of the Service Géographique de l’Armée (comp. p. 175): sheets on the scale of 1 : 50,000, each 1½ fr.; on the scale of 1 : 100,000, each 1 fr. 20 c.; and on the scale of 1 : 200,000, each 70 c.—A general survey is afforded by the Carte des Routes et des Chemins de Fer de la Tunisie, 1 : 500,000 (Tunis, 1908). See also Map, p. 319.

51. From (Constantine, Bona) Souk-Ahras to Tunis.

Railway from Souk-Ahras to Tunis, 154 M., direct train with dining-car between Ghardimaou and Tunis (déj. 4, D. 4½ fr.) in 7 hrs. (27 fr. 80, 20 fr. 85, 14 fr. 90 c.; from Constantine to Tunis 14¼ hrs.); also ordinary train in 11¼ hrs. on Mon., Wed., & Frid.—Custom-house examination at Ghardimaou, strict as to tobacco and cigars, which are a government monopoly in Tunisia. All luggage not accompanied by the owner will be detained at the custom-house.

Motorists from Bona (p. 309) to Tunis must go viâ La Calle (p. 131), Tabarca (p. 327), and Béja (p. 328).

From Constantine to (134 M.) Souk-Ahras, see RR. 48, 49.—The line from Souk-Ahras to Tunis, opened in 1879 (before the establishment of the French protectorate), crosses the Tebessa line (R. 50) and then descends to the S. into the Medjerda Valley (pp. 313, 320), called by the Carthaginians Makar, and by the Romans Bagradas, the most fertile and most important in Tunisia.

Beyond (5½ M.) Tarja (1611 ft.) the valley forms a short ravine. 10½ M. Sidi-Bader, in a meadowy dale, the future junction of the line from Bona to the mines on Jebel Ouenza (p. 314).

The train traverses a lonely mountain-region to (20½ M.) Oued-Mougras (1171 ft.), a finely situated village, and then runs through a narrow valley in the frontier-hills, with dense underwood, to (30½ M.) Sidi el-Hemessi (853 ft.), the last Algerian village.

37 M. Ghardimaou (673 ft.; Rail. Restaurant; Hôt. du Commerce; Algerian and Tunisian frontier, see above), a colonists’ village (Tues. market) at the entrance to the Regba, the upper plain of the Medjerda, which is fertile only in rainy seasons.

About 7 M. to the N. of Ghardimaou, beyond the Oued Raraï, lies Henchir Sidi Ali Bel-Kassem, on a hill between the Oued el-Hammam and the Oued Henja. This was the Roman town Thuburnica, among the ruins of which are the cellæ of two temples and a Byzantine fortress.

45 M. Oued-Meliz (584 ft.; Mon. corn-market), a village a little above the Oued Raraï (p. 325) and the mouth of the Oued Meliz.

Oued-Meliz is the station for the village of Chemtou (590 ft.), 2 M. to the N.E., at the influx of the Oued Melah into the Medjerda, the Simitthu of the Carthaginian and Roman periods. Its once famous quarries of yellowish red ‘Numidian’ marble are now abandoned. Among the ruins are a Roman bridge across the Medjerda, where the old road to Le Kef diverges (p. 360); also remains of the forum (44 by 27 yds.), of thermæ, cisterns, and an aqueduct; an interesting Roman wall on the bank of the Melah; the fairly preserved *Theatre; and, near the ancient Tabarca road, the burial-ground with its numerous tombstones. On the slope of the town-hill (830 ft.), which is crowned with a small Byzantine fortress, lies the so-called Temple des Boucliers, of the Punic and Roman periods.

50 M. Sidi-Meskine, at the mouth of the Regba, between Jebel el-Herrech (2277 ft.) on the left and Jebel Bou-Rebbah (2431 ft.) on the right. The train now enters the Dakla, the central plain of the Medjerda, about 25 M. long, partly swampy in winter and malarious and extremely hot in summer, which from ancient times till now has been the chief granary of Tunisia.

57½ M. Souk el-Arba (470 ft.; Rail. Restaurant; Hôt. du Commerce; Hôt. de France; pop. 1500), a thriving village of immigrant farmers, partly built with materials from Bulla Regia, and named after its Wednesday (‘fourth day’) corn-market, the most important in N. Tunisia next to those of Béja and Mateur. Road to Le Kef (p. 360) viâ the small village of Nebeur, the terminus of the railway from Béja (p. 328), with important iron-ore mines.

From Souk el-Arba a field-road leads to the N., in the direction of the conduit, somewhat apart from the Tabarca road, to (4½ M.) Bulla Regia, the prosperous ancient capital of the Dakla in the Carthaginian period, and in 203 the scene of Scipio’s victory over Hasdrubal and Syphax. The village lies on a terrace on the S. slope of Jebel Rebia (2123 ft.) and owes its modern name Hammam-Darradji to its spring. Among the interesting Roman ruins are the large *Thermae; a *Nymphaeum, or fountain; a Temple of Apollo, an open court with three cellæ in the style of Punic sanctuaries (comp. p. 357); a *Dwelling House, with an almost intact groundfloor, a mosaic pavement, vaults, and stairs to the upper floor. The Cisterns now serve the natives as habitations and the old Byzantine Fortress is now a caravanserai. The ruins of the Amphitheatre are less important. Three well-preserved subterranean Palaces and a Punic Fortress have been recently excavated. The rock-tombs of the Necropolis date partly from the Punic period.

From Souk el-Arba to Tabarca, 42 M., by the highroad. (Diligence to Aïn-Draham, in summer only, at 1 p.m., in 6 hrs.; from Aïn-Draham to Tabarca at 10.45 a.m., in 6 hrs., there and back 6 fr.) This excursion, only suitable for the warmer season, introduces us to the most beautiful parts of the *Kroumirie, which, thanks to its ample rainfall (p. 321), is the most richly wooded region in Barbary. Now and then we meet with an almost virgin forest of cork-trees, evergreen oaks, elms, ashes, and other trees, in whose shade grow luxuriant ferns, while babbling brooks refresh the wayfarer. It was owing to violations of the frontier and thefts of cattle committed by the Kroumirs that the French at length occupied Tunisia in 1881, but the natives are now peaceable herdsmen, wood-cutters, and charcoal-burners. The tombs of this Berber tribe still recall the ancient megalithic monuments of their ancestors.

The road ascends to the N.W. from the Dakla, through a depression between Jebel el-Herrech and Jebel Rebia (p. 326), to the saddle on the N.E. slope of Jebel Halloufa (1512 ft.), and then turns to the N. into the valley of the Oued Rzella, a feeder of the Oued Bou Heurtma (see below). It passes (13 M.) Fernana (820 ft.; Restaurants Dauteroche and Richetti) and ascends, soon more rapidly, to the (19½ M.) forester’s house of Camp de la Santé and (20½ M.) Les Chênes (2461 ft.; Hôt. des Chênes), a small summer resort superbly situated amid venerable evergreen oaks. The road descends in windings for a short time and then ascends again between Jebel Bir (see below) on the right and Kef Sidi Abdallah (2861 ft.) on the left, on whose slope is the kubba of Sidi Abdallah Ben-Djemel, the chief saint of the Kroumirs.—25½ M. Aïn-Draham (about 2625 ft.; Hôt. de France, Hôt. Serrières, both quite good; Mon. market), an agricultural village amidst cork-trees and evergreen oaks, lies in the heart of the Kroumirie, at the N. base of *Jebel Bir (3327 ft.), which commands a splendid survey of the Kroumirie and the Nefza Mts. (p. 328), stretching to the N. to the sea, to the N.W. to the lakes near La Calle (p. 131), and to the S. to the Dakla.

The road now descends across the Col des Ruines (2382 ft.) in windings to (30½ M.) Babouch (1637 ft.; frontier custom-house), a village of immigrant farmers, where the road to La Calle diverges to the W. (22½ M. from Aïn-Draham; diligence 5 fr.). Our road, flanked at first by cork-trees and then passing through groves of olive and fig-trees, now descends the picturesque valley of the Oued el-Kébir, the ancient Tusca, the boundary between the Roman province of Africa (p. 321) and Numidia.

42 M. Tabarca (Hôt. Tiret, plain but quite good; Hôt. de France; pop. 1300, of whom 1100 are Europeans; Frid. market), a quiet little seaport in the fertile coast-plain between the Oued el-Kébir and Cape Tabarca, was the Roman Thabraca, the busiest harbour on the coast-road between Utica (p. 353) and Hippo Regius (p. 309), the outlet for the marble of Simitthu (p. 326) and for the timber and the wild beasts of the Kroumirie. Hardly a trace of that period now exists. The loftily situated Turkish Bordj Djedid is now used as barracks. Opposite lies the bare island of Tabarca, rising abruptly on the N. side, with a picturesque old Genoese castle. Of the two, originally Carthaginian, quays connecting the island with the mainland the westmost has lately been restored, but the shallow harbour is scarcely used except by Sicilian fishermen. The steamers of the Comp. Gén. Transatlantique (p. 130) anchor in the open roads.—For the future railway to Mateur, see p. 352.

From Tabarca to Béja, see p. 328.

64 M. Ben-Bachir, not far from the influx of the Oued Mellègue, the ancient Muluth, and of the Oued Tessa (p. 357) into the Medjerda. We cross the Oued Bou Heurtma, the Armascla of the Romans. Fine view of Jebel Gorra (p. 355).

71½ M. Souk el-Khemis (427 ft.; ‘fifth-day market’), a thriving agricultural village, the largest at this end of the Dakla. The valley now contracts. 79½ M. Sidi-Zehili.

87½ M. Pont-de-Trajan (Rail. Restaurant), misnamed after a three-arched *Bridge of the time of Tiberius, 99 yds. long and 8 yds. wide, one of the oldest Roman structures in Barbary.

From Pont-de-Trajan to Béja, 9 M., branch-line in 24 min. (1 fr. 45, 1 fr. 10 c., 80 c.). The line ascends the bare valley of the Oued Béja, to the N.—9 M. Béja (715–1000 ft.; Hôt. de France, etc.; pop. 12,000, incl. 1600 Europeans), the Vaga of the Roman period, when it had a great market and was one of the most thriving places in the Medjerda valley, owes its present prosperity to the grain-trade and the culture of early vegetables. To the E., bordering the Avenue de la Gare, is the new quarter of the Italian and French farmers, with the Halle aux Grains. To the W., on the slope beyond the Oued Bou Zegdem, rises the picturesque old town. On its N.E. margin the Grande Rue leads to the Marché (cattle-market, Tues.) and to the Souks (p. 335). The Grande Mosquée, built in the form of an Egyptian cross (p. 376), one of the oldest in Tunisia, is famed for its borrowed wealth of ancient Roman capitals. The only Roman ruins are the Bâb el-Aïn (‘fountain-gate’) and relics of Thermae and of a Basin. The Town Walls, with their many towers, were originally Byzantine, but have been repeatedly restored. With the exception of the ‘keep’, the Byzantine fortress on the top of the hill has been superseded by the Kasba, built largely of Roman materials. On the Bou Hamdan (1047 ft.), a hill 1 M. to the N.W. of Béja, lies a large Punic Burial Ground, with rock-tombs.—Railways run from Béja to the N.E. to Mateur (p. 351) and to the S.W. to Nebeur (p. 326).

The picturesque route to Tabarca (45 M.; motor-omnibus or diligence) leads to the N. from Béja, past the zinc-mines of Jebel Charra (1414 ft.), and through the now treeless valleys of the Oued Béja (Oued Djorfane in its upper course) and the Oued Sersar. It next passes the richest calamine or zinc-ore mines in Tunisia (Jebel Damous, Aïn-Roumi, Jebel Sidi Ahmed) and leads through the grand ravine of Khanguet Kef Tout into the valley of the Oued Maden. 25 M. Djebel-Abiod (Hôt. des Nefzas, quite good), a village in the Nefza Mts., famed for their cork-tree woods, their abundant game, and their great deposits of hæmatite. (Railway from Mateur to Djebel-Abiod, see p. 352; thence to Tabarca under construction.) We now drive to the W., between Jebel Kherouf (2035 ft.) on the left and a chain of *Dunes (650 ft.) on the right, to Râs er-Radjel, and cross the Oued el-Kébir to (45 M.) Tabarca (p. 327).

From Pont-de-Trajan to Teboursouk (Dougga), see p. 355.

The Medjerda, in its sinuous course, then forces its way through the bare hill-country below Pont-de-Trajan. For a short distance the train runs to the N.E. into the side-valley of the Oued Zarga, stopping at (100½ M.) Oued-Zarga (322 ft.), and then returns to the E., through hilly country, and below Toukabeur and Chaouach (see below), into the valley of the Medjerda.

113 M. Medjez el-Bab (197 ft.; Hôt. des Colons; omn. to the diligence office 30 c.), a considerable village on the right bank of the Medjerda, 1¼ M. to the S. of the station, was formerly Membressa, a busy place on the Roman road from Carthage to Tebessa (p. 315). The eight-arched Medjerda Bridge was built in the 18th cent. with the materials of the Roman bridge; and the Roman Triumphal Arch, to which the village owes its name (‘ford by the gateway’), has lately been almost entirely demolished for a similar purpose. Important corn-market on Mondays.

On the slope of Jebel Chaouach (1778 ft.), some 5½ M. to the N.W. of Medjez el-Bab, lies Chaouach (1480 ft.), with the ruins of the small Roman town of Sua (triumphal arch, nymphæum, town-wall, etc.). About 1¼ M. to the W. of Chaouach are the ruins of Toukabeur (1221 ft.), the Roman Thuccabor, with its ancient cisterns, gateways, temple, etc.

From Medjez el-Bab to Teboursouk and Dougga (Le Kef), see R. 55.

The train now proceeds, generally somewhat apart from the tortuous stream, at the foot of bare hills (Jebel Heïdous, Jebel Lansarine, etc.), to (119 M.) El-Heri and (122½ M.) Bordj Toum.

133 M. Tebourba (133 ft.; Hôt. Cafort, R. 2, B. ½, D. 2½, pens. 6 fr.; pop. 2000) is pleasantly situated among olive-groves. On a height (164 ft.) crowned with the kubba of Sidi Ras-Allah, between the village and the Medjerda, are the scanty ruins of the Roman town of Thuburbo Minus. About ½ hr. to the S. of Tebourba lies the dam or *Bridge of El-Bathan, originally Roman, but restored to form a reservoir for watering the olive-trees. Adjacent are a small manufactory of chechias (a kind of fez) and barracks. Near Tebourba are large quarries of gypsum.

139 M. Djedeïda, junction for Bizerta (R. 54), with a barrage and an agricultural school and farm of the Alliance Israélite.

The train crosses the Medjerda and, at the arches of the *Aqueduct of Carthage (p. 348), still 7½ M. long, the watershed between the Medjerda valley and the undulating plain of Tunis.

148 M. La Manouba (p. 342). We then pass Kassar-Saïd (on the left; p. 342) and the (150½ M.) Bardo (p. 339), and for a short time skirt the N. side of the Sebkha es-Sedjoumi (p. 332). Lastly the train rounds the S. edge of the old town (Rebat Bab-Djazira, p. 337) and passes close to the Manoubia Hill (p. 339) and the Zaouïa Sidi Bel-Hassen (p. 339).

154 M. Tunis (Gare du Sud, see below).

52. Tunis.

Arrival by Sea. The Quay where almost all the steamers (p. 331) are berthed is 10–15 min. from the hotels. The Douane is close by. It is best to entrust luggage at once to the hotel servants; if a porter (hamal) is required his charge should be asked (usually 10 c. for small packages, and 25 c. for each trunk carried to the cab or omnibus). Cab (into the town 1 fr., each trunk 15 c.) and tramway (No. 1), see p. 330.

Railway Station. Gare du Sud (Pl. E, 5; Restaurant), Place de la Gare (Rue es-Sadikia).—Railway and sleeping-car office in the town, König & Co. (p. 331).

Hotels (comp. p. 324; often full in Feb.-April). *Tunisia Palace Hotel (Pl. c; E, 4, 5), Avenue de Carthage, behind the Casino Municipal (p. 331), with a small garden, R. 4–10, B. 1½, déj. 5, D. 7, pens. 13–20, omn. 1½–2 fr.; *Hôt. de Paris & Impérial (Pl. a; D, 5), Rue al-Djazira 23bis, R. 3–6, B. 1½, déj. 3½–4, D. 4–5, pens. 9–16, omn. without luggage 1 fr.—*Grand-Hôtel (Pl. b; D, 4), Avenue de France, R. 3½–6, B. 1½, déj. 3½, D. 4½, pens, from 10, omn. 1 fr.; *Hôt. St. Georges, Avenue de Paris (N. of Pl. E, 2), near the Belvedere Park (p. 338), suitable for some stay, R. 3–4, B. 1½, déj. 3, D. 4, pens. 9–12½ fr. (with dépendance Hôt. Suisse, moderate); Hôt. de France (Pl. d; D, 5), Rue Léon-Roches 8, quiet site, pens. 9–11, omn. 1 fr.—Plainer: Hôt. Eymon (Pl. e, D 4; ‘Gigino’), Rue de l’Eglise 1, corner of Place de la Bourse, R. 3–4, B. ¾, déj. or D. 2½, pens. 8 fr., good; Tunis Hotel & de Genève (Pl. f; D, 4, 5), Rue d’Italie 12, R. 2½–6, B. ¾, déj. 2–2½, D. 2½–3, omn. 1–1¼ fr.; Hôt. d’Angleterre, Ave. Jules-Ferry 37, R. 2½–5, B. ¾, déj. 2, D. 2½, pens. 7½, omn. 1¼ fr.; Hôt. Maison Dorée, Rue de Hollande 10 (Pl. E, 5), with restaurant, similar charges; Hôt. Moderne (Pl. g; D, 4), Rue de Constantine 12, corner of Rue de Bône, R. from 3½, déj. or D. 3, pens. from 9½ fr.; Hôt. de la Poste, Rue d’Espagne 5 (Pl. D, 5).—Hôtels Garnis. Hôt. Bellevue (Pl. h; D, 4), Rue es-Sadikia 1; Hôt. Régence (dépendance of the Hôt. Eymon), Ave. de France, R. 3–8, B. 1 fr.; Splendid Hotel, Ave. Jules-Ferry 74; Royal Hotel, Rue d’Espagne 19, R. from 3 fr.; Hôt. Central, Ave. de Paris 8; Family Hotel, Rue d’Allemagne 15 (Pl. D, 5), near the marché (p. 333), plain.—Furnished Rooms (20–70 fr. per month) abound.

Cafés. Café du Casino, in the palmarium of the Casino Municipal (p. 331), with a summer terrace in the Ave. Jules-Ferry; Café-Restaurant de Tunis, Ave. de France 2, in the Hôt. Bellevue, much frequented; Café de Paris, same street, No. 16. Arabian cafés (p. 174) in the Halfaouine quarter (Pl. B, 2), at the Bab Djedid (Pl. C, 6), etc.—Confectioners. Engerer, Place de la Bourse 1; Wagner & Co., Rue d’Italie 24, and Ave. de Paris 8; Montelateci, Ave. de France 7.

Restaurants. *Brasserie du Phénix, Ave. Jules-Ferry 74, in the Splendid Hotel (see above); Café-Restaurant de Tunis, see above; Salvarelli, Ave. de France, adjoining the Grand-Hôtel; Maxéville, Ave. Jules-Ferry 63 (déj. or D. 1½ fr.); Maison Dorée, in the hotel (see above); Restaurant du Rosbif, Ave. Jules-Ferry 56; Restaurant de la Poste, Rue d’Angleterre 8.

Carriages.	Voiture de Place			Voiture de Remise
	With one horse		With two horses
	(2–3 pers.)	(4 pers.)
Drive (course) in the town (petite banlieue)	0.80	0.90	1.—	1.60
Outside the town, up to 8 kilomètres (5 M.)	2.50	2.70	3.—	4.50
Hour in the town	1.30	1.50	1.80	2.40
Hour outside the town	1.80	2.—	2.40	3.20
Day (12 hrs.)	12.—	12.—	15.—	20.—

The chief limits of the inner town are the Bardo and the Belvedere Park. From 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. (or in April-Sept. 11–5) a fare and a half is charged. During festivals and races, and also for long drives, bargain advisable. Small packages free; trunk 15 c.—There are also Taximeter Motor Cabs (comp. tariff).

Motor Cars. Auto-Palace, Rue d’Autriche Prolongée 3; Garage Peyrard, Rue de Belgique 10; Tunisienne Automobile, Rue de Grèce.

Tramways (fares by zones, from 5 c. upwards; also transfer-tickets), from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.: 1. Porte de France (Pl. D, 4), Ave. Jules-Ferry (Pl. E, 4), Ave. du Port, Harbour.—2. Porte de France, Rue al-Djazira (Pl. D, 5, 6), Ave. Bab-Djedid (Pl. D, C, 6), Place de la Kasba (Pl. B, 5).—3. Porte de France, Rue des Maltais (Pl. D, 4), Place Bab-Souika (Pl. B, C, 3), Kasba.—4. Rue al-Djazira (Rue d’Algérie; Pl. D, 6), Rue es-Sadikia (Pl. D, 5; Gare du Sud), Rue de Rome (Pl. D, 4), Ave. de Paris (Pl. E, 4, 3), Place Bab-Souika, Bab Bou-Saâdoun (Pl. A, 2).—5. Place Bab-Souika (Pl. B, C, 3), Bab Bou-Saâdoun, Bardo (p. 339; every ¼ hr., 15 c.), La Manouba (p. 342; every ½ hr., 30 c.).—6. Porte de France, Rue des Maltais (Pl. D, 4), Bab el-Khadra (Pl. C, 2), Cimetière Municipal, Belvedere Park (p. 338; Ave. Carnot, 15 c.).—7. Rue de Rome (Pl. D, 4), Ave. de Paris (Pl. E, 4–2), Belvedere Park (Rond-Point; every 10 or 15 min., 15 c.; on week-days there and back 25 c.), Ariana (p. 338; every ½ hr., 30 c.).—8. Ave. de France (Pl. D, 4), Ave. de Carthage (Pl. E, 5–7), Bab Alleoua (Pl. E, 7), Abattoirs (to the S. of Pl. E, 7).—For the electric tramways to Carthage and La Marsa, see p. 343.

Post & Telegraph Office (Pl. D, 5), Rue d’Italie 30; branches on the quay and in the Place Bab-Souika.

Steamboat Agents. For the Comp. Gén. Transatlantique (RR. 21, 22), Banque de Tunisie, Rue es-Sadikia 3, and on the Quai Ouest; for the Società Nazionale (RR. 25, 26, 64), Florio, Rue d’Alger 1; for the Comp. de Navigation Mixte (RR. 21, 26, 64), Ave. Jules-Ferry and Quai Ouest; for the Hamburg-American Line, the Hungarian Adria, and the German Levant Line, Siebert & Co., Rue d’Italie 5bis; for the North German Lloyd, Heckmann, see below.

Tourist Offices. Eisen (travel and sport), Rue Léon-Roches 6; König & Co., Rue es-Sadikia; Pernull & Myddleton, Ave. Jules-Ferry 39; R. Heckmann (Universal Tourist Office), Ave. de Carthage, opposite Tunisia Palace Hotel; Lubin, Ave. de France 5.—Comité d’Hivernage, Ave. de Carthage 8.

Consuls. British Consul-General, E. J. L. Berkeley, Place de la Bourse (Pl. D, 4); vice-consuls, Chas. A. Goodwin, R. Schembri.—U. S. Vice-Consul, A. J. Proux, Ave. de France.

Physicians. Dr. Domela, Ave. Jules-Ferry 72; Dr. Valetta, Rue d’Espagne; Dr. Zammit, Rue Amilcar (all three speak English); Dr. Jaeggy, Rue d’Autriche; Mlle. Dr. Gordon, Rue de Rome 18.—Chemist. Heyler, Ave. Jules-Ferry 54 (Théâtre Rossini, Pl. E, 4).

Baths. Dublineau, Rue d’Allemagne 17 (Pl. D, 5; well fitted up; bath 1½, Turkish 3 fr.); Bains Français, Rue de Suisse 8; Bains Maures (comp. p. 175), Ave. Bab-Menara.

Banks (comp. p. 174). Banque de l’Algérie, Rue de Rome 18; Comp. Algérienne, Rue de Rome; Banque de Tunisie, Rue es-Sadikia 3; Comptoir d’Escompte de Paris, Ave. de France; Cooperativa Italiana, Rue es-Sadikia 7; Krieger, Rue al-Djazira 45.

Goods Agents. Meyer, Porte de France 35; Dana, Rue es-Sadikia 9.

Booksellers. Niérat & Fortin, Ave. de France 15, and Saliba, No. 17.—Photographs (and photographic materials). Lehnert & Landrock, Ave. de France 17, and Garrigues, No. 9; Neuer, Rue Léon-Roches 6; Vella, Rue d’Allemagne 4.—Newspapers. Dépêche Tunisienne, Tunisie Française, Unione (Ital. and Fr.).—Shop for European goods, Magasin Général, Ave. de France 22 (fixed prices). Oriental goods at the Musée Ahmed Djamal, Souk el-Attârîn 11 and Rue d’Autriche 108; Pohoomull Frères, Ave. de France 17. The Oriental articles in the Souks (pp. 335–337) and even the fezes (chechia) are mostly of European make and may be bought cheaper at home. Important purchases should not be made without the aid of a friend who knows the country and its ways (bargaining necessary). The services of touts, guides, and hotel servants should be declined, as they tend to raise prices.

Theatres. Théâtre du Casino Municipal, in the Casino Municipal (see below), entrance in the Ave. Jules-Ferry, for operas and operettas, 15th Nov. to 15th April; Théâtre Rossini (Pl. E, 4), Ave. Jules-Ferry 48, for Italian and French dramas.—Casino Municipal (Pl. E, 4), Ave. de Carthage 1, with hall for concerts and varieties (‘Palmarium’), a summer terrace, card-rooms, and American bar. The Pavillon du Belvédère, in the park of the Belvedere (p. 338), is the summer casino of the same company.—Band on Sun. and Thurs. afternoons, Place de la Résidence; on Wed. in front of the Cercle Militaire.

English Church. St. George’s (‘Egl. anglic.’; Pl. C, 3), Rue Bab-Carthagène 39, service at 10.15 a.m.

Sights. Bardo Museum, same as Musée Alaoui, see below.

Bardo Palace (p. 340), week-days, at any hour; tickets at the Musée Alaoui (comp, below).

Bibliothèque Française (p. 333), week-days 9–11 and 2–4 (in summer 8–11 only).

Dâr el-Bey (p. 336), daily, 9–11 and 3–5; fee ½–1 fr.

Jardin d’Essais (p. 338), daily 8–11 and 1–5 (April-Oct. 7–11 and 3–6).

Musée Alaoui (p. 340), daily except Mon. and great Catholic festivals 9.30–11.30 and 1–4 (16th Feb. to 15th Oct. 2–5), 1 fr. (Sun. free); the same ticket admits to the Bardo Palace also, if visited on the same day.

Two Days. 1st. Forenoon, Ave. Jules-Ferry and Ave. de France (p. 333); walk through the Souks of the Medina (p. 335) and the adjoining Mohammedan Quarters (p. 334); visit to Place el-Halfaouine (p. 337). Afternoon, Bardo Museum (p. 340) or Belvedere Park (p. 338), or, by carriage, both.—2nd. Excursion to Carthage, see R. 53.

Tunis, Ital. Túnisi, capital of the Régence de Tunis, and seat of the French Resident-General (p. 323) and of the Mohammedan university, is the largest city in N. Africa after Cairo and Alexandria, and vies with Sfax as a most important harbour. Population about 200,000, of whom about 115,000 are Mohammedans, 22,500 Jews, 41,000 Italians, 14,000 French, 5400 Maltese, and 250 Greeks.

The town lies in 36°47′ N. lat. and 10°10′ W. long., on the E. margin of the narrow tongue of land (rising to 190 ft.) between the Lac de Tunis (or Lake Bahira, p. 129) and the small salt-lake Sebkha es-Sedjoumi, an old lagoon. The central part of the sea of houses composing the old town is the Medina, the oldest Moorish quarter, built largely out of the ruins of Thunes, Carthage, and Utica, and now the chief focus of trade and industry. Adjacent, to the N. and S., are two poor quarters, also chiefly Mohammedan, the Rebat Bab-Souika and Rebat Bab-Djazira, formerly N. and E. suburbs. The monotonous European new town in the low ground to the E. of the Medina, exposed in summer to the exhalations of Lake Bahira, is gradually extending from the Porte de France (formerly Bab el-Bahar, sea-gate) towards the harbour. On the brow of the hill to the W. of the old town are the old Kasba and most of the public buildings, almost all built under the French protectorate. Some of these lie outside the Turkish town-wall, once 6000 yds. long, erected in the 17th century.

Tunis, the ancient Thunes, a Berber name given to an earlier Phœnician colony, appears in history in 508 B.C. as an ally of Carthage. In 395 it was destroyed by rebellious Berber tribes. It was from Thunes that Agathocles (p. 163) and Regulus (p. 345) advanced against Carthage, and here, after the first Punic war, the discontented mercenaries from Sicca Veneria (p. 360) established themselves. Tunis was probably destroyed by the Romans at the same time as Carthage (146 B.C.) and rebuilt later. After the downfall of Carthage Utica (p. 353) entered into the heritage of her proud neighbour, but for a short time only; for from 29 B.C. onwards Carthage resumed her ancient supremacy and continued to flourish down to her second destruction in 698 A.D. This time Tunis was her natural successor. But the nomadic Arabs, being ignorant of navigation, and the Aglabides (p. 323) preferred Kairwan (p. 372), which had recently been founded in the heart of the Tunisian steppe; and the succeeding Fatimite and Zirite dynasties favoured the Sahel, with Mehdia (p. 369) as their new capital, to the detriment of N. Tunisia. At length, under the Hafsides (1206–1573; p. 323), Tunis became the capital, and rapidly grew to be the greatest and fairest city in the land, as well as a zealous promoter of the glorious Moorish art and science of the 13th and 14th centuries. The most distinguished of the Hafside sovereigns was Abû Abdallah Mohammed el-Mostanser Billah, who in 1270 defended his capital successfully against Louis IX., the Saint (p. 346). After the decline of that dynasty at the close of the 15th cent. and the capture of Tunis by Kheireddin (p. 221) in 1534, the city was attacked by the Spaniards in three different campaigns (p. 323), and was conquered four times by the Turks and the Algerians (in 1569, 1573, 1689, and 1757); yet in the 17th and 18th centuries, thanks to its Oriental trade and the booty of its pirates, it again enjoyed great prosperity.

The only mediæval buildings in the old town which have survived all these vicissitudes are three mosques, now much modernized. The distinctive character of the present town is of Mauro-Turkish origin. Those who cross the threshold of the Orient here for the first time will be specially struck with the narrow and crooked lanes of the Mohammedan quarters, only 12–16 ft. wide, with the motley crowd in the Souks (p. 335), and with the picturesque concourse of all the tribes of N. Africa and the Sahara. The poor Jewish quarter (p. 337) is less interesting. The strange costume of the women, with their kufias or sugar-loaf hats, loose jackets, and tight-fitting trousers, is now rarely seen except on members of the older generation, while the pretty, old-fashioned costume of the girls is a thing of the past.

John Howard Payne (b. 1792), author of ‘Home, Sweet Home’, was United States consul at Tunis from 1842 until his death in 1852.

a. The New Town.

From the Harbour (Port; see inset map, Pl. E, 1), which together with the Bahira Canal (p. 129) was constructed in 1888–96, the short Avenue du Port (tramway No. 1, p. 330) leads through the Piccola Sicilia, a group of workmen’s huts, into the town, ending at the bronze statue of Jules Ferry (1832–93), the French statesman who brought about the occupation of Tunisia.

The Avenue Jules-Ferry (Pl. E, 4), or Avenue de la Marine, the finest street in the new town, 66 yds. wide and 710 yds. long, is planted with double avenues of fig-trees. On the left, just beyond the divergence, to the right and left, of the unfinished Avenue de Paris (p. 338) and Avenue de Carthage (Pl. E, 5–7), which together are 2¼ M. long, rises the Casino Municipal (Pl. E, 4; p. 331).

The Ave. Jules-Ferry ends at the Place de la Résidence (Pl. D, 4; band, see p. 331), the centre of the new town. To the left, on the S. side, rises the Palais de la Résidence (Pl. D, E, 4), or Maison de France, built in 1856–60 for the French consulate (see p. 334), and tastefully remodelled in 1890–2 by Dupertuys as a dwelling for the resident-general. The beautiful garden is not accessible. Opposite the Residence is the Cathedral (Pl. D, 4); erected in 1893–7. The Rue es-Sadikia leads to the S. from the W. end of the square to the Gare du Sud (p. 329).

The Ave. Jules-Ferry is continued by the much narrower Avenue de France (Pl. D, 4), intersecting the older European quarter, the favourite promenade of the town. A little to the S. of it, in the Rue d’Italie, which leads to the Post and Telegraph Office (Pl. D, 5), is the Marché (Pl. D, 5; interesting from 7 to 10 a.m.).

In the Rue de Russie, the southmost street in this quarter, is the Bibliothèque Française (Pl. D, 5; adm., see p. 331), which is well supplied with literature relating to N. Africa.