Sfax
| Sfax Sifaks / ⵙⵉⴼⴰⴽⵙ / صفاقس | |
|---|---|
|
Hédi Chaker Street in Sfax | |
  Sfax | |
| Coordinates: 34°44′N 10°46′E / 34.733°N 10.767°ECoordinates: 34°44′N 10°46′E / 34.733°N 10.767°E | |
| Country |
 Tunisia |
| Governorates | Sfax Governorate |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Moncef Abdelhedi |
| Population (2014) | |
| • Total | 330,440 |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
Sfax (Arabic: صفاقس 
Ṣfāqes; Berber: Sifaks) is a city in Tunisia, located 270 km (170 mi) southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD 849 on the ruins of Taparura and Thaenae, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 860,000 inhabitants in 2005),[1] and a Mediterranean port. Sfax has a population of 340,000 (2005 estimate).[1] The main economic activities of Sfax are industries (phosphate processing), agriculture (olive and olive oil, nuts), fishing (largest fishing port in Tunisia) and trade (import-export). The city is often described as Tunisia's "second city" (after the capital Tunis).
History
By the end of the 10th century Sfax had become an independent city-state. The city was conquered by Roger II of Sicily in 1148 and occupied until it was liberated in 1156 by local forces, and was briefly occupied by European forces again; this time by the Spanish, in the 16th century, before falling into Ottoman hands this time. Sfax became an integral base of the Barbary piracy, prompting an unsuccessful invasion by Venice in 1785. In the late 19th century Sfax and the rest of Tunisia were conquered by France and incorporated into the French empire. During World War II, the Axis powers used the city as a major base until British forces took it on 10 April 1943. After World War II, Tunisia was returned to France, but gained independence in 1956.
Transport
Sfax is served by a narrow gauge railway system of SNCFT that delivers phosphates and iron ore for export, but also sees passenger services to Tunis. Sfax is moreover served by Sfax – Thyna International Airport and Syfax Airlines with regularly scheduled flights to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, Tripoli International Airport, and charter flights to Jeddah Airport for the pilgrimage to Mecca.
The A1 motorway connects Sfax with Tunis.
Communications
Founded in 1961, Radio Sfax broadcasts twenty hours a day[2] on MW 720 kHz/105.21 MHz.[3]
Climate
| Climate data for Sfax | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 26.8 (80.2) |
31.5 (88.7) |
36.1 (97) |
37.2 (99) |
38.8 (101.8) |
43.9 (111) |
47.2 (117) |
46.8 (116.2) |
43.5 (110.3) |
36.9 (98.4) |
32.5 (90.5) |
28.3 (82.9) |
47.2 (117) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 16.7 (62.1) |
18.0 (64.4) |
19.5 (67.1) |
21.8 (71.2) |
25.4 (77.7) |
28.9 (84) |
32.0 (89.6) |
32.2 (90) |
29.8 (85.6) |
26.0 (78.8) |
21.4 (70.5) |
17.6 (63.7) |
24.1 (75.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 11.3 (52.3) |
12.2 (54) |
14.0 (57.2) |
16.4 (61.5) |
19.8 (67.6) |
23.4 (74.1) |
26.0 (78.8) |
26.7 (80.1) |
24.8 (76.6) |
21.0 (69.8) |
15.9 (60.6) |
12.2 (54) |
18.6 (65.5) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 5.8 (42.4) |
6.5 (43.7) |
8.4 (47.1) |
11.0 (51.8) |
14.4 (57.9) |
17.8 (64) |
19.9 (67.8) |
21.1 (70) |
19.8 (67.6) |
16.1 (61) |
10.6 (51.1) |
6.7 (44.1) |
13.2 (55.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −2.3 (27.9) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
2.0 (35.6) |
6.1 (43) |
9.6 (49.3) |
13.6 (56.5) |
13.2 (55.8) |
11.2 (52.2) |
5.2 (41.4) |
2.2 (36) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
−2.3 (27.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 22.7 (0.894) |
19.4 (0.764) |
23.3 (0.917) |
17.6 (0.693) |
9.2 (0.362) |
4.4 (0.173) |
1.8 (0.071) |
5.6 (0.22) |
24.1 (0.949) |
56.4 (2.22) |
22.9 (0.902) |
29.3 (1.154) |
236.7 (9.319) |
| Average precipitation days | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 32 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 65 | 63 | 63 | 63 | 62 | 60 | 59 | 63 | 65 | 66 | 65 | 66 | 63 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 198.4 | 201.6 | 238.7 | 258.0 | 310.0 | 333.0 | 378.2 | 347.2 | 273.0 | 241.8 | 210.0 | 195.3 | 3,185.2 |
| Mean daily sunshine hours | 6.4 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 8.6 | 10.0 | 11.1 | 12.2 | 11.2 | 9.1 | 7.8 | 7.0 | 6.3 | 8.7 |
| Source: NOAA[4] | |||||||||||||
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 °C (61 °F) | 15 °C (59 °F) | 15 °C (59 °F) | 17 °C (63 °F) | 19 °C (66 °F) | 22 °C (72 °F) | 26 °C (79 °F) | 28 °C (82 °F) | 27 °C (81 °F) | 25 °C (77 °F) | 22 °C (72 °F) | 18 °C (64 °F) |
Education
The University of Sfax includes:
- ENIS (École Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Sfax) issued a number of well-known scientists and industrialists.[6]
- ESCS (École Supérieure de Commerce de Sfax) issued a number of managers, Economy and Management researchers and young entrepreneurs.[7]
- FLSHS (Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines de Sfax) issued a number of renowned poets and prose writers.[8]
- Sfax Faculty of Medicine (Faculté de Médecine de Sfax).[9]
- ISAAS (Institut Supérieur d'Administration des Affaires de Sfax)[10]
- FSEGS (Faculté des Sciences Économiques et de Gestion de Sfax).[11]
- ISIMS (Institut Supérieur d'Informatique et de Multimédia de Sfax).[12]
- FDS(Faculté de Droit de Sfax)(http://www.fdsf.rnu.tn/)
- ISAMS (Institut Supérieur des Arts et Métiers de Sfax)
Sport
- CS Sfaxien, a club of football (soccer), volleyball, basketball and rugby.
Notable people
- Bilel Jamoussi, Chief, Study Groups Department, ITU-T, http://www.leaders.com.tn/article/bilel-jamoussi-ph-d, http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/wtsa12/Pages/academic/Panelists/Jamoussi-bio.aspx
- Aboubakr Abdelkefi, Historian, writer and Poet and co-founder of Radio Sfax
- Hammadi Agrebi, former football player for CSS, All times best player
- Ahmed Aloulou, medical doctor and nationalist militant under French occupation
- Max Azria, fashion designer
- Mamdouh Bahri, artist, composer and famous jazz guitarist and teacher now living in France
- Hédi Bouraoui, a poet and writer now living in Canada
- Nouri Bouzid, cineast
- Hedi Chaker, major national political leader assassinated by the French terrorist organization "La main rouge"
- Mohamed Charfi, academic and politician, jurist and scholar committed Francophile and a supporter of "reasoned" secularism, he headed the Tunisian League of Human Rights before being appointed to head the Department of Education.
- Moncef Dhouib, cineast and theatre writer
- Tom Dixon, industrial designer
- Sidi Ali Ennouri, savant and religious saint
- Mohamed Gouaida, footballer
- Farhat Hached, major syndicalist political leader assassinated by the French terrorist organization "La main rouge"
- Mohamed Jamoussi, artist, poet, composer and famous singer
- Fakhri Karray, Professor, PAMI Associate Director, Electrical and Computer Engineering (University of Waterloo)
- Sidi Ali Karray, savant and religious saint
- Mohammed Kreeshan, Aljazeera presenter
- Christian Lauba, composer
- Mansour Moalla, former Minister of Economy, economist and banker
- Georges Perec, writer
- Hatem Trabelsi, former football player for Ajax Amsterdam, Manchester City, and the Tunisian national team
- Zaher Kammoun,journalist
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Sfax is twinned with:
-
Grenoble, France[13] -
Makhachkala, Russia -
Marburg, Germany[14] 
Dakar, Senegal
Oran, Algeria
Safi, Morocco
See also
- Fossa regia
- Sfax War Cemetery
- Sufax, a possible etymon of Sfax
- Transport in Tunisia
References
- Notes
- 1 2 LookLex Encyclopaedia accessed 10 July 2008
- ↑ Jeter, James Phillip; Rampal, Kuldip R.; Cambridge, Vibert C.; Pratt, Cornelius B. (1996). International Afro mass media: a reference guide. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 130. ISBN 0-313-28400-8. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
- ↑ Radio Tunis (2010). "Radio Sfax, official site". Radiodiffusion Television Tunisienne. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
- ↑ "Sfax Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
- ↑ "Sfax Climate and Weather Averages, Tunisia". Weather2Travel. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
- ↑ enis.rnu.tn
- ↑ escs.rnu.tn
- ↑ flshs.rnu.tn
- ↑ fmsf.rnu.tn
- ↑ isaas.rnu.tn
- ↑ fsegs.rnu.tn
- ↑ isimsf.rnu.tn
- ↑ Jérôme Steffenino, Marguerite Masson. "Ville de Grenoble –Coopérations et villes jumelles". Grenoble.fr. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ↑ "Universitätsstadt Marburg Partnerstädte". marburg.de. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
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