Tabarka

Tabarka
طبرقة
Tabarka

Location in Tunisia

Coordinates: 36°57′16″N 8°45′29″E / 36.95444°N 8.75806°E / 36.95444; 8.75806Coordinates: 36°57′16″N 8°45′29″E / 36.95444°N 8.75806°E / 36.95444; 8.75806
Country Tunisia
Governorate Jendouba Governorate
Elevation 15.4 ft (4.7 m)
Population (2014)
 • City 17,425
 • Density 10,080/sq mi (3,893/km2)
 • Urban 41,293
 • Urban density 80/sq mi (31/km2)
 • Metro 44.992
 • Metro density 170/sq mi (64/km2)
Time zone CET (UTC1)
Postal Code 8110

Tabarka (Tunisian Arabic: طبرقة‎  ṭbarqa, Phoenician Ṭabarqa, Thabraca in Latin,[1][2] also called Tbarga by locals) is a coastal town located in north-western Tunisia, at about 36°57′16″N 8°45′29″E / 36.95444°N 8.75806°E / 36.95444; 8.75806, close to the border with Algeria. It has been famous for its coral fishing, the Coral Festival of underwater photography and the annual jazz festival. Tabarka's history is a colorful mosaic of Phoenician, Roman, Arabic and Turkish civilizations. The town is dominated by an offshore rock on which is built a Genoese castle. Nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba, later to become president of post-independence Tunisia, was exiled here by the French colonial authorities in 1952.

History

Tarbarka island, 17th century.

Although older sources placed Thabraca within the Roman province of Numidia, recent ones agree in placing it in the Roman province of Africa, known also as Africa Proconsularis.[3][4][5][6] It was a Roman colony. It was connected by a road with Simitthu, to which it served as a port for the exportation of its famous marbles.

At Thabraca the rebellious Roman official Gildo, the brother of Firmus, committed suicide. Under the Vandal king Gaiseric it had a monastery for men and one for women.

Fort Diagram

In 1540 the island of the same name which lies at a distance of about 365 yards overlooking the city, was given by the Ottoman Turk bey of Tunis in concession to the Genoese family of Lomellini. The Genoese were in the service of Spain during 1553 at the request of Carlos V of Castile and Aragon that was interested in coral fishing. The Lomellini were part of the circle of Andrea Doria, Doge of Genoa and were related to parental ties to the family Grimaldi (XVI century). Here you can still see the ruins of a fortress stronghold, a church, and some Genoese buildings. The Genoese maintained a fortress garrison there from 1540 to 1742. The Lomellini were part of the inner circle of Andrea Doria, Doge of Genoa and were related to parental ties to the family Grimaldi (XVI century). The grant was likely due to a never revealed but likely 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, near Genoa, where he had various properties and a huge palace resort. 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 the Sardinia island of San Pietro, then uninhabited, where they founded a new town of Carloforte. The transfer was made possible thanks to the King of Sardinia, Carlo Emanuele III of Savoy to colonize those lands belonging to Sardinia which were not yet inhabited. The name of Carlisle was chosen in honor of the sovereign. 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

In 1741 the Genoese fortress surrendered to the (nominally Ottoman, de facto autonomous) Bey of Tunis. Part of the population was moved to the Sardinian island of San Pietro and the town of Calasetta on the adjacent Island of Sant'Antioco, whose population still speaks a variant of Genoese dialect originating from Tabarka. Others were moved to the Spanish island of New Tabarca.[7]

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 was established in 1973.

Ecclesiastical history

Thabraca became a Christian bishopric that is no longer a residential see but is included in the Catholic Church's list of titular sees.[6]

View Of Tabarka's Fort

The city contains several Christian cemeteries, many of the tombs covered with curious mosaics. An inscription (C.I.L., VIII, 173-82) mentions the cult of the martyr Anastasia and her companions.

Bishops

The bishops of Thabraca, who met with the other bishops of Proconsular Africa, included:

Titular bishops

Weather

Climate

The weather in Tabarka is usually unstable depending on the year. Summer is mostly mild and dry since it barely rains in july and august. The average temperatures for this season is 28.2C. As for winter, it is mostly rainy and cold. Some snow can be seen during this time of the year. The average temperature for this season is 7.4C.

Climate data for Tabarka 1981-2010
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 25.6
(78.1)		 24
(75)		 28.6
(83.5)		 37
(99)		 41.3
(106.3)		 43.1
(109.6)		 44.5
(112.1)		 44.3
(111.7)		 43.2
(109.8)		 40
(104)		 27.7
(81.9)		 23.7
(74.7)		 44.5
(112.1)
Average high °C (°F) 14.1
(57.4)		 15.8
(60.4)		 17.9
(64.2)		 20.7
(69.3)		 23.6
(74.5)		 29.3
(84.7)		 39.6
(103.3)		 29.4
(84.9)		 29.7
(85.5)		 25.3
(77.5)		 20.9
(69.6)		 16.3
(61.3)		 23.55
(74.38)
Daily mean °C (°F) 7.4
(45.3)		 11.7
(53.1)		 13.5
(56.3)		 15.5
(59.9)		 18.4
(65.1)		 23
(73)		 28.4
(83.1)		 28
(82)		 26.5
(79.7)		 18.5
(65.3)		 11.1
(52)		 7.1
(44.8)		 17.43
(63.3)
Average low °C (°F) 2.6
(36.7)		 4.6
(40.3)		 9.1
(48.4)		 10.4
(50.7)		 13.3
(55.9)		 17.7
(63.9)		 23
(73)		 22.6
(72.7)		 19.3
(66.7)		 11.7
(53.1)		 7.4
(45.3)		 4.4
(39.9)		 12.18
(53.88)
Record low °C (°F) −7.4
(18.7)		 −5.5
(22.1)		 −2.3
(27.9)		 −1.7
(28.9)		 0
(32)		 9
(48)		 10.1
(50.2)		 11.8
(53.2)		 7
(45)		 −5
(23)		 −4.8
(23.4)		 −4.7
(23.5)		 −7.4
(18.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 236
(9.29)		 233
(9.17)		 80
(3.15)		 61
(2.4)		 37
(1.46)		 15
(0.59)		 3
(0.12)		 6
(0.24)		 43
(1.69)		 89
(3.5)		 112
(4.41)		 212
(8.35)		 1,127
(44.37)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 3.3
(1.3)		 3.1
(1.22)		 1.2
(0.47)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 2.8
(1.1)		 10.4
(4.09)
Average rainy days 14 12 11 8 4 2 1 3 5 10 14 11 95
Mean monthly sunshine hours 78.5 82.4 120.2 135.4 157.6 210.2 250.6 234.2 112.2 94.0 89.8 81.2 1,646.3
Source #1: Climate-Data.org,[8] Weather2Travel for rainy days and sunshine[9]
Source #2: Voodoo Skies for record temperatures[10]
Snow In Tabarka's Forest
Tabarka Snowfall In a Forest
Tabarka mean sea temperature[9]
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
15 °C (59 °F) 15 °C (59 °F) 15 °C (59 °F) 15 °C (59 °F) 17 °C (63 °F) 21 °C (70 °F) 24 °C (75 °F) 25 °C (77 °F) 24 °C (75 °F) 22 °C (72 °F) 19 °C (66 °F) 16 °C (61 °F)

Transport

There is one airport in Tabarka that was named Airport 7 Novembre until the Tunisian revolution; it was then renamed Tabarka-Ain Draham International Airport.

A view from Tabarka port.
Harbor

See also

References

  1. ↑ Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary
  2. ↑ Victor Chapot, The Roman World (Biblo & Tannen Publishers, 1928 - Rome), p. 385
  3. ↑ Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth, Esther Eidinow (editors), The Oxford Classical Dictionary (Oxford Univeersity Press 2012 ISBN 978-0-19954556-8), entry "Africa, Roman"
  4. ↑ Jonathan Conant, Staying Roman: Conquest and Identity in Africa and the Mediterranean, 439-700 (Cambridge University Press 2012), p. 48
  5. ↑ John E. Rotelle (editor), Saint Augustine, Letters 1-99, Part 2, Volume 1 (New City Press 2001 ISBN 978-1-56548163-3), P. 264
  6. 1 2 Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1), p. 979
  7. ↑ 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 Valencian). Juan Calduch; Joaquín Lara (graphic dessing). Servicio de patrimonio arquitectónico: Conselleria de Cultura, Educación y Ciencia: Generalidad Valenciana.
  8. ↑ "Climate: Tabarka - Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  9. 1 2 "Tabarka Climate and Weather Averages, Tunisia". Weather2Travel. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "Tabarka, Tuisia". Voodoo Skies. Retrieved 19 July 2014.

External links

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Thabraca". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton. 

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