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Monastir Holiday And History

By: Mark Bartley

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One of the main reasons to holiday in Monastir, Tunisia is the great beach holiday resort it boasts, but the result of thousands of years of marine exploration has left Monastir with an ancient legacy that few towns can match.

The Phoenicians are credited as being one of the most influential and advanced civilizations of any era and their reach extended all along the Mediterranean. They originated from the eastern end of the sea in areas that now form Syria and Israel, but due to their impressive boat building skills, their influence spread all around the Mediterranean including as far as Gibraltar, Mallorca and Ibiza. Some of their efforts in establishing great cities can be experienced in modern day Tunisia, where they are credited with establishing the great city of Sousse in the Gulf of Hammamet.

Sousse, like many other towns in this region has survived remarkably well, partly due to its allegiances in various conflicts, when it found itself on the more dominant side and suffered relatively minor damage. The Phoenicians originally named the city Hadrumetum and under the Romans it spent hundreds of years in peaceful development until the power of Rome faded and invading armies of the Vandals and Byzantines arrived and gave the city new names. The city received a new lease of life when the Arabs arrived almost two thousand years after it was first established and created a thriving port that had both commercial and strategic implications as it became important in several naval conflicts in future years. That importance can still be seen today as some of the impressive fortifications that were built by the Arabs are standing today, almost totally in tact. The impressive ribat at Sousse is one of the wonders of the southern Mediterranean today and the Medina of Sousses is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. The beaches at Sousse also attract over a million visitors each year.

This part of Tunisia boasts several thriving holiday resorts and just along the coast from Sousse is Monastir, another favoured holiday destination. Monastir does not have the scale of Sousse, being roughly a quarter of its size, but it does have plenty of charm and is a perfect location for hot sunny holiday with more than enough in the way of local culture and history to make days away from the beach well worth investigating.

As well as having a mausoleum for an ex President, Monastir is also home to an impressive Ribat. At Monastir the Ribat was home to military volunteers and over the years was also a safe haven for travellers. It is amazingly well preserved and is now regarded to be the largest standing Ribat in the whole of Africa. It is certainly an impressive structure towering over the town and almost impossible to ignore for anyone taking a holiday there. It almost draws you away from the beach and entices you to explore it.

In addition to the great Ribat, Monastir is also a great base for different types of holidays. The resort has always attracted families looking for a low cost break in the sun, but there are also several high quality luxury hotels in the town and golfing holidays are also emerging, although you do wonder how green fairways could possibly survive naturally in the heat and dryness of this region. There are now two golf courses close to Monastir, the Palm Links course and the Flamingo course. Also within reach are the two courses at Port el Kantaoui, which were established in 1979 and are both very scenic, particularly the sea course.

Monastir has some fantastic beaches, with the town beach at Karaia competing with Houda and Skanes for tourists. Karaia beach is a close to the town centre and is a long stretch of fine white sand bordering the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean.

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The availability of flights to Monastir has helped grow the town's popularity as a summer sun destination. Mark recommends viewing the Ribat and some of the ancient out-of-town buildings when visiting Monastir.

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