Gabès
| Gabès قابس | |
|---|---|
  Gabès | |
| Coordinates: 33°53′N 10°07′E / 33.883°N 10.117°ECoordinates: 33°53′N 10°07′E / 33.883°N 10.117°E | |
| Country |
 Tunisia |
| Governorates | Gabès |
| Population (2014) | |
| • Total | 152,921 |
| Source: Census | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| Website | Official website |
Gabès (Tunisian Arabic: ڨابس 
Gābis), also spelt Cabès, Cabes, Kabes, Gabbs and Gaps, is the capital city of the Gabès Governorate, a province of Tunisia. It lies on the coast of the Gulf of Gabès. With a population of 152,921 (census 2014) it is the 6th largest Tunisian city.
History
Etymology
Takapes, the ancient name of Gabes, is a Numidian-Berber name. Later, the prefix "Ta" (meaning "to" in Berber) was dropped, and the place became known as Kapes. As in Arabic the sound /p/ is unknown, Kapes became known as Kabes, and later known as Gabes.
Roman period
Gabès is the ancient Tacapae[1][2] or Tacape (Τακάπη in Ancient greek) or Tacapes[3] of the Roman province of Tripolitania.
Strabo refers to this city as an important entrepot of the Lesser Syrtis. Pliny (18.22) remarks that the waters of a copious fountain at Tacape were divided among the cultivators according to a system where each had the use of the water during a certain interval of time. The Tabula Peutingeriana shows Tacape between Marcomades and Sabratha.
Bishopric
Tacapae became a Christian bishopric that, no longer being a residential see, is included in the Catholic Church's list of titular sees.[4]
Three of its bishops are known:[5]
- Dulcitius, legate of the bishops of Tripolitana to the Council of Carthage (403) and present at the Conference of Carthage in 411;
- Servilius, exiled by Huneric in 484;
- Caius or Gallus, legate of the bishops of his province to the Council of Carthage in 525.
After the Roman and Christian period
- 7th century: The Umayyad Caliphate conquest. Muhammed's companion Sidi Abou Loobaba Al'Ansarey settles in Gabès.
- 1574: Gabès becomes part of the Eyalet of Tunis after the Ottoman conquest.
- 1881: Gabès comes under a French protectorate.
- 1940: Following the Fall of France, Gabès comes under German control.
- 1943: Gabès returns to French control with the help of the British (in the Mareth Line). The operation results in serious damage to the city infrastructure and in the defeat of Hitler for the first time in history.[6]
- 1945: The rebuilding of Gabès starts.
- 1956: Gabès reverts to Tunisian control with the independence of Tunisia from the French.
Education
- University of Gabès (science university, engineering school...)
Economy
Gabès is one of the biggest industrial cities in Tunisia. Most industries are chemical oriented, this is why the city offers one of the best chemistry degrees in Africa from the University of Gabès. The main industries are:
- Cement
- Chemical products
- Brick Factories
- Oil refinery
The fast-growing numbers of factories has resulted in fairly serious pollution of the area and of the Gulf of Gabès. In recent years the government is working on new programs and laws to decrease the amount of pollution.
Transport
Gabès – Matmata International Airport is in the city.
Gabès will soon be upgraded with one light rail system under the number 7 that will run from the railway station to the port of Gabès. Featuring rolling stock made by Alstom, Gabès will receive 15 new train sets.
Railways
Gabès is terminus of a narrow gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) branch railway from the capital, and is the nearest railway station to the Libyan border at Ras Ajdir. Gabès has also one of the biggest ports in Tunisia; it is used usually to ship the mineral products from the city of Gafsa.
Roads
Gabès will be linked soon with the national motorway A4 (Tunis - Ras Ajdir)
Climate
Gabès has a semi-arid climate, characterized by a hot and dry season and a cool and arid season.
Climate
| Climate data for Gabès | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 29.3 (84.7) |
33.1 (91.6) |
41.0 (105.8) |
38.0 (100.4) |
41.9 (107.4) |
46.2 (115.2) |
46.2 (115.2) |
46.6 (115.9) |
44.2 (111.6) |
40.1 (104.2) |
34.0 (93.2) |
31.2 (88.2) |
46.6 (115.9) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 16.5 (61.7) |
18.1 (64.6) |
19.7 (67.5) |
21.8 (71.2) |
24.6 (76.3) |
27.3 (81.1) |
30.6 (87.1) |
31.3 (88.3) |
29.5 (85.1) |
26.0 (78.8) |
21.5 (70.7) |
17.5 (63.5) |
23.7 (74.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 12.0 (53.6) |
13.3 (55.9) |
15.1 (59.2) |
17.7 (63.9) |
20.8 (69.4) |
24.0 (75.2) |
26.6 (79.9) |
27.4 (81.3) |
25.6 (78.1) |
21.7 (71.1) |
16.8 (62.2) |
13.0 (55.4) |
19.5 (67.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 7.5 (45.5) |
8.4 (47.1) |
10.4 (50.7) |
13.6 (56.5) |
16.9 (62.4) |
20.7 (69.3) |
22.6 (72.7) |
23.5 (74.3) |
21.7 (71.1) |
17.4 (63.3) |
12.1 (53.8) |
8.4 (47.1) |
15.3 (59.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −2.7 (27.1) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
0.9 (33.6) |
4.6 (40.3) |
8.2 (46.8) |
12.0 (53.6) |
15.6 (60.1) |
16.8 (62.2) |
10.3 (50.5) |
6.8 (44.2) |
2.6 (36.7) |
0.0 (32) |
−2.7 (27.1) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 24.3 (0.957) |
19.4 (0.764) |
23.2 (0.913) |
12.7 (0.5) |
6.8 (0.268) |
3.0 (0.118) |
0.7 (0.028) |
1.1 (0.043) |
22.8 (0.898) |
44.1 (1.736) |
31.5 (1.24) |
33.3 (1.311) |
222.9 (8.776) |
| Average precipitation days | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 29 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 62 | 59 | 62 | 63 | 65 | 66 | 63 | 65 | 66 | 64 | 62 | 64 | 63 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 220.1 | 215.6 | 251.1 | 267.0 | 313.1 | 321.0 | 372.0 | 353.4 | 279.0 | 260.4 | 228.0 | 210.8 | 3,291.5 |
| Mean daily sunshine hours | 7.1 | 7.7 | 8.1 | 8.9 | 10.1 | 10.7 | 12.0 | 11.4 | 9.3 | 8.4 | 7.6 | 6.8 | 9.0 |
| Source: NOAA[7] | |||||||||||||
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 °C (61 °F) | 15 °C (59 °F) | 16 °C (61 °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) |
Tourism
Overview
Gabès is famous for its traditional Souqs in Jarah; it is known also for its attractive beach and the unusual seaside oasis (Gabès is located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea). The best parts of the beach are in the south of the city (Road to Djerba). The best one is the Lemawa or Lemaya beach. The government is planning to build a tourist zone there in the coming years. Gabès has a unique feature in the world, in this city you find the mountain, the sea, the oasis and the desert. The streets of Gabès come alive at night during Ramadan, where sook's (shops) are open on the streets and parties happen almost everyday in the night during Ramadan. The most visited place in Gabès is the town Matmata.
Place to visit:
- The traditional souks.
- The Kornich.
- Sidi Boulbaba.
- The Mouradi school.
- Zaouia Sidi Ahmed Toujani.
Gallery
-
Two lighthouses at the entrance of the port of Gabes
-
Gabès minaret
-
The traditional souk
World Heritage Status
This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on May 28, 2008, in the Cultural category.[9]
Notable people
- Gladys Adda, activist, was born here in 1921[10]
- Silvan Shalom, Israeli politician, former minister and Knesset member
- Tahar Haddad , Writer, Feminist advocator, activist,reformer (1899-1935)
- Mohamed Ali El Hammi , one of the founding fathers of Tunisian syndicalism, an activist (1890-1928)
See also
- Gabès Governorate, one of the twenty-four governorates (provinces) of Tunisia
- Gulf of Gabès
- University of Gabès, a public university
References
- ↑ D. L. Bomgardner, Story of the Roman Amphitheatre (Routledge 2013 ISBN 978-1-13470739-3), p. 123
- ↑ Paul Lachlan MacKendrick, The North African Stones Speak (UNC Press 2000 ISBN 978-0-80784942-2), p. 15
- ↑ Trismegistos, "Tacapae"
- ↑ Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1), p. 980
- ↑ Stefano Antonio Morcelli, Africa christiana, Volume I, Brescia 1816, p. 295
- ↑ Mareth Line
- ↑ "Gabès Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
- ↑ "Gabès Climate and Weather Averages, Tunisia". Weather2Travel. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
- ↑ Oasis de Gabès - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- ↑ Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.; Professor Emmanuel Akyeampong; Mr. Steven J. Niven (2 February 2012). Dictionary of African Biography. OUP USA. pp. 89–90. ISBN 978-0-19-538207-5.
External links
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