Monastir, Tunisia

Monastir
منستير
Monastir from the ribat's tower

Seal

Monastir from space
Monastir
Location in Tunisia
Coordinates: 35°46′10″N 10°49′10″E / 35.76944°N 10.81944°E / 35.76944; 10.81944Coordinates: 35°46′10″N 10°49′10″E / 35.76944°N 10.81944°E / 35.76944; 10.81944
Country  Tunisia
Governorate Monastir
Population (2014)
 • Total 93,306
Time zone UTC1 (CET)
ZIP code 5000
Area code(s) 73

Monastir, also called Mistīr (Arabic: منستير‎  Monastīr / Mistīr, from the Greek μοναστήριον "hermit's cell, monastery"), is a city on the central coast of Tunisia, in the Sahel area, It is 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Sousse and 162 kilometres (101 miles) south of Tunis. Traditionally a fishing port, Monastir is now a major tourist resort. Its population is about 93,306. It is the capital of Monastir Governorate.

History

The Ribat in Monastir

Monastir was founded on the ruins of the Punic–Roman city of Ruspina. The city features a well-preserved Ribat of Monastir that was used to scan the sea for hostile ships and as a defence against the attacks of the Byzantine fleet. Several ulema came to stay in the ribat of this peaceful city for contemplation. The ribat was, in the 1970s, also one of the filming locations for both the miniseries Jesus of Nazareth and Monty Python's Life of Brian.

Transportation

The city is on the electrified, metre-gauge Sahel Metro line with trains serving Sousse and Mahdia. Other services run to Tunis.

Monastir – Habib Bourguiba International Airport has flights from most Western European countries. It is run by Tepe Akfen Ventures Airport Holding (TAV).

Climate

Monastir enjoys a dry Mediterranean climate with hot summers, extremely mild winters, lots of sunshine and low rainfall year-round. The city sits in the northeast of Tunisia, on its central coast. It is milder than inland areas of Tunisia, forty percent of which is part of the Sahara. In the summer, while humidity is low, the soaring heat can still be hard to handle. The average high temperature of 29 °C (84 °F) in June skips past the 30 °C (86 °F) mark in the middle of the month and climbs up to 33 °C (91 °F) in July and August.

Economy

Nouvelair has its head office in Monastir in the Dkhila Tourist Zone,[1][2] near the Hôtel Sahara Beach.[3]

Education

The city of Monastir has:

  • Five Junior High Schools of basic education: Ali-Bourguiba, Moufida-Bourguiba Imtiez, Salem-Bchir and a pioneer junior high school ;
  • Four High Schools: Fatouma-Bourguiba, Hedi-Khefacha, Bourguiba and a Pioneer high school (open since the school year 2003-2004).

Monastir is also a university city, incorporating the University of Monastir which was founded on September 2, 2004[4] and covers the governorates of Monastir and Mahdia. The university of Monastir includes sixteen universities, ten of them are located in Monastir :

  • Faculty of science ;
  • Faculty of medicine ;
  • Faculty of dental medicine ;
  • Faculty of pharmacy ;
  • The National Higher School of Engineering;
  • The Higher School of science and technologies of health;
  • The Higher Institutes of Biotechnology, Computer Science and Mathematics and Fashion Trades;
  • The Preparatory Institute for Engineering Studies.

The student population of Monastir exceeded 27,000 in 2007-2008, making the city one of the largest in terms of university studies along with Tunis, Sfax and Sousse.

Notable people

Tunisian ex-president Habib Bourguiba was born in Monastir, and his mausoleum is located in the city. Many other famous politicians are also from Monastir:

Among other notable people:

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Monastir is twinned with:

and cooperates with

Climate

Climate data for Monastir
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 15.8
(60.4)		 15.9
(60.6)		 17.3
(63.1)		 19.5
(67.1)		 22.9
(73.2)		 26.6
(79.9)		 30.5
(86.9)		 30.6
(87.1)		 29.5
(85.1)		 24.9
(76.8)		 20.5
(68.9)		 16.6
(61.9)		 22.6
(72.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) 11.6
(52.9)		 11.6
(52.9)		 13.1
(55.6)		 15.2
(59.4)		 18.6
(65.5)		 22.2
(72)		 25.4
(77.7)		 25.8
(78.4)		 24.9
(76.8)		 20.6
(69.1)		 16.1
(61)		 12.5
(54.5)		 18.1
(64.6)
Average low °C (°F) 7.4
(45.3)		 7.3
(45.1)		 9
(48)		 11
(52)		 14.3
(57.7)		 17.9
(64.2)		 20.4
(68.7)		 21
(70)		 20.3
(68.5)		 16.4
(61.5)		 11.7
(53.1)		 8.4
(47.1)		 13.8
(56.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 44
(1.73)		 41
(1.61)		 33
(1.3)		 27
(1.06)		 15
(0.59)		 8
(0.31)		 3
(0.12)		 6
(0.24)		 33
(1.3)		 42
(1.65)		 34
(1.34)		 42
(1.65)		 328
(12.9)
Average precipitation days 6 5 7 6 4 2 1 2 4 6 5 5 53
Mean monthly sunshine hours 167 179 208 228 276 303 338 304 240 211 189 164 2,807
Source #1: Climate-Data.org,[6]
Source #2: Voodoo Skies for record temperatures[7]

Neighboring area

Monastir's northeastern territories lead into a place called Route de la Falaise, through which one can reach its most notable suburb, Skanes, which is 6 miles (9.7 kilometres) from Monastir's town centre. Hugging Tunisia's coastline, Skanes is a holiday resort known mostly for its professional golf courses; white, sandy beaches; clear blue sea; and hotels that fuse Moorish architecture with modern designs. It is frequented throughout the summer by tourists from around the world. They also come for the medina, where it is possible to sample fresh Tunisian cooking and bargain for local goods.

References

  1. ↑ "Réclamations, Suggestions." Nouvelair. Retrieved on 1 July 2010. "Nos Coordonnées Adresse : Zone Touristique Dkhila – 5065 – Monastir – Tunisie."
  2. ↑ "Après le vol." Nouvelair. Retrieved on 1 July 2010.
  3. ↑ Jacobs, Daniel and Peter Morris. The Rough Guide to Tunisia. Rough Guides, 2001. 215. Retrieved from Google Books on 1 July 2010. ISBN 1-85828-748-0, ISBN 978-1-85828-748-5.
  4. ↑ "History : university of monastir". www.um.rnu.tn. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  5. ↑ "Portrait of Münster: Die Partnerstädte". Stadt Münster. Archived from the original on 2013-05-09. Retrieved 2013-08-07.
  6. ↑ "Climate: Monastir – Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  7. ↑ "Monastir, Tunisia". Voodoo Skies. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  • (in French) USMonastir.com, official web site of the local multi-sports team
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