Mahdia

In the 8th century on the place of the modern city of Mahdia a colony of Phoenicians has been founded. After a while it became a big trade port called after the last Fatimids ruler - Mahdi ("messiah"). Under his rule the first city walls were erected as well as a fortress and port edifices. In the 10th century the city became the capital of Tunisia and it has kept that position for 300 years. At those times an extremely fortunate strategic disposition of the city on the cape of Africa was noted and evaluated.

Nowadays, Mahdia is a southern resort of Tunisia; it is a new tourist zone with hotels of different (mainly high) categories located along the coast of a wonderful lagoon. Exciting beaches with the thinnest white sand mark Mahdia out of all the other resorts of the country. A picturesque sea-front of Mahdia is the favourite walking place for all the visitors.

Mahdia is the most important fishing port of the south of Tunisia. The city is known with its mystical tradition of fishing in the moonlight. Everyday large fish markets work here. The city is also renowned for its marvelous tissues and embroidering with gold and silver threads. Manufacturing of silk tissues is a male occupation according the local tradition.

The medina of Mahdia is not as noisy and bustling as those of other cities. It seems that the general air of the resort - calm and a bit slow, marked with special self-esteem - is passed even to street vendors.

In the centre of the city there is a newly restored Big Mosque. Under the Fatimids its monumental entering portal was permitted for Mahdi and his confidants and courtiers only. Now the Big mosque is opened for all citizens. Because it is a real mosque, not a museum, tourists may not enter it; they may admire its magnificent facade only. You can console yourself visiting a small fish restaurant with an exiting panoramic sea view. It is placed just on the rock, directly opposite the Big mosque.

There is no active night life in Mahdia. It is an ideal resort for those who are seeking for quiet and serene rest even for seclusion. But there is anything in need to make your rest comfortable: white beaches of the Ñape of Africa, the crystal-clear sea and a developed infrastructure of the resort.