The medina of Nabeul

The medina of Nabeul is less known than its neighbor Hammamet, located 10 km further south, and therefore less touristy but it is much more authentic!

It asserts itself as the pottery capital of all of Tunisia.

The Medina is made up of the Ksar district which occupies the core and the suburbs. The Ksar district is formed by the central position of the souks and the peripheral position of the great mosque and other buildings.

The east side of all the souks is formed by souk el-Jrèba street and the NE side by el-Ghzel street. The souks develop in the open air such as souk al-Haddada on the north side, or under cover such as souk el-Balgha on the south side, in front of the entrance to the Great Mosque, and extending through souk el-Ihoud and souk el-Zitte.

This shopping street leads to Bab-Bled, the main entrance to the medina, which opens onto Place Farhat Hached (the former square of Hsin Bey, also known as Place des Palmiers) and the avenue bearing the same name (the beylical road).

In addition to this main entrance to the south, the medina had Bab-el-Khoukha to the east, Bab-el-Zaouia to the west and Bab-Salah to the SW. The suburbs surrounding the medina are the quartierel-Raï in the North, el-Rbat in the NO, Bab Salah in the SW, Bhaïr, Boughdir and Nourïa in the South and el-Chark in the East. To the NE the land is shared between the cemeteries, the weekly market place and the pottery workshops of el-Guilta.

What a pleasure to stroll in this preserved medina! The ideal is to get lost in its alleys, to haggle in the shops of the souk, to have a mint tea for a ridiculous price on the terrace with the locals, to go to a barber or even to pass the door of the mosque while admiring the impressive minaret.