The old port of Bizerte

The old port of Bizerte constitutes the heart of the old city of Bizerte with its small basin surrounded by white houses, its cafes and its large, brightly colored boats.
From the old town of Bizerte, the medina, you come to the old port, one of the most charming places in the city, and one of the most beautiful in Tunisia according to some. The basin contains old colorful boats, the quays welcome merchants, small jewelry shops, cafes filled with men smoking chicha. A very pleasant and lively place. Place Slahedine Bouchoucha is embellished with a 17th century fountain, then rise the walls of the kasbah: the north side of the canal is defended by this ancient fortress, the imposing sentinel of the entrance to the port. At the northern end of Avenue Habib Bougafta, you reach the canal that connects the sea to the port. On this bank, the entrance is protected by the fort el-Hanni, or ksiba, a small rounded fortress, equipped with a rectangular tower, reorganized on different occasions by the different occupants of the city. The roof terrace where it is possible to cool off offers a nice view.

The old port is the most charming place in Bizerte. The quay stretches in an arc along the Sienna ramparts of the casbah and the low white houses. A modest boat painted red and green slices through the calm water, a fisherman unloads his fish for the nearby market, another weighs anchor… Bizerte presents the familiar sight of a small Provençal or Spanish fishing port which would have bartered its steeple for a minaret. The old port comes alive particularly at the end of the day, when the terraces of the bistros invade the quays. The authorities had the happy idea of paving the quays anew and demolishing a few facades to restore luster to this croquignolet little port. This monument now houses an oceanographic museum of limited interest.