Hergla ( ar, هرقلة) is a small cliff-top town in north-eastern

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

at the

Gulf of Hammamet Gulf of Hammamet () is a large gulf in northeastern Tunisia. Geography The Gulf of Hammamet is located south of the Cape Bon peninsula. To the other side of the Cape Bon peninsula is the Gulf of Tunis The Gulf of Tunis () is a large Mediterra ...

. White houses of Hergla with often blue window and door surroundings are built in the classic style characteristic for Tunisia. Sousse is about 24 km south-east of Hergla. There is a lagoon between Hergla and its neighbour town Chott Meryem in the south-east called Halk el menzel (sickle lake).

History

In the Roman period Hergla was named "Horrea Caelia".Bulletin de géographie historique et descriptive, vol. IV, éd. Ernest Leroux, (Paris, 1890), p. 58 In the 3rd century CE it was the border town between the historic regions

Byzacena Byzacena (or Byzacium) ( grc, Βυζάκιον, ''Byzakion'') was a Late Roman province in the central part of Roman North Africa, which is now roughly Tunisia, split off from Africa Proconsularis. History At the end of the 3rd century AD, t ...

with the capital Hadrumete (nowadays Sousse) and

Zeugitana Africa Proconsularis was a Roman province on the northern African coast that was established in 146 BC following the defeat of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisia, the northeast of Algeria, ...

with the capital Carthago. The etymology of Hergla is still unclear: It might either refer to the "horreas" (i.e. store houses for trade), to the Greek god Heracles or to the word "frontier town". However, there is prove that a roman family called Caelii settled in Horrea Caelia underscoring the first theory. In the 6th century CE Byzantines built a fortification. After the Arab conquest in the 7th century CE the population was utterly killed.³ Close to the seaside there are still remainders of both roman and Byzantine foundations.

Buildings

In the centre of the old village close to the seaside is the "Sidi Bou Mendil" mosque (built in the 18th century CE), which dominates the town. Nearby there is the cemetery of Hergla with historic tombs and the mausoleum of Sidi Bou Mendil. Sidi Bou Mendil, stemming originally from Morocco, is said, according to local legends, having returned from a pilgrimage to Mecca on a flying handkerchief. Hergla has two other historic mosques.

Cinema

Since 2005, the African Mediterranean Cultural Association has been organizing the Hergla Film Meetings each summer. Evenings of film screenings and music concerts are given in an oil mill and training workshops, debates and exhibitions are held at the House of Culture of Hergla. Internationally renowned artists participated, such as Sotigui Kouyate, Mohammed Bakri, Nouri Bouzid, Wasis Diop and Afel Bocoum.

Economy

Unlike close touristic centres Hammamet and

Port El Kantaoui Port El Kantaoui ( ar, مرسى القنطاوي) is a tourist complex 10 kilometres north of Sousse city in central Tunisia. It was built in 1979 specifically as a tourist center, around a large artificial harbour that provides mooring with 340 ...

Hergla has not much tourism. There is a little fishermen's harbour. Important products are baskets from

esparto Esparto, halfah grass, or esparto grass is a fiber produced from two species of perennial grasses of north Africa, Spain and Portugal. It is used for crafts, such as cords, basketry, and espadrilles. '' Stipa tenacissima'' and '' Lygeum spart ...

. Hotels still do not exist. Plans to build a large touristic center are stalled. Many people are employed in the touristic centers between Port el Kantaoui and Sousse. Furthermore, there is a dorade farm. Image:Hergla Sidi Bou Mendil.jpg, The mosque Sidi Bou Mendil in Hergla Image:Hergla2.jpg, Villagepeople Image:Hergla3.jpg, Cemetery of Hergla

References

* Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Populated places in Tunisia Populated coastal places in Tunisia Communes of Tunisia {{Tunisia-geo-stub