El Fahs (, fɑħs(ˁ) is a town and commune located in the Zaghouan Governorate, 60

kilometer The kilometre ( SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American and Philippine English, is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand metres (kilo- being the SI prefix for ). It is the preferred mea ...

south South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

west West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. Its population in 2014 was 23,556. It is located in the Wadi Miliane valley, surrounded by mountains, in particular the Djebel Zaghouan. The Roman site of

Thuburbo Majus Thuburbo Majus (or Thuburbo Maius) is a large Roman site in northern Tunisia. It is located roughly 60 km southwest of Carthage on a major African thoroughfare. This thoroughfare connects Carthage to the Sahara. Other towns along the way i ...

is located 3 km away. Under the French protectorate, the city was known as Pont du Fahs, (trans. ''Bridge-of-Fahs''), named after the remains of a

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

bridge in the vicinity. The town was the site of a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

battle during the

Tunisia Campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. The ...

Etymology

Etymology 1: El Fahs or formerly known as Qantart El Fahs (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: قنطرة الفحص) literally translates to ''"Bridge of the (medical) examination"''. This is because it was known to be the biggest center of public

medical examination In a physical examination, medical examination, clinical examination, or medical checkup, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a Disease, medical condition. It generally consists of a series of ...

for nearby regions, near the Roman era bridge (supposedly under the Ottoman rule). Etymology 2: El Fahs was its original name that probably also meant "The flat hill" in

, until the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

came and prefixed it with "Pont d'(e)-" that translated to Arabic as "Qantara(t)" and meant "Bridge of-". The reason is that the French usually prefix a lot of ''urban gatherings''ˈ and large

towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

' names by "Pont d'(e)-". Especially in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

n colonies. The proof being the French construction of the 'famous' railway in El Fahs, which represented and still symbolyses the first manifestations of urbanization in the city.

References

Populated places in Zaghouan Governorate Communes of Tunisia {{Tunisia-geo-stub

Etymology

See also

References