Kebili (, ) is a town in the south of

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 ...

and one of the main cities in the

Nefzaoua Nefzaoua () is a region of southwest Tunisia bounded by the salt lake Chott el Djerid to the west, the Grand Erg Oriental to the south, and the Dahar plateau to the east.Chott el Djerid Chott el Djerid ( ') also spelled ''Sciott Gerid'' and ''Shott el Jerid'', is a chott, a large endorheic salt lake in southern Tunisia. The name can be translated from the Arabic into English as "Lagoon of the Land of Palms". Geography The bottom ...

salt lake. It is the capital of the

Kebili Governorate Kebili Governorate (, ; ) is the second largest of the 24 governorates (provinces) of Tunisia. It is situated in south-western Tunisia, bordering Algeria. It covers an area of and had a population of 156,961 at the 2014 census.

History

Kebili is one of the oldest oases in Tunisia and North Africa. It holds the earliest hard evidence of human habitation in

(found near the town) and dates back about 200,000 years. Kebili, along with many other Tunisian cities, became part of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

after the

Punic Wars The Punic Wars were a series of wars fought between the Roman Republic and the Ancient Carthage, Carthaginian Empire during the period 264 to 146BC. Three such wars took place, involving a total of forty-three years of warfare on both land and ...

Demographics

Kebili's population is more diverse compared to other Tunisian governorates. The population traces its roots to three main groups: *

Berbers Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arab migrations to the Maghreb, Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connec ...

: The native inhabitants of

and North Africa. *

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

: They came to Kebili in the early days of the

Muslim conquest The Muslim conquests, Muslim invasions, Islamic conquests, including Arab conquests, Arab Islamic conquests, also Iranian Muslim conquests, Turkic Muslim conquests etc. *Early Muslim conquests **Ridda Wars **Muslim conquest of Persia ***Muslim conq ...

. Most came from the Southern Arabian Peninsula (modern day

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

and

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

). They still hold the tribal names of their ancestors. *

Black Africans Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical c ...

: They were brought to the city when it was a slavery trade center. See the Economy section below.

Language and religion

While

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 ...

is the dominant language in the region, several differences set it apart from the

Tunisian Arabic Tunisian Arabic, or simply Tunisian (), is a Varieties of Arabic, variety of Arabic spoken in Tunisia. It is known among its 13 million speakers as ''Tūnsi'', "Tunisian" or ''Maghrebi Arabic, Derja'' (; meaning "common or everyday dialect") t ...

spoken elsewhere in the country. Most notably, the letter ''qāf'' is pronounced as a rather than the guttural . Additionally, some villages use the feminine plural pronouns (plural you) and (they). These pronouns are very rare throughout the Arab world and are usually replaced by their masculine counterparts and . Bedouin vocabulary and expressions have declined in usage among the new generations.

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

is the dominant religion. Kebili, as many other Tunisian towns, holds a great number of Soofiat Maqams (Saleheen).

Economy

The economy of Kebili has seen diverse orientations throughout its history. Kebili was one source of the African slavery trade to satisfy European needs. Slaves were taken to Europe through the port of

Gabès Gabès (, ; ), also spelled Cabès, Cabes, and Kabes, is the capital of the Gabès Governorate in Tunisia. Situated on the coast of the Gulf of Gabès, the city has a population of 167,863, making it the 6th largest city in Tunisia. Located 327 ...

. Nowadays, Kebili relies heavily on agriculture and tourism.

Agriculture

The main agricultural product in the region are

dates Date or dates may refer to: * Date, the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') * Jujube, also known as red date or Chinese date, the fruit of ''Ziziphus jujuba'' Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activit ...

or "deglets". Kebili produces a very high quality date, exported all around the world and contributing significantly to the local and national economy.

Tourism

Since national independence, the government of Tunisia has encouraged tourism projects and resorts in the Saharan region. Of these

Douz Douz ( ') is a town in the Kebili Governorate in the south of Tunisia, known as the "gateway to the Sahara." By road it is located southwest of Blidet, southeast of Tozeur, and south of the Tunisian capital of Tunis. History It has been calle ...

, south of Kebili, is the most famous Saharian destination of Tunisia (known as the Sahara Gate).

Climate

Temperature records have been kept here from 1901–1939, 1949–1953, and 2000–2012. The French colonial authorities of the ''Service météorologique de Tunis'' maintained the older records. A portion of the original data logs for this early period is in the NCDC archives and at the POR of 1907 to 1932. Like Azizia, Kebili is subject to the

foehn A Foehn, or Föhn (, , , ), is a type of dry, relatively warm downslope wind in the lee of a mountain range. It is a rain shadow wind that results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air that has dropped most of its moisture on windw ...

-like wind phenomena known as a Ghibili. The World Meteorological Organization cites Kebili as having recorded the highest temperature ever recorded in Africa at , which is disputed by some meteorologists mainly because in the post WW2-era no temperature above (24 July 1997) was recorded in the Kebili station and no temperature above (

Ouargla Ouargla (Berber: Wargrən, ) is the capital city of Ouargla Province in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria. It has a flourishing petroleum industry and hosts one of Algeria's universities, the University of Ouargla. The commune of Ouargla had ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, 5 July 2018) was recorded in the whole continent of Africa.

Gallery

I love kebili sign.jpg Kebili-Stat.JPG Hôtel de ville de Kébili.jpg Carrer de Kébili.jpg Kebili.jpg Entrée Oasis-Kebili.JPG

Notable people

Hend Sabry Hend Sabry (, born 1979) is a Tunisian and Egyptian actress and producer. She is mostly known for being active in Egyptian cinema. Early life and education Hend Sabry was born in 1979 in Kebli, Tunisia. She studied law, completing a master ...

(born 1979), Tunisian actress, lawyer and ambassador to the

World Food Programme The World Food Programme (WFP) is an international organization within the United Nations that provides food assistance worldwide. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and the leading provider of school meals. Founded in 1961 ...

References

Notes

External links

Lexicorient

Kebili Guide

Collection of photos
{{Authority control Populated places in Kebili Governorate Oases of Tunisia Communes of Tunisia