Metline () is a commune and town on the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

coast, in the

Bizerte Governorate Bizerte Governorate ( ' ; ) is the northernmost of the 24 governorates of Tunisia. It is in northern Tunisia, approximately rectangular and having a long north coast. It covers an area of 3,750 km2 including two large lakes, one coastal hen ...

of northern

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 ...

. As of 2004, it had a population of 7,370.Recensement de 2004 au niveau municipal (Institut national de la statistique)
/ref> It is located approximately north of

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 ...

, southeast of

Bizerte Bizerte (, ) is the capital and largest city of Bizerte Governorate in northern Tunisia. It is the List of northernmost items, northernmost city in Africa, located north of the capital Tunis. It is also known as the last town to remain under Fr ...

and northwest of Ras Jebel. The commune of Metline occupies a peninsula extending between the mountains, the sea and the forest, with a coastline of more than . Cape Zebib is to the northeast. The commune was created on May 3, 1967.

History

Founded in the sixteenth century, there are traces also of a Roman city, Benvenutum, as well as ninth century strongholds from the times of the

Aghlabids The Aghlabid dynasty () was an Arab dynasty centered in Ifriqiya (roughly present-day Tunisia) from 800 to 909 that conquered parts of Sicily, Southern Italy, and possibly Sardinia, nominally as vassals of the Abbasid Caliphate. The Aghlabids ...

dynasty. Metline fought against the Spanish during the

1534 Year 1534 ( MDXXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 15 – The Parliament of England passes the '' Act Respecting the Oath to the Succession'', recognising the mar ...

and

1574 __NOTOC__ Year 1574 ( MDLXXIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 22 – Mohammed II becomes the new Sultan of Morocco upon the death of his father, Abdallah al-Ghal ...

conquests. Ottoman soldiers settled in the area thereafter and may have lent the name Metline to the town as many of the soldiers were from

Mytilene Mytilene (; ) is the capital city, capital of the Greece, Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of the Aegean. It was fo ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, a second wave of settlement brought

Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...

who were driven out of

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

when it was reconquered by the Catholics in 1492. 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 ...

battery Battery or batterie most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source * Battery indicator, a device whic ...

at Metline consisted of two naval

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...

Economy

Metline has a small administrative center for services as it is a center for agricultural commercial operations of the surrounding countryside, including vegetables, wheat, and fodder. A small fishing harbor at Cape Zebib supports the local fishing industry. A festival in June honors the ''Spicara maena'', called Chawri in Metline.Handmade embroidery in original and Ottoman motifs are of similar styles to those found in the former Ottoman territories of

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

. A

wind farm A wind farm, also called a wind park or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turbines covering an exten ...

project with 46

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...

s was expected to be completed by 2011.

Culture

The population of Metline is Arab. Turkish loan words, such as that for violet (''mor'' ou ''mour'') and barracks (''kichla'') have entered the language; Greek loan words are also used, such as ''skala'', meaning old port. Typical dishes include a traditional

macaroni Macaroni (), known in Italian as ''maccheroni'', is a pasta shaped like narrow tubes.Oxford DictionaryMacaroni/ref> Made with durum wheat, macaroni is commonly cut in short lengths; curved macaroni may be referred to as "elbow macaroni". Some ...

. The town, built on a steep slope, is known for its "cubic, terraced dwellings and arcaded streets in the Andalusian style", as is the nearby village of

El Alia El Alia is a town and commune in the Bizerte Governorate, Tunisia. It was the ancient Uzalis in the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis, which became a Christian bishopric that is included in the Catholic Church's list of titular sees. It is ...

. The most prominent landmark is the Great Mosque of Metline, with its square minaret.

References

{{Communes of Tunisia Populated coastal places in Tunisia Communes of Tunisia Populated places in Bizerte Governorate

History

Economy

Culture

See also

References