Mahdia. Finger pointing at the sea
The promise of Mahdia has a tendency of coming almost true.
While wandering around the city, many of the elements of the city's past
is spotted, but it either is too obviously restored, or too little. In the
10th century Mahdia was a very important city, but even more, it was the
capital of one of the Muslim worlds most important line of rulers, the
Fatimids. The first Fatimid ruler declared himself as the Mahdi, the last
prophet of Islam.
The Fatimids moved
their centre to Egypt after conquering Cairo, and Mahdia had been the
capital for just 50 years.
Mahdia was chosen as
the capital because of the proximity to the sea, and the promontory on
which an important military settlement had been since the time of the
Phoenicians. With a wall 10 metres thick, man and nature had built one of
this coast's best fortresses. The move of the Fatimids did mean that it
was less thoroughly defended, and invasions by Christians, Normans and
Turks in the following centuries lead to heavy destruction of the original
bastion.
Entering today's Mahdia is greatest part
of the visit. As you pass through the 10 metre thick wall, that functions
as the gate to the city, history feels close. The city never opens after
this, and all over Mahdia narrow streets never extends beyond small
squares. Mahdia's great charm are the narrow streets, trees, the life of
the locals, the cafés. The only really open part of the city is in front
of the Great Mosque, which is only great in size,- otherwise it is a sad
attempt to reconstruct the mosque of the first Fatimids. The base of the
old city of Mahdia is not tourism, but weaving. In the Arab world,
quarters and cities often specialised in one product which they sold
widely around, and Mahdia has a large part of the production of wedding
cloth for the rest of Tunisia.
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One hotel in the old city, a handful of standard charter hotels, expensive, along the beach. Quite good restaurants in the old city.
Train is a very comfortable choice in Mahdia, but buses and taxis are equally good choices.
: Sfax40 km
: Monastir60 km
: Sousse30 km
: El Jem
Copyright © 1996-1997. All rights
reserved.By: Tore Kjeilen
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