El Guettar (Tunisia)
| El Guettar |
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|---|---|---|---|
| administration | |||
| Country |
 Tunisia
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| Governorate | Gafsa | ||
| Post Code | 2180 | ||
| Demographics | |||
| population | 13,554 pop (2004) | ||
| geography | |||
| height | 250 m | ||
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| Coordinates | 34 ° 20 ′ N , 8 ° 57 ′ E | ||
El Guettar or El Quettar ( Arabic القطار) is a small town ( municipalité ) in the center of Tunisia with around 15,000 inhabitants.
location
El Guettar is located south of the Djebel Orbata at an altitude of about 240 to 250 m above sea level. d. M. The distance to the northwestern provincial capital Gafsa is approx. 20 km (driving distance).
population
The majority of the population consists of Berbers who immigrated from the surrounding mountain regions in the last decades of the 20th century ; However, colloquial language is mostly Arabic .
economy
El Guettar was and is an oasis settlement with a large number of date palms , pistachio , olive and pomegranate trees in the midst of small plots on which mainly vegetables (beans, peas, onions) are grown; Apart from the winter rains, water is only available in the form of groundwater , which has to be pumped up from a depth of approx. 50 m. In earlier times the oasis was mainly supplied with water by underground channels ( foggaras ); some of them are still preserved.
Phosphates are broken down in the surrounding area and processed into fertilizers.
history
For a long dried up source close to El Guettar an approximately 30,000 to 40,000 years was in the 1950s Moustérien or Aterian cm erected about 75 high mound of round stones and Silexsplittern and animal bones discovered in professional circles under the name Hermaion El Guettar became known and is shown today in a showcase in the Bardo Museum in Tunis . It is interpreted as a prehistoric place of worship, unique in its kind. Other finds such as flint knives , arrowheads, scrapers, etc. come from later times.
During the Second World War , a battle between George Patton's and Hans-Jürgen von Arnims took place near the city on March 23, 1943 . (→ Tunisian campaign ).
Attractions
- The largely modern place offers - apart from the ruins of an old caravanserai built from rammed earth - no historical sights.
- A small museum presents exhibits on various topics.
- South of the city and the palm oasis there is a lake ( Sebkhet es Guettar ), which is dry for most of the year and where migratory birds sometimes settle.
- The arid mountain range of the Djebel Orbata extends north of the city .
Web links
- El Guettar - Photos + Info (French)
- El Guettar Photos
- El Guettar, Prehistory - Photos + Info (French)
- El Guettar, Museum - panoramic photos + information
Individual evidence
- ↑ Institut National de la Statistique - Tunisie: Census 2004 ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
