El Kef

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El Kef
View over El Kef
View over El Kef
administration
Country TunisiaTunisia Tunisia
Governorate Kef
Post Code 7100
Website www.commune-elkef.gov.tn
Demographics
population 45,191 pop ( 2004 )
geography
height 780  m
El Kef (Tunisia)
El Kef
El Kef
Coordinates 36 ° 10 ′  N , 8 ° 42 ′  E Coordinates: 36 ° 10 ′  N , 8 ° 42 ′  E

El Kef or French Le Kef ( Arabic الكاف, DMG al-Kāf  'the rock') is a city in northwestern Tunisia and the capital of the Tunisian governorate of Kef . It is located about 145 kilometers west of Tunis near the Algerian border. With around 45,000 inhabitants, it is an important center of the region.

history

Ancient Roman thermal baths in today's urban area of ​​El Kef
El Kef Castle (17th / 18th century)
View of a mosque and the kasbah
The Sidi Bou Makhlouf Mosque
View of Kef around 1860

The history of the city goes back to ancient times . Archaeological traces suggest that as early as the 4th century BC A settlement called Sicca existed under Carthaginian influence. It could have been founded as a Numidian settlement before then. Been moved from Carthage Elymians from Sicily gave the city the nickname of their goddess of love , should at this time in sicca Veneria and temple prostitution have played an important role. After Carthaginian mercenaries were brought back after the lost First Punic War , it took place here in 241 BC. The mercenary war began.

The city experienced an upswing after the Roman influence in North Africa in the 1st century BC. As part of the Roman province of Africa . The remains of numerous buildings from this time have been found, including thermal baths , temples and an amphitheater . Under Byzantine rule , strong fortifications were built in the 6th century AD . Christianization , which began in the 3rd century, also progressed, as basilica and church buildings show. As early as the 7th century, however, the city became Muslim as part of the Islamic expansion . In the centuries of the Middle Ages , there was an extensive loss of importance. The city only experienced a renewed boom in the 16th and 17th centuries when it became the bulwark and garrison town of the Ottoman Empire , now known as El Kef . Nevertheless, it fell to Algeria in 1756 , and from 1881 it became part of the French protectorate in Tunisia. During the Second World War , El Kef served as the provisional protectorate seat and capital as it was outside the occupied territories of the Axis powers .

Cityscape and landmarks

The image of the steeply sloping town is dominated by the Kasbah on the summit , the Ottoman fortress from the 17th century. Underneath is the narrow old town area, the El Kef medina . Further down the valley is the new town, which was created during the French protectorate and differs from the historical urban areas in terms of the streetscape. Among other things, the government seat and the headquarters of the former Tunisian ruling party RCD , which bears clear traces of the Tunisian revolution , can be found here .

In all phases of history, El Kef was a religious center, so today there are places of worship of different religions and epochs. In addition to numerous mosques such as the Sidi Bou Makhlouf mosque, the synagogue and the remains of a Byzantine basilica should also be mentioned from historical times .

Excavations such as the Roman thermal baths at the foot of the Kasbah or Roman cisterns can be found throughout the city .

Also worth mentioning is the ethnological museum with art and craft items from the last centuries.

See also

Web links

Commons : Le Kef  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b Institut National de la Statistique - Tunisie: Results of the 2004 population census ( Memento of the original from November 28, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . ( french ) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ins.nat.tn
  2. a b c Tunesieninformationen.de: History of El Kef ( Memento of the original from September 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.tunesieninformationen.de
  3. a b Ursula Eckert, Ingrid Retterath: Tunisia. Individual travel guide. Reise Know-How Verlag, Bielefeld 2003. S. 382.