Pearl of the Sahel — ancient medina, catacombs, and the Tunisian coast
Sousse is Tunisia's third city and its liveliest beach destination — a UNESCO-listed medina of whitewashed alleys and ribat (Islamic fortress) walls, a museum housing the world's second-largest collection of Roman mosaics after the Bardo in Tunis, and long sandy beaches stretching north along the Gulf of Hammamet. The old medina, enclosed by 9th-century walls, is a genuine working neighbourhood: a souk of olive wood, ceramics, and textiles, a ribat that served as a coastal watchtower against Byzantine raids, and the Great Mosque with its defensive tower-minaret. Beneath the modern city, early…
Sousse (ancient Hadrumetum) was one of Carthage's most important satellite cities — founded by Phoenicians in the 9th century BC, it switched sides to Rome after the Second Punic War and was rewarded with autonomy. Under Rome it became a prosperous city of 50,000; the mosaics in the museum date from this period. The Aghlabid dynasty built the ribat and Great Mosque in the 9th century AD as part of a coastal defence network against Byzantine reconquest attempts. Sousse was one of the main Allied landing points during Operation Torch in 1942-43; the city suffered severe bombing damage.