In Mahdia Tunisian, gathered within a very small area you will find monumental ruins and multicolored boats, a thousand year old mosque and a pirates’ fortress, gold and silver weavers’ workshops and a fish market, Ottoman minarets and fishermen’s cafes!
Mahdia, the wonder of a city
Tucked away like a precious jewel between Sousse and Sfax, this lovely port modestly conceals its prestigious and adventurous past. Proclaimed the capital of Tunisia in 921, Mahdia was long the center of a power struggle between the Caliph of Cairo and local sovereigns. Repeatedly attacked by nomads, Genoese navies, Sicilian troops, liberated by the Berbers, Mahdia became a headquarters for the pirates of Dargouth and battles with Spanish and Maltese knights.
The Central Mosque, austere and sober dates from the 10th century and the entrance to the Medina is through an enormous 16th century gate. Wandering through the old city visitors can see the vestiges of the ancient ramparts and fortress, visit the "Cape Africa" lighthouse and hauntingly beautiful sailors cemetery.
Mahdia of today is that of the fisherman mending his nets and the silk weavers in the Rue Sidi Jaber. A few kilometers from the town itself a myriad of modern first class hotels offer visitors one of the finest beaches in Tunisia.
What to see
A visit to the Medina is very worthwhile, for besides haggling for leatherware, silverware and carpets you can discover how impressive the fortifications are surrounding the old town. Islamics and Christians have fought over this once impregnable fortress city and other invaders included the English, French and Spanish. There's a colourful market once a week of jewellers and tailors and afterwards you can enjoy a coffee in the town square Place du Caire. A short walk from the square is the Great Mosque a modern reconstruction of a thousand year old building. It's not often you see a cemetery by the sea but you'll find one in Mahdia and it can be a pleasant walk, particularly in the Spring when the area is thick with flowers.
Archeology in Mahdia is mainly nautical in nature. Punic and Roman archaeological sites can be visited in Carthage and other historical areas around the country. They include second century Roman temple in Dougga, the Phoenician port of Utica, Sbeitla's Roman temples and arches, Bulla Regia's Roman villas and El Jem's Coliseum, which is second only to Rome. The Bardo Museum, near Tunis, boasts the largest collection of Roman mosaics in the world.
(Although Mahdia is a conservative town, we do want to caution you that some beaches have partial nudity in Tunisia. The best times to visit the beach are early morning and late afternoon and evening.)
Forbidden citadel of the Shiite dynasty, Mahdia was soon abandoned in favour of Cairo; it became a port like so many others on the Mediterranean rim, open to all conquests and all influences: Normans from Sicily, Knights of Malta, Genoese and Spaniards left their mark on her.
