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Overview

On the northern coast of the Gulf of Hammamet is the city of the same name. Hammamet lies on the eastern side of Tunisia on the road that hugs the shore of Cap Bon Peninsula to its tip at El Haouaria. In the 1920s, George Sebastian, a millionaire from Roumania, vacationed here at a villa he had constructed for his pleasure. Famous people who visited the Sebastian villa included architect Frank Lloyd Wright, artist Paul Klee, and statesman Winston Churchill. Tourists and Tunisians continue to visit Hammamet to enjoy the Mediterranean climate. The city has rightly earned the nickname "the Garden Resort".

Historical Monuments

In the town square north of the medina is a concrete statue in the likeness of the Eiffel Tower. This memorial was placed to remember slain French soldiers of the nineteenth century.

Outside Hammamet about 3.7 miles are the ruins of the ancient Roman colony of Pupput. The first ancient Roman villa has private baths and mosaics dating from the fifth century AD. The ruins of another villa contain mosaic floors in black and white tile from the second century. A number of tombs in this ancient site are decorated with mosaics from the fourth century.

Architecture

The medina, or old section, of Hammamet is directly on the shore east of a bay and south of the town square. The entrance to the medina is by way of a gate in the historic north wall. The main street of the medina has a vault-like covering over its length. Streets in the medina are generally narrow with two story buildings on either side making the street seem even narrower.

In this section of Hammamet is the Grand Mosque. The mosque bears the signs of its restoration in 1972 but one of the rectangular minarets has not changed and dates from the fifteenth century. The Sidi Abdel Kader Mosque from 1798 is joined to the Great Mosque and serves as a school in which the Koran is taught.

The Bains Maures lies east of the Grand Mosque. This Turkish bath is striking with its red, green, black, and white doorway and dazzling white dome. Many of the homes in the medina have wooden doors which are decorated in interesting ways. The doors lead to gardens, fountains, and arches decorated with ceramic mosaics.

Hammamet's kasbah, its fortress or citadel, overlooks the Gulf of Hammamet and is built into the western corner of the medina wall. Its pine-filled courtyard which contains the tomb of Sidi Bou Ali is a cool area to seek shelter from the sun. Inside is a small historical museum. Ascend a set

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