Monastir, Tunisia

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Economy

Nouvelair has its head office in Monastir in the Dkhila Tourist Zone near the Hôtel Sahara Beach.

Education

The city of Monastir has:

Five Junior High Schools of basic education: Ali-Bourguiba Moufida-Bourguiba Imtiez Salem-Bchir and a pioneer junior high school;
Four High Schools: Fatouma-Bourguiba Hedi-Khefacha Bourguiba and a Pioneer high school (open since the school year 2003–2004).
Monastir is also a university city incorporating the University of Monastir which was founded on September 2 2004 and covers the governorates of Monastir and Mahdia. The university of Monastir includes sixteen faculty departments of which ten are located in Monastir:

Faculty of science
Faculty of medicine
Faculty of dental medicine
Faculty of pharmacy
The National Engineering School of Monastir
The Higher School of science and technologies of health
The Higher Institutes of Biotechnology
The Higher Institutes Computer Science and Mathematics
The Higher Institutes Fashion Trades
The Preparatory Institute for Engineering Studies
The student population of Monastir exceeded 27 000 in 2007–2008 making the city one of the largest in terms of university studies along with Tunis Sfax and Sousse.

Transportation

The city is on the electrified metre-gauge Sahel Metro line with trains serving Sousse and Mahdia. Other services run to Tunis.

Monastir – Habib Bourguiba International Airport has flights from most Western European countries. It is run by Tepe Akfen Ventures Airport Holding (TAV).

Notable people

Tunisian ex-president Habib Bourguiba was born in Monastir and his mausoleum is located in the city.
Many other famous politicians are also from Monastir:

Mohamed Mzali prime minister of Tunisia from 1980 to 1986
Hedi Amara Nouira prime minister of Tunisia from 1970 to 1980
Among other notable people:

Jawhar Mnari footballer born in Monastir and winner of DFB-Pokal (2006/2007).
Hamza Younés footballer

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Tunisia

Monastir is twinned with:

Dushanbe Tajikistan
Manisa Turkey
Münster Germany
Saint-Étienne France
Tétouan Morocco
Tizi Ouzou Algeria

History

Monastir was founded on the ruins of the Punic–Roman city of Ruspina. The city features a well-preserved Ribat of Monastir that was used to scan the sea for hostile ships and as a defence against the attacks of the Byzantine fleet. Several ulema came to stay in the ribat of this peaceful city for contemplation. The ribat was in the 1970s also one of the filming locations for both the miniseries Jesus of Nazareth and Monty Python's Life of Brian. There are panoramic views of the city taken from a French naval intelligence airship in 1924.

Gallery

Neighbouring area

Monastir's northeastern territories lead into a place called Route de la Falaise through which one can reach its most notable suburb Skanes which is 6 miles (9.7 kilometres) from Monastir's town centre.[citation needed] Hugging Tunisia's coastline Skanes is a holiday resort known mostly for its professional golf courses; white sandy beaches; clear blue sea; and hotels that fuse Moorish architecture with modern designs. It is frequented throughout the summer by tourists from around the world.[citation needed] They also come for the medina where it is possible to sample fresh Tunisian cooking and bargain for local goods.[citation needed]

Climate

Monastir enjoys a dry Mediterranean climate with hot summers extremely mild winters much sunshine and low rainfall year-round. The city sits in the northeast of Tunisia on its central coast. It is milder than inland areas of Tunisia forty percent of which is part of the Sahara. In the summer while humidity is low the soaring heat can still be hard to handle. The average high temperature of 29 °C (84 °F) in June skips past the 30 °C (86 °F) mark in the middle of the month and rises to 33 °C (91 °F) in July and August.

simple explanation

Monastir منستير
Monastir from the ribat's tower
Seal
Monastir from space
.mw-parser-output .locmap .od{position:absolute}.mw-parser-output .locmap .id{position:absolute;line-height:0}.mw-parser-output .locmap .l0{font-size:0;position:absolute}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pv{line-height:110%;position:absolute;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pl{line-height:110%;position:absolute;top:-0.75em;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pr{line-height:110%;position:absolute;top:-0.75em;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pv>div{display:inline;padding:1px}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pl>div{display:inline;padding:1px;float:right}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pr>div{display:inline;padding:1px;float:left} Monastir Location in Tunisia
Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default .mw-parser-output .geo-dms .mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault .mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude .mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}35°46′10″N 10°49′10″E / 35.76944°N 10.81944°E / 35.76944; 10.81944Coordinates: 35°46′10″N 10°49′10″E / 35.76944°N 10.81944°E / 35.76944; 10.81944
Country	Tunisia
Governorate	Monastir
Population  (2014)
• Total	93 306
Time zone	UTC1 (CET)
ZIP code	5000
Area code(s)	73

Monastir also called Mistīr (Arabic: منستير‎ Monastīr / Mistīr from the Greek μοναστήριον "hermit's cell monastery") is a city on the central coast of Tunisia in the Sahel area some 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Sousse and 162 kilometres (101 miles) south of Tunis. Traditionally a fishing port Monastir is now a major tourist resort. Its population is about 93 306. It is the capital of Monastir Governorate.