Travel Guide Gabès

Gabes has a good geographical location and has long been a major tourist stop. Since then, the industry has taken its toll and it is in a sacrificed city that you may stop for a few hours. The oasis of Gabes was however the only one in the country to offer an incredible landscape: sea, oasis, desert and mountain combined. Today, the air and water are polluted, and the palm trees too often "killed". Gabes was known for a long time as a den of looters and was above all a trading city: Carthage and then Rome had made it an important trading post. From the 7th century, the city became a stronghold under Arab domination with the arrival of Boulbaba al Ansari, a companion of the Prophet. Gabes then became the terminus of the caravans coming from Africa. Its strategic position caused its loss during the Second World War, it was almost entirely destroyed at the beginning of the conflict. Fourth city of the country with its 450 000 inhabitants, it is now an important university center. But Gabès is infamous for its industries (chemicals and oil fields) which have caused immense pollution. The city remains an important transportation center with the departures of the rented boats to the south which serve all the destinations of the country... Don't swim in the sea near the city, much too polluted. But you can discover the palm grove (before it was ravaged even more) and the very nice souk of Jara.