Walls and lighthouse
On a rock in the sea.
IssamBarhoumi — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Selma Jmii — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Habib M'henni — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Noomen9 — CC BY-SA 4.0
A stone fort on a high rock in the sea off Tabarka, looking over the town, the harbour and the green coast of Tunisia's far north-west near the Algerian border. It is Tabarka's landmark, visible from everywhere in town. It was built in the sixteenth century by the Lomellini family of Genoa, who obtained from the Hafsid sultan the right to harvest red coral in exchange for the fort and an annual tribute. For nearly two centuries the island was a trading post of the Republic of Genoa, where coral was fished and shipped to Europe. Today a causeway links the island to the harbour, and a path climbs from it to the fort's walls, which also hold a lighthouse. From the top there is a wide view over the bay of Tabarka and the cork-oak-covered mountains behind it. Coral is still Tabarka's emblem, and its shops are full of coral jewellery. Access to the fort's interior varies with restoration work, but the climb around it and the view are open, best just before sunset.
On a rock in the sea.
From harbour to island.
Tabarka's emblem.
Tabarka island, reached by a causeway from the harbour
To protect their trading post and its red-coral fishery, under a sixteenth-century agreement with the Hafsid sultan.
