The watchtower
About a hundred steps.
Habib M'henni — CC BY-SA 4.0 · GIRAUD Patrick — CC BY-SA 2.5 · Habib M'henni — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fehmi bouguezzi — CC BY-SA 3.0
The oldest ribat built by the Muslims on the Maghreb coast and Monastir's best-known monument. The Abbasid governor Harthama ibn A'yan founded it in 796, and it grew over the centuries, including an expansion by Abu al-Qasim ibn Tammam in 966, until it became a complex of four buildings around two courtyards. Its golden walls and towers rise straight from the sea. Inside are small cells for its defenders and a prayer hall, and a spiral staircase of about a hundred steps climbs to the watchtower, where light signals were exchanged at night with the towers of neighbouring ribats along the coast. You can climb the towers and walk the ramparts, with views over the town, the beach, the harbour and the nearby Bourguiba Mausoleum. One of its halls holds a small museum of Islamic art. The ribat is also known as a film location, having appeared in scenes of international films. It sits near the medina and the Bourguiba Mausoleum, so combine all three in half a day.
About a hundred steps.
Right above the sea.
Inside the ribat.
Corniche, central Monastir, on the sea
Between 45 minutes and an hour and a quarter, including the tower climb and the ramparts.
