Walking through the narrow shopping street, the Ribat (1) (fortress) tower guided the way. The fort was built beginning in 821 C.E., when the Byzantines and Arabs were vying for control of Sicily. The platform at the top of the tower offers views of the mosque, town, and the adjacent commercial harbor. Arriving to visit the mosque at 12:02, I discovered that the mosque closed to visitors at Noon on Saturdays. Seeing no reason to linger in Sousse, a larger and more industrial city (2), I hopped on the next train back to Monastir.
Most of the shops were closed for midday, but the Monastir Ribat and tower remained open. The fortress is the oldest extant in Tunisia, construction having started in 796 C.E. There are narrow stairways leading everywhere, sometimes to a dead end.
The tower sported a red Tunisian flag blowing in the southeast wind in the more open area above the castle (3). The view to the azure sea and the cooling sea breeze invited me to linger at the tower's top.
(1) Ribat is derived from the Arabic word for garrison.
(2) A train station to the south of town is called Sousse Zone Industrielle.
(3) In the golden age of sail (late 1700s to early 1800s), calm at sea level, with a breeze aloft was known as a t'gantsl (a contraction of top gallant sail) wind, the only sail high enough on the mast to catch the breeze and propel the ship.
Wandering through Sousse
Someone is taking care of the cats
Ribat de Sousse
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