Sfax

Sfax: see Safaqis, Tunisia.

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Sfax

 or Safaqis

Port city (pop., 1994: 230,900), east-central Tunisia. Built on the site of two ancient settlements, the city grew as an Islamic trading centre. It was occupied by the Normans in the 12th century and by the Spanish in the 16th century, and later served as a stronghold of the Barbary Coast pirates. The town was bombarded by the French in 1881 prior to their occupation of Tunisia and again in World War II (1939–45), when it was a base for German forces until taken by the British in 1943. Tunisia's second-largest city, it is a transportation hub and a major fishing port.

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Sfax

a port in E Tunisia, on the Gulf of Gabès: the second largest town in Tunisia; commercial centre of a phosphate region. Pop.: 570 000 (2005 est.)

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Sfax 

a city on the eastern coast of Tunisia, on the Gulf of Gabès. Population, 100,000 (1973). Sfax is the industrial, transportation, and administrative center of the governorate of Sfax. Its port handles mostly phosphorite exports; in 1974 the freight turnover was 3.8 million tons. The city is also a highway junction and has a railroad station and an airport. There are enterprises of the textile, metalworking, food-processing, and leather-footwear industries. A large superphosphate plant and a steam power plant are also located in the city.

Sfax was founded in the ninth century on the site of the ancient city of Taparura, which was known in Roman times. Architectural monuments include the remains of the city walls (ninth century), the palace of Dar-Si-Ali-Nuri (ninth century, now the Museum of National Art), and the Great Mosque (849). The new city, north of Old Sfax, has been developed according to a citygarden plan (since 1944). Sfax is the site of an archaeological museum.