About Jerba

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Jerba or Djerba Island is one of the most notable tourist attractions and the major islands in North Africa as a whole where tourist can enjoy all sorts of entertainment activities . The island is admired as a summer resort for its soft sandy beaches , warm crystal clear water and magnificent weather . In addition , the island hosts a number of smaller coastal towns with remarkable touristic places such as Houmt Souq , Guellala , and Sidi Mehres .
Houmt Souq is the largest town and one on the island on the island that encloses the majority of its touristic places . On top of these places are Mosque of the Strangers , Mosque of the Tourks , Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions , and Ghriba Synagogue .

Due to its remarkable location on the coast of the Mediterranean , Djerba Island played a great role in the history of Tunisia as a whole . About 2700 years ago , Djerba was established by the Berber Tribes . Later on , the Phoenicians arrived to the island and built their own constructions in Gights which is the location of the current El Qantara .
During the Islam Conquest of Tunisia , Jerba island was the first place to fall in the Arabs hands . During the Kharijites rebellion the Kharijites used the island as a stronghold refuge for them in 740ad .

In the 16th Century , Jerba Island was the center for the Dragut Pasha who was a renowned tyrand ruler . In 1551 , the war between Dragut and the Spanish army took off and after a long series of defeats , Dargut managed to kill more than 6000 soldier of the enemies' army . To immortalize this memory , Dragut built a pyramid-shaped tower with the bodies of the dead soldiers . This tower was called Macaber Fort or Ghazi Mustapha Tower and it remained till the French rule in 1848 when the bones of the soldiers were buried in the Christian Cemetery of the city .