RIBAT DE MONASTIR

Overlooking the city with its superb yellow stones, the ribat is THE monument not to be missed in Monastir! It is the oldest ribat in North Africa. Built in 796 on a strategic location by the sea, it was intended to defend the region against Christian attacks. It was regularly enlarged by the different peoples who succeeded each other in Monastir, in the 9th, 11th, 16th and 19th centuries. These successive additions give it a most impressive aspect. Totally rebuilt within the framework of what one could call "the Bourguiba works", it kept all its charm. It was renovated one last time for a year and a half before reopening its doors in 2013. Its nador, the large watchtower that dominates its three floors, offers a superb panorama of the whole city and its surroundings as well as the coast. In the south wing is a small museum of Islamic art including objects from the Abbasid and Fatimid periods. You will see pottery, manuscripts, fabrics from the 4th and^5th centuries and a collection of objects from the first centuries of Islam, don't miss the superb collection of glassware. One of its beautiful pieces is an astrolabe (this ancient navigational instrument) of Arab design and Spanish manufacture (Cordoba), dated 927. Illuminated at night, it becomes the lighthouse of the city, visible for miles around. The ribat hosts the International Festival of Monastir every summer.