Djerba ^[1] (also transliterated as Jerba, Jarbah or Girba جزيرة جربة) is the largest island off North Africa, located in the Gulf of Gabes off the coast of Tunisia. Transliteration is the practice of transcribing a word or text written in one writing system into another writing system. ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent. ... The Gulf of Gabes, called Minor Syrtis in ancient times, is a gulf on Tunisias east coast in the Mediterranean Sea. ...

Description

The climate is mild and the soil well cultivated. Its largest city is Houmt-Souk, with a population of around 20,000. Houmt Souk is the main town of the island of Djerba, Tunisia. ...

Djerba is a popular tourist destination, particularly for French, German, Italian and Czech tourists. It is one of the few remaining places in Tunisia where a Berber language is still spoken. Another factor drawing some tourists to Djerba is the 1977 location of the Mos Eisley exterior scenes in the first Star Wars movie. The Berber languages (or Tamazight) are a group of closely related languages mainly spoken in Morocco and Algeria. ... Mos Eisley is a spaceport town on the planet Tatooine in the Star Wars universe. ... This movie poster for Star Wars depicts many of the films important elements, such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, X-Wing and Y-Wing fighters Star Wars, retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in 1981 (see note at Title,) is the original (and in chronological...

The island is noted as a center of the Islamic sect al-Ibadhiyah and is also noted for its Jewish minority, which has dwelled on the island for centuries, although populations have declined due to emigration to Israel and France since 1967. The El Ghriba synagogue is the oldest and one of the most famous in the world. For other uses, including people named Islam, see Islam (disambiguation). ... Al-Ibadhiyah is a form of Islam distinct from the Shiite and Sunni sects. ... This article describes some ethnic, historic, and cultural aspects of the Jewish identity; for a consideration of the Jewish religion, refer to the article Judaism. ... STOP THE WAR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HIJOS DE PUTAAAAAAA ISRAEL=TERRORISTAS. WHAT IS THE WORLD AND THE AMERICANS DOING NOW? SEND THEM BACK TO AUSWITS ... El Ghriba is an ancient synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba. ... Lesko synagogue, Poland A synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת ; beit knesset, house of assembly; Yiddish: שול, shul) is a Jewish place of religious worship. ...

In the early 20th century the island of Djerba had a population of forty thousand, several hundreds of whom were Maltese Catholics earning a livelihood as sponge-fishers.

Djerba is also known for its exceptional beaches, landscapes and hotels.

Girba remains a Roman Catholic titular see in the ecclesiastical province of African Tripoli. When first appointed auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Honolulu in Hawaii, Joseph Anthony Ferrario became a titular bishop of the titular see of the ancient Egyptian city of Cusae. ... Location of Tripoli within Libya. ...

History

Legend has it that Djerba was the island of the Lotus-Eaters where Odysseus stranded on his voyage through the Mediterranean. The island, called Meninx until the third century AD, included three principal towns. In one of these, whose modern name is Būrgū, is found near Midoun in the center of the island, the remains of a large town dating from the fourth century BC are signalled by high mounds and dense pottery, as well as by a major tomb, possibly that of a member of the Numidian royal family. Another city, on the southeast coast of the island at Meninx, was a major producer of murex dye, cited by Pliny the Elder as second only to Tyre in this respect; substantial amounts of coloured marble testify to its wealth. In the third century the same town appears to have been called Girba, whence the present name of the island. At least two bishops of Girba are known, Monnulus and Vincent, who assisted at the Councils of Carthage in 255 and 525 (Toulotte, Géographie de l'Afrique chrétienne Proconsulaire, Paris, 1892, pp. 353 and 380). Their cathedral can be identified with ruins to the southwest of Meninx. A third important town, on the south coast near the modern pottery village of Guellala; was probably the ancient Haribus. Lotus-eaters beckon Odysseus and his men In Greek mythology, the Lotophagi (lotus-eaters) were a race of people from an island near Northern Africa dominated by lotus plants. ... Odysseus and the Sirens. ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... Numidia was an ancient African Berber kingdom and later a Roman province on the northern coast of Africa between the province of Africa (where Tunisia is now) and the province of Mauretania (which is now the western part of Algerias coastal area). ... Species see text Murex (Linnaeus, 1758) is a genus of tropical carnivorous marine gastropods. ... Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19c portrait. ... The Triumphal Arch Tyre (Arabic , Phoenician , Hebrew Tzor, Tiberian Hebrew , Akkadian , Greek Týros) is a city in the South Governorate of Lebanon. ...

During the Middle Ages, the Christians of Sicily and Aragon disputed its possession with the Ibadites of the island. Remains from this period include numerous small mosques dating as early as the twelfth century, as well as two substantial forts. The island was controlled twice by the Norman Kingdom of Sicily: in *1135 - 1158 and in *1284 - 1333. During the second of these periods it was organised as a feudal lordship, with the following Lords of Jerba: 1284 - 1305 Roger I, 1305 - 1307 and 1307 - 1310 Roger II (twice), 1310 Charles, 1310 Francis-Roger III; there were also royal governors, partially overlapping with the lordship terms: c.1305 - 1308 Simon de Montolieu, 1308 - 1315 Raymond Montaner. Al-Ibadhiyah is a form of Islam distinct from the Shiite and Sunni sects. ... The following is a list of monarchs of Naples and Sicily: See also: List of Counts of Apulia and Calabria Hauteville Counts of Sicily, 1071-1130 Roger I 1071-1101 Simon 1101-1105 Roger II 1105-1130 Hauteville Kings of Sicily, 1130-1198 Roger II 1130-1154 William I 1154... Events January - Byland Abbey founded Stephen of Blois succeeds King Henry I. Empress Maud, daughter of Henry I and widow of Henry V opposed Stephen and claims the throne as her own Owain Gwynedd of Wales defeats the Normans at Crug Mawr. ... Events January 11 - Vladislav II becomes King of Bohemia End of the formal reign of Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan, also the beginning of his cloistered rule, which will last to his death in 1192. ... // Events War and politics King Charles II of Naples is captured in a naval battle off Naples by Roger of Lauria, admiral to King Peter III of Aragon. ... Events End of the Kamakura period and beginning of the Kemmu restoration in Japan. ... // Events War and politics King Charles II of Naples is captured in a naval battle off Naples by Roger of Lauria, admiral to King Peter III of Aragon. ... Events August 5 - English troops capture William Wallace Wenceslas III becomes king of Bohemia Archbishop of Bordeaux, Bertrand de Got, was elected as Pope Clement V. Philip IV of France accused the Knights Templar of heresy. ... Events August 5 - English troops capture William Wallace Wenceslas III becomes king of Bohemia Archbishop of Bordeaux, Bertrand de Got, was elected as Pope Clement V. Philip IV of France accused the Knights Templar of heresy. ... Events July - The Knights Hospitaller begin their conquest of Rhodes. ... Events July - The Knights Hospitaller begin their conquest of Rhodes. ... [edit] Events May 11 - In France, 64 members of the Knights Templar are burned at the stake for heresy Abulfeda becomes governor of Hama. ... [edit] Events May 11 - In France, 64 members of the Knights Templar are burned at the stake for heresy Abulfeda becomes governor of Hama. ... [edit] Events May 11 - In France, 64 members of the Knights Templar are burned at the stake for heresy Abulfeda becomes governor of Hama. ... Events August 5 - English troops capture William Wallace Wenceslas III becomes king of Bohemia Archbishop of Bordeaux, Bertrand de Got, was elected as Pope Clement V. Philip IV of France accused the Knights Templar of heresy. ... Events Henry VII is elected as king of the Holy Roman Empire. ...

In 1513, after three years in exile in Rome, the Fregosi family returned to Genoa, Ottaviano was elected Doge, and his brother Federigo Fregosi (archbishop, later cardinal), having become his chief counsellor, was placed at the head of the army, and defended the republic against internal dangers (revolts of the Adorni and the Fieschi) and external dangers, notably suppression of the Barbary piracy: Cortogoli, a corsair from Tunis, blockaded the coast with a squadron, and within a few days had captured eighteen merchantmen; being given the command of the Genoese fleet, in which Andrea Doria was serving, Federigo surprised Cortogoli before Bizerta, effected a descent on the island of Djerba and returned to Genoa with great booty. 1513 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: The Eternal City Location within Province of Rome in the Region of Latium Coordinates: Region Latium Province Province of Rome Mayor of Rome Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1,285 km²  (496. ... Country Italy Region Liguria Province Genoa (GE) Mayor Giuseppe Pericu (since 2005-05-30) Elevation 20 m Area 243 km² Population  - Total (as of 2006) 620,316  - Density 2,553/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Coordinates Gentilic Genovesi Dialing code 010 Postal code 16100 Frazioni Acquasanta, Vesima Patron St. ... Federigo Cardinal Fregosi was a Genoese nobleman, prelate and general. ...

It was also twice occupied by Spain: 1521 - 1524 & 1551 - 31 July 1560; again there were governors: 1521 - 1524 ..., 1560 Giovanni Andrea Doria. Andrea Doria or DOria (November 30, 1466-November 25, 1560) was a Genoese condottiero and admiral. ...

The island was temporarily the base of the Turkish corsair and admiral Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha in the 16th century. In May 14, 1560, the Ottoman fleet under the command of Piyale Pasha and Turgut Reis severely defeated the Holy League of Philip II at the Battle of Djerba. Khair ad Din A statue in Barbaros Park near the ferry stop in Beşiktaş Khair ad Din (circa 1475-1546) was an Ottoman-Turkish admiral and privateer who served in the Ottoman Empire and in the Barbary Coast. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... May 14 is the 134th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (135th in leap years). ... Events February 27 - The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland The first tulip bulb was brought from Turkey to the Netherlands. ... now. ... Piyale Pasha (circa 1515-1578), also known as Piale Pasha in the West or Pialí Bajá in Spain (Turkish: Piyale Paşa), was an Ottoman-Turkish admiral between 1553 and 1567 and a high ranking Ottoman Vizier after 1568. ... Turgut Reis Turgut Reis (1514-1565) Ottoman, Turkish corsair and admiral, as well as Bey of Tunis. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Battle of Djerba, (near the island of Djerba off the coast of Tunisia) was a naval battle that took place in 1560 and in which the Ottomans under Piyale Pashas command overwhelmed a huge joint European fleet, chiefly Spanish forces, sinking half its ships. ...

Djerba belonged to the Ottoman regency of Tunis until 1881, subsequently under the French colonial protectorate, which became the modern republic of Tunisia. now. ... 1881 (MDCCCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... A protectorate is, in international law, a political entity (a sovereign state or a less developed native polity, such as a tribal chiefstainship or feudal princely state) that formally agrees (voluntarily or under pressure) by treaty to enter into an unequal relationship with another, stronger state, called the protector, which...

An archaeological field survey of Jerba, carried out under the auspices of the University of Pennsylvania, the American Academy in Rome and the Tunisian Instiut National du Patrimoine between 1995 and 2000, revealed over 400 archaeological sites, including many Punic and Roman villas. The University of Pennsylvania (Penn is the moniker used by the university itself [2]) is a private, nonsectarian research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... The American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill) in Rome. ...

In the Ghriba synagogue bombing on April 11, 2002, a truck full of explosives was detonated close to the famous synagogue, killing 21 people (14 German tourists, 5 Tunisians and 2 Frenchmen). Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility. For a time tourists ceased visiting Jerba, but normal activity has since resumed. The Ghriba synagogue bombing was a deadly bombing carried out in Tunisia by the al-Qaeda terrorist group on the El Ghriba synagogue. ... April 11 is the 101st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (102nd in leap years). ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة, the foundation or the base) is the name given to a worldwide network of militant Islamist organizations under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. ...

Notes

1. ^ ↑  Transliteration from http://www.uconv.com/ar.htm

Sources and External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Djerba

• This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia. Girba & Federigo Fregoso
• Cursory Mos Eisley location facts – From StarWars.com
• WorldStatesmen - Tunisia
• Djerba travel guide
• interesting photos @flickr

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