Djerba, or Jerba, is an island off the coast of Tunisia. It is a popular tourist destination, and a center for Tunisian Ibadhism, as well as being one of the few remaining places in Tunisia where a Berber language is still spoken.
Jerba has a considerable reputation for the manufacture of the woollen tissues interwoven with silk which are known as burnous stuffs; a market for the sale of sponges is held from November till March; and there is a considerable export trade in olives,.
Jerba is the Lotophagitis or Lotus-eaters' Island of the Greek and Roman geographers, and is also identified with the Brachion of Scylax.
In the middle ages the possession of Jerba was contested by the Normans of Sicily, the Spaniards and the Turks, the Turks proving victorious.
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