See also:

• SFAX (Arabic Asfakis or Safakus, the cucumbers)

SFAX (Arabic Asfakis or Safakus, the cucumbers)  , a See also:

• CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city of See also:

• TUNISIA (Regency of Tunis)

Tunisia, second in importance only to the See also:

• CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
• CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

capital, 78 m. due S. of See also:

• SUSA (anc. Segusio, q.v.)
• SUSA (Biblical, Shushan)
• SUSA (Fr. Sousse)

Susa, on the Gulf of See also:

• GABES

Gabes (Syrtis See also:

• MINOR
• MINOR (Lat. for smaller, lesser)
• MINOR, ROBERT CRANNELL (1839-1904)

Minor) opposite the Kerkenna Islands, in 340 43' N., 1o° 46' E . See also:

• SFAX (Arabic Asfakis or Safakus, the cucumbers)

Sfax occupies the site of the See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

ancient Taphrura, of which few vestiges remain . The See also:

• TOWN

town consists of a See also:

• EUROPEAN

European See also:

• QUARTER (through Fr. from Lat. quartarius, fourth part)

quarter, with streets regularly laid out and See also:

• FINE

fine houses, and the Arab town, with its kasbah or citadel, and See also:

• TOWER (Lat. turris; Fr. tour, clocker; Ital. torre; Ger. Thurm)

tower-flanked walls pierced by three See also:

• GATES, HORATIO (1728-1806)

gates . Many of the private houses, mosques and zawias are See also:

• GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good specimens of native See also:

• ART

art of the 17th and 8th centuries . See also:

• NORTH
• NORTH, BARONS
• NORTH, MARIANNE (1830—1890)
• NORTH, ROGER (1653-1734)
• NORTH, SIR THOMAS (1535?-16o1?)

North-See also:

• EAST
• EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

east of the native town is a See also:

• CAMP (from Lat. campus, field)

camp for the European See also:

• GARRISON
• GARRISON, WILLIAM LLOYD (1805-1879)

garrison . Sfax was formerly the starting-point of a See also:

• CARAVAN (more correctly Karwan)

caravan route to Central See also:

• AFRICA
• AFRICA, ROMAN

Africa, but its inland See also:

• TRADE (O. Eng. trod, footstep, from tredan, to tread; in M. Eng. the forms teed, trod and trade appear, the last in the sense of a beaten track)
• TRADE, BOARD OF

trade now extends only to the phosphate region beyond Gafsa, reached by a railway which, after skirting the See also:

• COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

coast See also:

• SOUTH
• SOUTH, ROBERT (1634–1716)

south-wards from Sfax to Mahares, runs inland past Gafsa . With Susa there is See also:

• REGULAR

regular communication by steamer and motor See also:

• CAR (Late Lat. carra)

car . See also:

• OLIVE (Olea europaea)

Olive oil is manufactured, and the See also:

• FISHERIES

fisheries are important, notably those of See also:

• SPONGES

sponges and of octopuses (exported to See also:

• GREECE

Greece) . The prosperity of the town is largely due to the export trade in See also:

• PHOSPHATES

phosphates, See also:

• ESPARTO, or SPANISH GRASS

esparto grass, oil, almonds, pistachio nuts, sponges, See also:

• WOOL, WORSTED AND WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES

wool, &c . There is in the Gulf of Gabes a rise and fall of 5 ft. at See also:

• SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring tides, which is rare in the Mediterranean . Formerly the only anchorage at Sfax was 2 M. from See also:

• SHORE

shore; but a See also:

• HARBOUR (from M.E. hereberge, here, an army; cf. Ger. Heer and -beorg, protection or shelter. Other early forms in English were herberwe and haiborow, as seen in various place names, such as Market Harborough.. The French auberge, an inn, derived through

harbour, completed in 1900 and entered by a channel If m. See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long and 212 ft. deep, now renders vessels See also:

• INDEPENDENT

independent of the See also:

• TIDE (O. Eng. lid, cf. Ger. Zeit, time or season, connected with root of Sanskrit a-diti, endless)

tide . There are See also:

• SEPARATE

separate basins for fishing boats and a See also:

• DOCK

dock for See also:

• TORPEDO

torpedo-See also:

• BOAT (0. Eng. bdt; the true etymological connexion with Dutch and Ger. boot, Fr. bateau, Ital. battello presents great difficulties; Celtic forms are from O. Eng.)

boat flotilla .

See also:

• ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

Round the town for 5 or 6 m. to the north and See also:

• WEST
• WEST, BENJAMIN (1738-1820)
• WEST, NICHOLAS (1461-1533)

west stretch orchards, gardens and See also:

• COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country houses . See also:

• DATES

Dates, almonds, grapes, See also:

• FIGS

figs, peaches, apricots, See also:

• OLIVES, MOUNT OF, or MOUNT OLIVET ("Opus 'EXc uwos or riov 'EXauav; mod. Jebel-et-Tur)

olives, and in See also:

• RAINY, ROBERT (1826-1906)

rainy years melons and cucumbers grow there without See also:

• IRRIGATION (Lat. in, and rigare, to water or wet)

irrigation . Two enormous cisterns, maintained by public charitable See also:

• TRUSTS

trusts, See also:

• SUPPLY (through Fr. from Lat. supplere, to fill up)

supply the town with See also:

• WATER

water in dry seasons . Sfax is on the site of a See also:

• ROMAN

Roman See also:

• SETTLEMENT
• SETTLEMENT, ACT OF

settlement . Many of its Arab inhabitants claim descent from See also:

• MAHOMET (strictly MUHAMMAD, commonly also MOHAMMED)

Mahomet . The Sicilians under See also:

• ROGER (d. 1139)
• ROGER (d. 1181)

Roger the See also:

• NORMAN
• NORMAN, SIR HENRY WYLIE (1826-1904)

Norman took it in the 12th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century, and in the 16th the Spaniards occupied it for a brief See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period . The See also:

• BOMBARDMENT

bombardment of the town in 1881 was one of the See also:

• PRINCIPAL

principal events of the See also:

• FRENCH
• FRENCH, DANIEL CHESTER (1850– )
• FRENCH, NICHOLAS (1604-1678)

French See also:

• CONQUEST

conquest of Tunisia; it was pillaged by the soldiers on the 16th of See also:

• JULY

July, and the inhabitants had afterwards to pay a See also:

• WAR
• WAR (O. Eng. werre, Fr. guerre, of Teutonic origin; cf. O.H.G. werran, to confound)

war See also:

• INDEMNITY (through Fr. indemnite, Lat. indemnis, free from damage or loss; in-, negative, and damnum, loss)

indemnity of f250,000 . The See also:

• POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population, about 15,000 at the See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time of the French occupation, had increased to 50,000 in 1906 .