Mysteries in Kelibia

It may seem unbelievable that Kelibia has mysteries; however, those are just a few of the many beautiful mysterious realities the town has to offer. Let’s start at the beginning:

The princess’s lane:
Throughout the history of Kelibia many emperors and rulers made the fort of Kelibia, one of their favorite residencies. Except for the royal family members, lay people were not allowed to come nearby. According to a legend reported by many Kelibians, a daughter of one of the kings by then had underground paths to the sea where she would swim with her servants. The legend also said that she had three different passages, which would take her to the monumental town of Karkouan. In the 90’s, a group of municipal government employees were digging at an approximate distance from the fortress for some embellishment work for the city, they got trapped underground an enormous rock. The workers found themselves in a long archeological tunnel, which ended with tow arch-ways. Was it a Legend or an actual, valid truth with no dust on it?

The cave of Salha:
In the east part of the fortress, a second legend took place. The main heroine was a woman named Salha. She lived in a cave on a hill. Salha would appear only at an early hour in the morning to sit on a rock 20 meters away from the cave. Suddenly, Salha disappeared leaving the cave deserted. In the 20th century, the hill was eroded by French soldiers during the years of dependence causing the cave to vanish in the forest. Providing that the lack of develop technical digging tools the cave has remained undiscovered though many in kelibia remember spending long times of their childhood playing in the cave.

The wall of Germans
It is a very precious landmark in Kelibia’s history. It played a huge role in helping soldiers hiding behind and escaping to Italy. Te wall is visible to everybody who visits Kelibia but rare are those who now its story. The wall of Germans is surrounding “Elmansoura”, which passes by “Yessemer”.

Kelibia Twins

Since the creation of the commune of Kelibia in 1957, there have been town twins’ actions with many towns from all over Europe.



First, it became the twin of El Municar in 1986. It is located in the Spanish region of Andalucia between Nerja and Motril, the ancient town and municipality of Almunecar has a history going back to the times of the Phoenicians. The town itself has a population of around 26,000 and is, these days, a popular tourist destination with a good range of facilities and holiday rental accommodation. Although the Muslim history ended in 1489 in this town, El Municar managed to preserve its charm and Andalucian traditions.

. In 1993, Kelibia was twinned with the Island of Pantalleria in Italy. It is located 70 Km away from Kelibia. It has a population of almost 8000. Pantalleria is a volcanic island and it has rocky beaches. The economy is basically founded on producing grapes. It is also known for its superior tourism sector. Traces of Arab-Muslim civilization, which lasted from 835 until 1123, are still dispersed throughout the town, such as in some architectural styles and names of some places



In 2003, Kelibia was twinned with Marsala, it is another town in Italy. It is known for wine production, ceramic art, local dishes and super delicious pastries. Marsala has an old arbor. The littoral has more than 10 kilometer sides. The trajectory of the “wine road” which takes to the back of the country is also a special trade mark of Mrsala town.

Those who have the chance to visit the city of Kelibia will notice a cross cultural bridge of civilizations, which leads to Spain and Italy.

Kelibia Has a Film Industry for Amateurs

Kelibia Theater
Festival post (From Adib's)
There has been an active amateur film movement in Tunisia since 1960’s. Non-professional film festival at kelibia has been the backbone of this movement. The event seeks to discover new talents in the field of cinema, screen writing, and photography. It is from this amateur film event that most of the Tunisian film directors emerge. It is also an opportunity to meet filmmakers from allover the world and to perform films from a diversity of countries whose cinema industry is not usually seen stateside.

Volleyball Is kelibian

Volleyball in kelibia has a deep rich history of success and glory. A great Passion for volleyball runs in the blood of every resident in the region. Volleyball and beach volleyball are two typical games in Kelibia. Both men and women have very glorious and strong teams known all over the country. Kelibian volleyball players have always accomplished marvelous victory locally and internationally. The reason why I choose to write a few notes about this game is related to a couple of motives.

First, I believe that it is time to introduce Kelibia to the world not only as a tourist destination good to visit in summer time, but also as a symbolic city of volleyball, in which the quality of the game is highly professional.

Second, I thought since Brazil is identified with soccer, why we don’t give Kelibia the credit it has always deserved and identify this city with volleyball. Without exaggeration, although it is a small town in a small country, it is still a big place in the arts of volleybals.

The Blue in Kelibia

Summer is around the corner. The first thing one may think about is which beach to visit for vacation. Here is a very interesting suggestion that you will never regret: kelibia Beaches. Words and pictures are still unable to depict the correct image of the extraordinary beauty there. Trust me, it feels completely different when you realize you are swimming in a portion of the Mediterranean Sea or looking at it. Below, you see the top five beach locations in kelibia. It is hard to classify them because they all have equal attractiveness. Certainly, whoever gets the chance to visit those beaches he will notice their loveliness and will come back again and again.

Mansoura Beach:

Fetha Beach:


Belge Beach:




Fort view
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k5bFosJN2FggdLoAAF(copy-paste)

The Harbour





Please allow me to offer you this small trip through some pictures of the splendid beach views in Kelibia. Click the link and enjoy it.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.panoramio.com/photos/original/10452513.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.panoramio.com/photo/10452513&usg=__TGw8acJqp4Qw8LITY-GzLQdsL6Q=&h=1728&w=2304&sz=498&hl=en&start=7&sig2=QUea1vR66O9BNiL1TlLfmg&um=1&tbnid=rRmWBslj4PgTlM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dkelibia%2B%2Bbeaches%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26um%3D1&ei=U6ToSYCPGNXwnQe6tvWKBw

The pastry that maintains love: Kaak Kelibia

It is a very special cake and very specific to the region of Kelibia. White flour made in round shapes, stuffed with dates, baked in a small traditional clay-made bakery called “taboona”. It is not only about the taste, but also its social and ethical role makes it a very special pastry.

Each year,during the Ramadan- Muslim fasting month- baking “kaak” for the Eid ceremony brings families closer and closer all over the territory of Kelibia. An ambience of love, solidarity, and love disseminate between the inhabitants. Every new day in the month, a number of relatives, friends, or neighbors meet together in the house of one family to help with preparing the”kaak”.

A close observer at the “kaak” preparation will notice a neat and very well systemized work. Elderly women take care of preparing the mixture and roll the dough into round shapes, serve food and drinks to the guests, or bake the pastry. Young ladies, however, usually like to do the ornamental job. Each time there is one “kaak” fully rounded, it goes to one of those ladies to be adorned and engraved with all kinds of beautiful artistic lines, contours, and figures.

Once the “kaak” is ready, each family has to send to relatives and friends to taste. It is always impressive to see people enjoying the “kaak” tasting and caring about helping each other bake one of the most delicious traditional pastries in the whole nation of Tunisia.

It is hot betwen the city and the country: We have to mention this too

http://www.alarab.co.uk/Previouspages/North%20Africa%20Times/2008/03/03-30/NAT323003.pdf -copy/paste-
(everything is gorgeous in Kelibia, but we have to say this...)


Unfortunately, it has been a truth since the first appearance of cities. Townsmen have always looked at countrymen debasingly. There is a biased view that country people are less educated, uncivilized, uncultured, and poor.

Indubitably, these are just other forms of stereotypes that city dwellers carry about people from the country. I would also consider it a form of egoism and ostentation. Townsmen like to show off as best educated and developed when compared or dealt with countrymen. The reality, however, has a totally different facet.

Incongruously, a lot of those who hold high social or political positions in the country grow up in the countryside. When I take the example of Kelibia, I can see that most of the intellect elite belong to agricultural families. The reason I cite Kelibia as an example, is related to the apparent segregation between people who live in the urban area and those of the rural side. Though there are no clear or justifiable reasons, it is hard to deny the existence of undeclared hatred and envy between the community of the city and that of the country.

Hopefully,the day will come when this scene of tension between both sides would disappear. Personally, I have managed to integrate in both societies perfectly. The tips are easy and attainable: make sure to look modern for those in the city because you are so; and make sure to be modest for those in the country because you are so.