Mahdia - Bordj el Kebir

From the Great Mosque in Mahdia it is a short distance along the seafront to the Bordj el Kebir. This massive square fortress, built in 1595, is commandingly situated on the highest point on the peninsula. Of the palace built by Obaid Allah el Mahdi in the 10th century nothing is left but a few fragments of masonry from the entrance.

In the courtyard of the fortress is a small mosque. In the masonry of the tower at the southwest corner are two reliefs which are believed to have come from an earlier building.

The main attraction of the Bordj el Kebir is the magnificent view from the battlements over the town, the Old Harbor and Cap Afrique.

Between the Bordj el Kebir and the lighthouse (Phare) at the end of the peninsula lies a cemetery. Near the lighthouse are a number of 10th century Shiite tombs and remains of cisterns.

On the south coast of the peninsula is the Old Harbor (Ancien Port Fatimide), measuring 126m/138yds by 57m/62yds, probably the old Punic kothon which was later used by the Romans. The narrow entrance channel, 15m/16yds long, was protected by two Fatimid watch-towers which were incorporated in the town walls and were later linked by an arch. The kothon is very similar to the one at Carthage.