Part 55

HOTELS (comp. p. 324). _Grand-Hôtel_ (Pl. a; D, 2), Cours de la Marine, R. 4–7, B. 1½, déj. 3½, D. 4, pens. 11–15 fr.; _Hôtel de France_ (Pl. b; C, 1), Avenue Krantz, R. 3–6, B. 1, déj. 3, D. 3–3½, pens. 10–12 fr., well spoken of; _Hôtel du Sahel_ (Pl. c; D, 1), Rue Jules-Ferry, unpretending.

CAFÉS. _Brasserie_, at the Grand-Hôtel; _Glacier_, Place Pichon; _Bellevue_, Place de la Marine.—_Casino Municipal_ (Pl. 8; C, 1), with a hall for balls and theatrical performances, etc.

POST & TELEGRAPH OFFICE (Pl. C, 2), Place Pichon.—BANKS (comp. p. 174). _Comp. Algérienne_, Rond-Point de la Douane; _Banque de Tunisie_, Rue du Marché; _Crédit Foncier et Agricole d’Algérie_, Place Colonel Vincent.—BOOKSELLERS. _Petit_, Place Pichon; _Berra_ (Imprimerie Rapide), Rue Jules-Ferry.

BRITISH VICE-CONSUL, _W. Galea_, Rue Général-Logerot (cor. of Rue de l’Eglise).—LLOYD’S AGENT, _D. Cattan_.

CABS (stand, Place Pichon). Drive ¾ (outside town 1) fr.; hour 1¾ (or 2), day 15–20 fr.; after 7 (in summer 9) p.m. one-half more.—MOTOR CARS at _Auvin’s_, Ave. Krantz.

HALF-DAY. Visit to the _Museum_ (p. 367), the _Souks_ (p. 368), and the _Kasba_ (p. 369).

_Susa_, French _Sousse_, Arabic _Sûssa_, (pop. 25,000, incl. 2800 Italians, 1500 French, and 900 Maltese), which has been since ancient times the chief seaport in the _Gulf of Hammamet_ (p. 364), is now the most important in Tunisia after Tunis and Sfax. It is also the capital of the _Sahel_ (p. 320). This coast-region, 20–25 M. in breadth, famed in the Roman age for its olive-oil, yields corn also, like the inland plain of Kairwan, although its rainfall is slight. According to the latest statistics the Sahel has 6 million olive-trees, 212,000 acres of barley, and about 4000 date-palms, which here, however, mostly yield date-wine (‘lagmi’) only. As yet the manufacturing industries are practically limited to the oil-mills and soap-works in the suburbs close to the sea; there are also several salt-works on the coast between Susa and Mehdia.

Susa, the Roman _Hadrumetum_, is one of the oldest Phœnician colonies on the coast of Tunisia. It appears for the first time in history at the end of the second Punic war, when it was Hannibal’s base of operations, and, after the battle of Zama (B. C. 202), his place of refuge. It escaped the fate of Carthage in 146 B. C., and it was again spared a century later, although it had sided with Pompey in the civil war. Under the later Roman empire Hadrumetum was remarkably prosperous, being the great outlet for the produce of the numerous and thickly peopled inland colonies as far as Tebessa. The fertility of its environs is indicated by the name given to it when re-colonized under Trajan (Colonia Concordia Ulpia Trajana Frugifera Hadrumentina). At that period the whole coast from Hadrumetum to El-Alia and Chebba (p. 370) was bordered with sumptuous country-houses. After its conquest by the Arabs (in 665, and again in 689) Susa, whose present name is said to date from the 8th cent., was outstripped by Kairwan and Mehdia. It afterwards suffered severely from the irruption of the Hilalides (p. 323) and its conquest by the Normans (1135), and in more modern times from its bombardment by the Spaniards (1537 and 1550), the French (1769), and the Venetians (1783).

The HARBOUR, 35 acres in area, constructed in 1886–9, is tolerably sheltered by two moles and by the _Grande Jetée_ (737 yds.), the end of which is a splendid point of view. The _Digue Sud_ (Pl. D, 4, 5), where new harbour-works are in progress, is occupied by storehouses for the phosphates from Aïn-Moularès (p. 372).

Between the N. mole and the dunes of _Bou-Jaffar_, near the Punic-Roman harbour (Kothon), of which scarcely a trace is left, lies the new town, dating from 1881. The busy parts of it are the Rond-Point de la Douane (Pl. D, 2), near the steamboat-quay, and the PLACE PICHON (Pl. C, D, 2), from which the Boul. René Millet leads to the station.

Between the two small public gardens here is the *=Museum= (Pl. C, 2), a valuable collection of Punic, Roman, and early-Christian antiquities, mostly excavated of late in the Sahel. Adm. daily, except Mon., 8–11 and 2–4 (from 1st July to 15th Oct. 7–11 only). No catalogue. Curator, M. E. Gouvet, the town architect.

The chief treasures of the museum are the numerous mosaics from Roman villas. In the centre of the hall is a large pavement from El-Alia, already freely restored in ancient times, representing an inundation of the Nile, with two-storied houses, a hippopotamus, a crocodile, etc.; by the entrance-wall, Neptune in a chariot with sea-horses, ducks, and fish; by the back-wall, procession of Bacchus, fishing scenes, a gazelle among edible animals and fruits (from a dining-room), the rape of Ganymede, a Nile scene, a basket with fish and lobsters; by the end-wall to the left, a peacock. By the right end-wall, an early-Christian mosaic, with the signature of the artist (Theodulos).

By the back-wall are relics of wall-paintings and the marble statuette of a negro boy. By the entrance-wall, fragments of Roman reliefs in stucco: head of a bearded man, from El-Djem (2nd cent. A. D.); bust of Athena and female head in profile, from Susa (2nd cent.). By the left end-wall, a large relief, from Susa, of the triumphal procession of a Roman emperor, with a fettered warrior behind the chariot.

The central presses contain (on the left) *Terracotta Figures from Susa (mother and child, Venus, female harpist, rider on a camel, etc.) and fine vessels in clay; (on the right) ancient coins; a fine bust in bronze and leaden rolls inscribed with curses (comp. p. 341), from Susa; bronze utensils, trinkets, implements in bone; Punic, Roman, and early-Christian lamps; mosaic of Virgil writing the Æneid.

The old town, an irregular quadrilateral almost unspoiled by modern improvements, contains no buildings of outstanding importance, but its Oriental streets are strikingly picturesque. The many-towered *_Town Wall_, with its gallery of defence and its crowning battlements, was erected by the Aglabides (p. 323) in 827.

From the Place Pichon we first visit the Place Bab el-Bahar (Pl. C, 2), named after the old ‘sea-gate’, almost always enlivened by a dense and busy throng. The main streets of this quarter are the Rue de France and Rue Général-Logerot, between which rises the _Chief Mosque_ (Pl. C, 2), built in the Aglabide period on a =⟙=-shaped plan (p. 376), with forecourts like the Gâmia Ibn Tulûn at Cairo (p. 451).

In the secluded streets to the N.W. of the chief mosque, which are best reached from the Hôtel de Ville (Pl. 3, B, C, 2; new building in course of construction in the Ave. Mougeot, in front of the harbour) by the Rue Général-Riu and Rue du Kasr, rises the so-called =Kasr er-Ribât= (Pl. 5, C, 2; ‘castle-convent’), originally a Byzantine fortress, but used since the Aglabide period as a fortified monastery (Kasr al-Morabitîn, castle of the marabouts) for defenders of the faith against the infidels. It is now a humble medersa (p. 228). The building, modernized in the Turkish period, was originally square, with four round corner-towers and four at the sides. The domed vestibule contains fragments of the Byzantine edifice. In the interior (no admittance) there is a small mosque.

The Rue Général-Sabatier on the W. side of the chief mosque, and the Rue de Paris, its continuation to the S., lead to the Rue el-Mar (Pl. B, 3, 4). Here, at the corner of the Rue de la Kasba (p. 369), rises a fine _Minaret_. At the end of the street is an interesting old _Dwelling House_, thoroughly restored in 1906, with horseshoe and multifoil arches.

In the Rue de la Soffra (Pl. B, 3), above the Rue el-Mar, are the _Roman Cisterns_, which have been repeatedly restored since the middle ages (keys at the town architect’s; see p. 367).

To the W. of the Rue de Paris are the picturesque =Souks= (p. 335). Immediately to the right, adjoining the Souk el-Rbâ (Pl. B, 3), the vaulted lane in the middle, and at the entrance to the Rue Bin el-Kaoui, is the _Kahwât el-Kubba_ (Pl. 4, B, 3; ‘domed café’), a small early-Moorish building with an interesting dome, four wall-niches, and windows partly built up.

The Souk el-Caïd, continuing the Souk el-Rbâ, ascends to the _Bâb el-Gharbi_ (Pl. A, 3), the old Moorish W. gate.—In the Rue Dâr el-Bey, between the Souk el-Caïd and Rue de la Kasba, is the _Dâr el-Bey_ (Pl. 1; B, 3), an old palace of the beys of Tunis, now the Contrôle Civil and office of the caïd (driba).

The Rue de la Kasba, or from Bâb el-Gharbi the boulevard outside the town, leads to the =Kasba= (Pl. A, B, 4; 131 ft. above the sea), the Moorish-Turkish citadel, built partly on the foundations of a Roman temple, now the barracks of the tirailleurs (adm. on presenting visiting-card; a sergeant acts as guide). The ‘Salle d’Honneur’ contains neo-Punic and Roman antiquities from the Camp Militaire (see below), including valuable mosaics (victorious racehorses, etc.) and early-Christian objects from the catacombs (see below). From the N. terrace of the Kasba, or from the tower (now lighthouse; not always open), there is a splendid *View of the town and harbour, of the Sahel, the whole bay of Hammamet, and of the inland Tunisian hill-country as far as Jebel Zaghouan.

From the Bâb el-Gharbi a road leads to the W. to Kalaâ-Srira (p. 366) through the _Camp Militaire_ (Pl. A, 3, 4), whose huts stand partly on the ancient Punic burial-grounds. About ¾ M. from the gate are remains of a _Roman Burial Ground_; also, on a road diverging to the left a little before, extensive early-Christian _Catacombs_ (adm. 1 fr.), 3 min. to the S. of the highroad.

FROM SUSA TO MEHDIA, 39½ M., railway in 3¼ hrs. (7 fr. 5, 5 fr. 35, 3 fr. 80 c.). The line runs, a little apart from the Sfax road (R. 59), at first to the S.W., through the beautiful hill-country of the _Sahel_, to (6 M.) _M’Saken_ (p. 378). 11 M. _Ouardenine_, where the new line to Sfax (see p. 378) diverges to the S. Our line sweeps round to the E. to (16 M.) _Djemmal_.—22 M. =Moknine= (181 ft.; Café-Restaurant de la Gare; pop. 9000, incl. 700 Jews and 70 Europeans) is noted for its Jewish goldsmiths’ work in an antique style like that of Djerba (p. 394). On the road to Monastir (p. 405), 3¾ M. to the N.W. of Moknine, are the ruins of the very ancient Phœnician-Roman seaport _Leptis Minor_, now _Lamta_ or _Lempta_ (remains of the old quays, cisterns, etc.), near which is the Punic necropolis _Henchir Meskhal_.

The train skirts the _Sebkha de Moknine_. 27½ M. _Teboulba_ (146 ft.; pop. 2900), a small town amidst pretty orange and mandarin gardens, on the S. shore of the _Bay of Monastir_ (p. 405). Farther to the S.E. we come to (30 M.) _Bekalta_ (pop. 3400), a little town with the ruins of the seaport of _Thapsus_, famed for Cæsar’s victory (p. 322; large Roman cisterns, amphitheatre, quay of the Punic-Roman Kothon, Punic rock-tombs).

39½ M. =Mehdia= or _Mahdia_ (66 ft.; Hôt. de France, Grand-Hôtel, both very humble; Brit. cons. agent, G. Violante; pop. 10,000, incl. 600 Europeans), the ancient capital of Ifrikia (p. 322), founded in 916 as _Mahedia_ by the Fatimite Obeïd Allah el-Mahdi, on the site of the Phœnician-Roman _Zella_ (_Africa?_), is now a poor little seaport-town with hardly a trace of its former renown. Being centrally situated on the E. coast of Tunisia, on the narrow and once strongly fortified headland _Râs Mehdia_, the _Cape Africa_ of earlier writers, Mehdia, after the destruction of Kairwan (p. 372), developed into the most prosperous town and important harbour of Tunisia, but suffered severely from the transference of the seat of government to Tunis (p. 332). In war also it was often sorely tried. It was conquered by a Pisan fleet in 1087, occupied by the Normans in 1148–60, and captured by the knights of Malta in 1530, by Kheireddin’s (p. 221) former general Dragut in 1540, and in 1550 by the Spaniards, who on their retreat after the naval battle of Djerba (p. 394) blew up its fortifications.

The chief sights are the picturesque ruins of the _Town Walls_ and the _Grande Mosquée_ of the 10th cent., formerly connected with a college, with its many arcades and a fine gateway-tower, resembling the Bâb Lella Rejana at Kairwan (p. 375). To the S.E. of the headland are remains of the _Kothon_, the Punic-Roman harbour, which in the middle ages was defended by two towers. The new harbour, the centre of the Sicilian allache (kind of sardine) fishery, lies to the S.W. of the headland. Near the town are large _Salt Marshes_. The _Necropolis_, 2 M. to the W., with several well-preserved Punic and neo-Punic rock-tombs, deserves a visit. About 1 M. from the town are extensive early-Christian _Catacombs_ (adm. 1 fr.).—Off Mehdia, in an ancient sunken ship, beautiful works of art, now at the Bardo Museum (see p. 344), have been recently discovered.

A road (carr. 15 fr.) leads to the S.W. from Mehdia viâ (8 M.) _Ksour-Essaf_ to (26 M.) _El-Djem_ (p. 379).

In the olive-clad hill-country to the S. of Mehdia, on the road to Sfax (p. 380), lie the ruins of the ancient seaport of _Sullectum_ (now _Salakta_), of _Acholla_ (p. 398; now _Biar el-Alia_), both with Punic burial-grounds, and of _Uzalis_ (now _El-Alia_). Farther on, beyond the _Râs Kapoudia_ (or _Râs Khadidja_), the ancient _Caput Vada_, where Belisarius (p. 322) landed in 533, lies the small seaport of =Chebba=, noted like El-Alia for its Roman mosaics. Near it are the ruins of _Ruspae_ (now _Henchir Sbia_).

From Susa to _Kairwan_, see R. 58; to the ruins of central Tunisia and to _Metlaoui_, see R. 58; to _El-Djem_ and _Sfax_, see R. 59.

58. From Susa to Kairwan.

36 M. NARROW GAUGE RAILWAY in 2¼–2½ hrs. (6 fr. 50, 4 fr. 95, 3 fr. 50 c.; return 9 fr. 10, 6 fr. 95, 4 fr. 90 c.). Passengers from Tunis (return-fares 30 fr. 25, 22 fr. 95, 16 fr. 25 c.) change at Kalaâ-Srira (Rail. Restaurant).

From Susa to (5 M.) _Kalaâ-Srira_, see p. 366. The line runs, nearly in the same direction as the Susa and Tebessa (p. 315) Roman road, to the S.W., on the right bank of the _Oued Laya_ (p. 366), to the (8 M.) _Réservoir_ of the Susa waterworks.

At (10 M.) _Oued-Laya_, a small oasis of fruit-trees and vegetables, the olive-zone of the Sahel ends. 17½ M. _Kroussiah-Sahali_. 23 M. _Sidi el-Hani_, not far from the ruins of _Vicus Augusti_ (_?_).

To the left, farther on, we obtain a glimpse at the _Sebkha Sidi el-Hani_, 25 by 12½ M., the largest salt-lake of central Tunisia. To the right, a little farther on, beyond a chain of flat hills, is revealed a striking view of the vast _Plain of Kairwan_, enclosed by distant mountains, with the town of _Kairwan_ in the background. The low ground, through which the _Oued Hathob_ (p. 320), _Oued Merguellil_, and many smaller streams descend from the Sahara Atlas and its plateaux to the _Lac de Kelbia_ (p. 320; not visible from the train), is often flooded after the winter rains. It is inhabited almost exclusively by the Arab-like nomadic tribes of the _Djlass_ or _Zlass_. The train runs through plantations of Indian figs.

30½ M. _Aïn-Ghrasesia._

FROM AÏN-GHRASESIA TO METLAOUI, 182 M., railway in 13 hrs. (fares 32 fr. 85, 24 fr. 95, 17 fr. 55 c.; from Susa 38 fr. 35, 29 fr. 10, 20 fr. 50 c.). This new railway, diverging here to the S.W., affords the easiest access to the ruins of Sbeïtla, Kasserine, Thelepte, and Feriana in central Tunisia. It runs over a low saddle between the Sebkha Sidi el-Hani (see p. 370) and the marshy plain of the _Oued Hathob_, and across the bleak plain of Kairwan, to the S.W. borders of the Sahara Atlas, which it reaches at the foot of _Jebel Touila_, with its zinc and lead mines.

47½ M. _Hadjeb el-Aïoun_, the ancient _Masclianae_, on the _Oued Zourzour_, is the chief market (Tues.) for the _Oulad Sendassen_, a branch of the Djlass tribe (p. 370), and, like the following stations, possesses an alfa-depot. Branch-line to _Sbiba_, the ancient _Sufes_, projected.

Farther on we pass the foot of _Jebel Hadjeb el-Aïoun_ to (58½ M.) _Djilma_ (1152 ft.), the Roman _Cilma_, on a tributary of the Hathob, here called _Oued Djilma_, We now enter, to the W., the valley of the _Oued Menasseur_, at the foot of _Jebel Mrilah_ (4508 ft.) and _Jebel Sbeïtla_, inhabited by the _Madjeur_ tribe (p. 362).

76 M. =Sbeïtla= (1762 ft.; hotel), near the extensive ruins of _Sufetula_, on a plateau on the right bank of the _Oued Sbeïtla_, as the Oued Menasseur is named here. It was a poor castellum in the time of Augustus, but after the 2nd cent, became one of the most important junctions of different routes, and in the 5–7th cent. attained its prime under the Vandals and the Byzantines. In 645 it became the residence of Gregory, the governor, who had rebelled against Byzantium; it was soon after attacked by the Arabs under Abdallah ibn Saâd (p. 322), and in 648 it was entirely destroyed. The chief boast of Sbeïtla is the *_Capitol_ (comp. p. 288), rising in the midst of the ruins. The temple-court, once used by the Byzantines as a fortress and now destroyed save a few fragments of the limestone pavement, was entered by a three-arched propylæum, bearing an inscription in honour of Antoninus Pius (138–61). The chief temple was pseudo-peripteral, with composite columns; there are still traces of the steps up to it and of the portico. The three cellæ are well preserved, especially at the back, and have a transverse wall, instead of a semicircular apse, adjoining the Corinthian smaller temples. We may note also a fine _Triumphal Arch_ of the time of Constantine, the remains of a _Byzantine Church_ incorporated with a temple, to the N. of the capitol, a _Chapel_ built into a smaller temple, to the E., and the _Aqueduct_ across the Oued Sbeïtla. Higher up is the spring of the new water-conduit, 103 M. long, which supplies the town of Sfax.

Passing many other ruins we come to the _Plaine du Foussana_ (about 2650 ft.), one of the upper districts of the Oued Hathob, here called _Foussana_, at the S. foot of _Jebel Semmama_ (4307 ft.; with the zinc-mines of _Aïn-Khamouda_ on its N. side). Then a descent to (95 M.) =Kasserine= (2382 ft.), the ancient _Cillium_, a flourishing town from the 2nd cent. A.D. under the name of _Colonia Cillitana_, now a poor village with a caravanserai on the Thala and Feriana road (see p. 362 and below), not far from the chalky limestone masses of _Jebel Chambi_ (5217 ft.; p. 320). We may here visit the ruins of the Roman _Arch_ and of the _Tomb of the Petronii_, and above all the interesting _Mausoleum of T. Flavius Secundus_, of the time of Trajan. This is a kind of tower in three stories, in the Phœnician fashion, terminating in a pyramid; the 110 bombastic lines of the inscription correspond with the number of years attained by the deceased. A little to the S., on the _Oued Derb_, are remains of a Roman _Barrage_,—The landscape farther on, where Roman ruins still abound, assumes more and more the Sahara character.

116 M. =Thelepte= (hotel) is the station for the ruins of the ancient town of that name, now called _Medinet el-Khedima_ (‘the old town’), which in the 2nd–4th cent. A.D. was the chief place on the road between Tebessa (p. 315) and Gafsa (p. 383). Large thermæ, ruins of early-Christian basilicas, and a Byzantine fortress with many towers are to be seen here. The extensive Roman _Quarries_ are interesting.

118½ M. =Feriana= (2628 ft.; Hôt. Hostelier; Restaurant Bernard; pop. 1200), an oasis of corn, fruit, and vegetables on the _Oued Feriana_, in the midst of a sandy plain, has a new and pretty mosque.—Thence we cross the _Plateau de Msila_ (2930 ft.), overgrown with alfa, and descend to (134 M.) _Maâjen Bel-Abbès_, with the ruins of a Roman town, 28 M. to the N.W. of Gafsa. 141 M. _Sidi Bou-Beker_.

153½ M. _Henchir Souatir_ (about 1640 ft.). A short branch-line diverges hence to _Aïn-Moularès_ (1806 ft.), a caravanserai near the great beds of phosphate on the Algerian frontier.

166 M. _Tabeditt_ is connected by railway with (9½ M.) _Redeyef_, which has rich phosphate deposits.—Beyond Tabeditt the train runs through the valley of the _Oued Seldja_ (p. 386), here inhabited by the _Oulad Sidi-Abid_ nomads, to (183 M.) _Metlaoui_ (p. 386).

The KAIRWAN LINE runs to the W. over the bleak steppe, often passing the tents and the browsing camels and cattle of the Djlass (p. 370). We cross the Oued Hathob, here called _Zeroud_.

To the right, especially in the afternoon, we have a delightful *View of the white houses of Kairwan, with its countless domes and towering minarets. Nearing the station we see extensive fields of cactus and large alfa-stacks.

36 M. =Kairwan.=—HOTELS (comp. p. 324). _Splendid Hotel_ (Pl. a; C, 5), R. 3, B. 1, déj. or D. 3, omn. ½ fr.; _Hôt. de France_ (Pl. b; C, 5), R. 2½–4, B. ¾, déj. or D. 3, pens. 7½ fr.; both in the Place Carnot, tolerable.—_Café de France_, Rue Massicault.—POST & TELEGRAPH OFFICE (Pl. C, D, 4), Rue de la Poste.—PHYSICIAN. _Dr. Santschi_ (a Swiss), Grande Rue, near the Bâb Djelladin.

In HALF-A-DAY, if pressed for time, we may visit the _Grande Rue_, the _Souks_, the _Sidi Okba Mosque_, and the _Mosquée du Barbier_. Tickets for the mosques are obtained at the office of the Contrôle Civil (p. 373) or at the hotels. The overseers of the mosques mostly speak Arabic only. The guides, who are quite unnecessary, are very importunate.

Travellers in haste should endeavour to secure a cab (as yet only one), drive to the Contrôle Civil, the Barber’s Mosque, and back to the Porte de Tunis (p. 377), and there begin their inspection of the town.

_Kairwan_ or _Kairouan_ (243 ft.; pop. 22,000, incl. about 800 Europeans), the oldest capital of Ifrikia, is a town of purely Arabian type, the most curious in Tunisia. The old town is an irregular rectangle, enclosed by a wall 33 ft. high and 2 M. in length; the large W. suburb, also purely Oriental, is the _Faubourg des Djlass_, called after the nomadic tribe of that name (p. 370); to the S. is a new suburb near the station. The numerous mosques and zaouïas date mostly from the Turkish period. The town holds market for the extensive plain of Kairwan, and the souks are still important, though manufactures have declined. The climate (p. 321) is extremely hot in summer.

Kairwan was founded by Sidi Okba ben-Nâfi (p. 322) in 671, and was appointed by the caliphs to be the seat of the governors of Ifrikia. As the capital of the great Aglabide empire (p. 323) and the seat of the oldest high school in N. Africa, it was hardly less important than Cordova (p. 68), and the sumptuous mosque of Sidi Okba rapidly became the favourite goal of pilgrims from E. Barbary. After the Hilalides (p. 323) had destroyed the greater part of the town in 1048 it was for centuries almost deserted, notwithstanding the favour shown to it by Abd el-Mûmen (p. 95), the Hafsides, and the Merinides (p. 95). In the early 16th cent. several quarters still lay in ruins. It was not till the Turkish period that the sacred town, ‘one of the four gates of Paradise’, which neither Christian nor Jew durst enter, again became the religious centre of the land. To spend one’s last days within its walls, and to be buried in hallowed earth outside its gates, seemed to believers the height of bliss. Its sacred character, which however did not prevent the beys of Tunis from bombarding and partly destroying the rebellious town, was finally lost when the mosques were desecrated by the entry of the French troops in 1881.