Métouia

Métouia (Arabic: المطوية‎ Al Matwiya), also spelled El Méthouia, is a town and commune in the Gabès Governorate, Tunisia. As of 2004 it had a population of 9,946.[1] In summer, it increases to nearly 50 000 inhabitants due to the return of summer residents living abroad. Administratively, it has a municipality seat of 9,946 inhabitants and a delegation attached to the governorate of Gabès.

Métouia
Commune and town
Métouia
Coordinates: 33.97°N 10.00°E / 33.97; 10.00
Country Tunisia
GovernorateGabè
Population
 (2014)
 • Total20,648
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)

History

Roman remains in Metouia witness Roman presence in ancient time.[2] A large water resource have gathered settling tribes over the centuries in Metouia. According to the work of Victor Guérin, “Archaeological Travel in the Regence of Tunis” (1862) account 500 inhabitants in Métouia in 1862, describing the town as follows: "They grow very fertile gardens, divided by small separation of clay walls and watered by numerous rivulets. The tree that dominates is the palm tree. This set of gardens and the forest is an oasis of date palms larger than the previous one (Oudhref ) ".[3]

Geography

Located 12 kilometres from Gabès, Métouia has a wide areas of palm trees (about 270 hectares)[4] and a coastline of 10 kilometres from its centre. Fisheries is diverse (essentiallyGrooved carpet shell,[5] octopus and various species of fish), contributing to the high productivity of the Gulf of Gabès.

The main highway connecting the city is National Highway 1 (RN1).

Economy

Its economy is based mainly on farming of oasis, select industrial activities (industrial Métouia zone El-Aouinet), and tourism.

Sport

It features two teams of soccer: The Métouian Sport Union, and The Métouian Athletic Youth based in Tunis.

Notable residents

Twin towns – sister cities

Métouia is twinned with:

See also

References
  1. Recensement de 2004 (Institut national de la statistique) Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
  2. (in Arabic) هل قامت حضارة رومانية بالجهة ؟ Archived 2013-06-14 at the Wayback Machine by البشير التيجاني الرقيقي
  3. (in French) Culture de Métouia (Mtawa.com) Archived 2010-03-29 at the Wayback Machine
  4. (in French) Abdessatar Hatira, Lotfi Baccar, Mohamed Grira et Tahar Gallali, « Analyse de sensibilité du système oasien et mesures de sauvegarde de l’oasis de Métouia (Tunisie) », Revue des sciences de l'eau, vol. 20, n°1, 2007, pp. 59-69
  5. (in French) « Diagnostic initial des sites de pêche artisanale du Maroc et de Tunisie », CopeMed II – ArtFiMed Technical Documents, nº4, Malaga, 2009

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