|
also Banzart or Bizerta (anc. Hippo Diarrhytus and Hippo Zarytus), city, N Tunisia, a seaport on the Mediterranean Sea. The outer harbor is connected by canal with two inner harbors, the Bay of Sebra and the Lake of Bizerte. Olives are grown in the environs, and the lake contains valuable fisheries. Refined petroleum, fish products, flour, and olive oil are manufactured here. Bizerte was first occupied by colonists from the Phoenician capital of Tyre. The town later became a Roman colony, but after the 7th century ad it was held by the Arabs. Following 1881, when France seized Tunisia and made it a protectorate, the French dredged channels and canals, further modernized the harbor, and built a naval base on the lakeshore. German military forces occupied the port early in World War II. On May 7, 1943, Allied troops captured Bizerte. France retained the naval base after Tunisia became independent. Following a 1961 military confrontation in which French forces broke a Tunisian siege of the base, a negotiated settlement was reached, and France abandoned Bizerte in 1963. Pop. (1991 est.) 88,000.
An article from Funk & Wagnalls® New Encyclopedia. © 2006 World Almanac Education Group. A WRC Media Company. All rights reserved. Except as otherwise permitted by
written agreement, uses of the work inconsistent with U.S. and applicable foreign copyright and related laws are prohibited.
|
TUNISIA,
Other important cities include Sfax, or Safaqis (232,000); Sousse, or Susah (107,000); al-Qayrawan, or Kairouan (100,000); and Bizerte, or Banzart (88,000). Major industries include a sugar refinery at Bajah (Béja), a petroleum refinery at Bizerte (Banzart), a steel plant at . . .
ENCYCLOPEDIA: MENZEL BOURGUIBA,
