Exploring Gafsa Medina & Kasbah

Today we are exploring one of Tunisia's lesser-visited governorate capitals: Gafsa. Gafsa is an ancient Tunisian town, set in a landscape that has been inhabited since Mesolithic times, by the Capsian culture. We explore the Ancient Roman swimming pools, walk past the Great Mosque of Gafsa (Grande Mosquée de Gafsa), find some amazing architecture in the medina, roam the market in the Byzantine kasbah (El Borj de Gafsa) and end our tour at the Roman hot spring and the sadly abandoned ancient Jewish ritual baths.
⏱️TIMESTAMPS⏱️
00:00 - Intro / Roman pools
1:12 - Great Mosque of Gafsa
1:39 - Architecture in the medina
1:53 - Byzantine kasbah
2:39 - Roman hot spring
3:09 - Jewish ritual baths
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[@lethal_tempo]

Last time the baths had water was October, and will be filled again late may, glad u visited though

[@ScafidiTravels]

Yes, I visited during winter (and during covid) so I guess they had been drained. Would be great to go and swim in them during summer!

[@h1k0usen13]

Gafsa is a hidden gem. It's a treasure trove of history within its own right, whose heritage tourists and even people who are to a degree well versed in Tunisian history may not be aware of. The architecure within the old city center, not to mention the intact Roman baths and the Kasbah which can be traced to the times of Justinian I, exemplify how strong the "Romanization" was within Gafsa (back then "Capsa") and how it persisted after the Islamic conquests - even the mosque courtyard has distinctive corinthian columns! It is also a great possibility, from what can be inferred from the writings of Muhammed al-Idrisi, a geographer and courtier of Roger II, as well as others, that African Romance, the regional vernacular of Latin that emerged under Roman North Africa, along with Christianity, survived in Gafsa and the surrounding region until at least the 14th-15th centuries.
Also, if you visit Gafsa again, definitely check out the Shimoni Synagogue within the northern medina if you haven't.

[@ScafidiTravels]

You are correct, Gafsa city is an incredible historic site, and the wider governorate also has a great heritage that few tourists get to see. Did I read somewhere that Shimoni Synagogue is being restored, or was that another synagogue in Tunisia?