# Roots Earth in Sfax: audio stories about 40 places Canonical: https://rootsearth.com/cities/sfax Published: 16 September 2026 Roots Earth has audio stories about 40 places in Sfax, Tunisia, in Africa. The Sfax stories are in all seven Roots Earth languages: English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. The app needs no account: open Sfax, pick a place on the city's map of places and play. Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection. The stories are written by local people. The 40 places are listed below in the order the app shows them, and again further down with their coordinates. The lists were taken from the Roots Earth catalogue on 15 September 2026. ## The 40 places in Sfax with audio stories In the order the app shows them. 1. Great Mosque of Sfax 2. Medina of Sfax 3. Kasbah of Sfax 4. Bab Diwan 5. Dar Jellouli Museum 6. Bab Jebli 7. Borj Ennar 8. Thenae 9. Kerkennah Islands 10. University of Sfax 11. Sfax–Thyna International Airport 12. Sfax Governorate 13. Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) 14. Municipal Theatre of Sfax 15. Archaeological Museum of Sfax 16. Place de la République 17. Souks of the Medina 18. Sidi Amar Kammoun Mosque 19. Sidi Ali Ennouri Mausoleum 20. Sidi Belhassen Karray Mausoleum 21. Driba Mosque 22. Frankish Quarter 23. Ramparts of the Medina 24. Port of Sfax 25. Sfax Corniche 26. Avenue Habib Bourguiba 27. Sfax Railway Station 28. Bab Jebli Market 29. Taïeb Mhiri Stadium 30. CS Sfaxien 31. Sidi Mansour 32. Gremda 33. Sakiet Ezzit 34. El Ain 35. Makroudh of Sfax 36. Harissa 37. Brik 38. Sfaxian Cuisine 39. Olive Groves of Sfax 40. Salt Pans of Thyna ## Is there an audio guide for Great Mosque of Sfax? Yes. Great Mosque of Sfax has its audio stories in the Roots Earth app: a short introduction and a deeper story, in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. It is place 1 of the 40 Sfax places in the app, at 34.73611, 10.76083. Every one of the other 39 places in the list above has the same two stories. Roots Earth is not a guided tour: you choose the place on the city's map of places and play its story yourself. ## How to use Roots Earth in Sfax Open Roots Earth and choose Sfax. The city has its own map of places with all 40 of them on it. Tap the place you are standing in front of, or any other, and play its short introduction or its deeper story. You decide what to listen to and in which order. You can listen in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian, and there is no account. Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection. --- **In full** All 40 places in Sfax, in the app's order, with their coordinates. ## All 40 places in Sfax, with coordinates Every place below has a short introduction and a deeper story in the Roots Earth app, in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. The names, the coordinates (latitude, longitude) and the one line descriptions are the app's own catalogue values of 15 September 2026; a place without a line here has none that this page can print. ### 1. Great Mosque of Sfax - Coordinates: 34.73611, 10.76083 - In one line: Founded around 849 under the Aghlabids, this fortress-like hypostyle mosque stands at the heart of the medina. Its richly carved cuboid minaret, reused ancient columns, and decorated eastern facade mark it as Sfax's spiritual center. ### 2. Medina of Sfax - Coordinates: 34.73477, 10.76223 - In one line: Laid out between 849 and 851 under the Aghlabids, this walled town spans roughly 24 hectares behind ramparts 2,750 meters long. Among the best-preserved medieval medinas in North Africa, it survived the bombing of the Second World War nearly intact. ### 3. Kasbah of Sfax - Coordinates: 34.7335, 10.7588 - In one line: Built in the 9th century by the Aghlabids as a coastal watchtower at the medina's southwestern corner, this fortress later served governors, Ottoman garrisons, and French gendarmes. Since the 1980s it has housed a museum of Sfax's traditional architecture. ### 4. Bab Diwan - Coordinates: 34.73477, 10.76223 - In one line: The main southern gate of the medina, facing the sea, Bab Diwan was fortified in the 17th century with a defensive dogleg passage. Named for the Hafsid-era customs office, it was widened with broad arches in 1909 and 1963. ### 5. Dar Jellouli Museum - Coordinates: 34.737, 10.7621 - In one line: A 17th-century patrician mansion built by Andalusian refugees and later home to the powerful Jellouli family, this house is now the Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions of Sfax, displaying costumes, calligraphy, and scenes of old city life. ### 6. Bab Jebli - Coordinates: 34.7393, 10.7617 - In one line: The main northern gate of the medina, built of dressed stone in the 9th century under the Aghlabids. Restored by the Hafsids in 1419 and later by the Husainids, it opens onto a busy food-and-spice souk inside the old city. ### 7. Borj Ennar - Coordinates: 34.7336, 10.7645 - In one line: Raised at the medina's southeastern corner when the city was founded, this fort of fire once signaled the coastal defenses by firecracker. Covering roughly 600 square meters with four towers, it now houses the association safeguarding the medina. ### 8. Thenae - Coordinates: 34.68733, 10.7205 - In one line: Thenae is an ancient coastal city south of Sfax, founded by Phoenician settlers and raised by Rome to a colony named Aelia Augusta Mercurialis. Its ruins include baths, a domus, ramparts, and an early Christian basilica. ### 9. Kerkennah Islands - Coordinates: 34.7, 11.18333 - In one line: The Kerkennah Islands form a low, palm-fringed archipelago in the Gulf of Gabès, east of Sfax. Inhabited since antiquity and known to the Romans as Cercina, they survive today through traditional fishing, date palms, and a slow island rhythm. ### 10. University of Sfax - Coordinates: 34.73708, 10.74356 - In one line: Founded in 1986, the University of Sfax is a major public university spread across the city, gathering faculties, colleges, and institutes. With tens of thousands of students, it anchors science, engineering, and research in southern Tunisia. ### 11. Sfax–Thyna International Airport - Coordinates: 34.71778, 10.69083 - In one line: Sfax–Thyna International Airport lies just southwest of the city, taking its name from ancient Thyna nearby. Once a wartime airfield, it now connects the Sfax region through a modern terminal with services to Libya and France. ### 12. Sfax Governorate - Coordinates: 34.73333, 10.76667 - In one line: Sfax Governorate is a coastal region of eastern Tunisia, created in 1956 and centered on the city of Sfax. Covering more than 7,500 square kilometers, it includes the Kerkennah Islands and ranks among the country's most populous governorates. ### 13. Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) - Coordinates: 34.74, 10.763 - In one line: The Hôtel de Ville is Sfax's city hall, designed by French architect Raphaël Guy in a blend of European and Arab-Moorish styles. Built from 1905 to 1906 in the colonial new town, it also houses an archaeological museum of regional finds. ### 14. Municipal Theatre of Sfax - Coordinates: 34.7405, 10.7645 - In one line: The Municipal Theatre of Sfax was an early-20th-century stage built by architect Raphaël Guy in a neo-Moorish style to match the city hall. A center of the colonial new town's cultural life, it operated until the early 1940s. ### 15. Archaeological Museum of Sfax - Coordinates: 34.74, 10.763 - In one line: Housed inside the City Hall of Sfax, this archaeological museum gathers finds from the region, including Roman mosaics from the ancient coastal city of Thaenae, alongside prehistoric and Islamic pieces tracing thousands of years of local life. ### 16. Place de la République - Coordinates: 34.741, 10.764 - In one line: The civic heart of modern Sfax, this open square fronts the grand City Hall built from 1905 by architect Rafael Guy. Palm-lined avenues, a clock tower and a blend of Arab-Moorish and European design mark the planned French-era new town. ### 17. Souks of the Medina - Coordinates: 34.736, 10.762 - In one line: A network of around 30 trade-specific markets threads through the medina of Sfax, most clustered north of the Great Mosque. Vaulted lanes hold sellers of chechias, wool, fabric, gold and crafts, with names that have been used since the 18th century. ### 18. Sidi Amar Kammoun Mosque - Coordinates: 34.7355, 10.761 - In one line: A neighborhood shrine and mosque in the medina of Sfax, honoring the local saint Sidi Amar Kammoun. Its old quarter and minaret are part of the dense religious fabric of the walled town, where mosques and saints' tombs stand close together. ### 19. Sidi Ali Ennouri Mausoleum - Coordinates: 34.7365, 10.7615 - In one line: A revered shrine in the medina of Sfax honoring Sidi Ali Ennouri, a scholar who led resistance against the Order of Saint John and founded medersas that helped make the city a noted center of learning during the Mouradid era. ### 20. Sidi Belhassen Karray Mausoleum - Coordinates: 34.7362, 10.7605 - In one line: A venerated mausoleum in the medina of Sfax honoring Abu El Hassan El Karray, a scholar of the Mouradid era who founded a medrasa and helped make the city a leading destination for students of religious learning. ### 21. Driba Mosque - Coordinates: 34.7358, 10.7618 - In one line: One of the historic mosques still standing within the medina of Sfax, the Driba Mosque is part of the dense religious fabric of the walled old town founded by the Aghlabids, where places of worship are woven into the medieval streets. ### 22. Frankish Quarter - Coordinates: 34.732, 10.765 - In one line: The Frankish Quarter rose south of the medina in 1776 as a walled trading suburb reserved for Jews and Christians. A hub of maritime commerce, it bridged the old city and the sea before Allied bombing erased it. ### 23. Ramparts of the Medina - Coordinates: 34.73477, 10.76223 - In one line: Raised in the 9th century under the Aghlabids, the ramparts of Sfax ring the medina for roughly 2,750 meters. Rising up to 11 meters with 67 towers, the rectangular walls remain among the most complete medieval fortifications in the Maghreb. ### 24. Port of Sfax - Coordinates: 34.728, 10.773 - In one line: Opened to traffic in 1891, the artificial port of Sfax replaced a modest wooden pier and turned the city into Tunisia's busiest commercial harbor. It shipped phosphates, olive oil, and esparto, and remains a vital trade and fishing hub today. ### 25. Sfax Corniche - Coordinates: 34.745, 10.775 - In one line: The Sfax Corniche is the city's modern seafront promenade along the Mediterranean, north of the working port. ### 26. Avenue Habib Bourguiba - Coordinates: 34.742, 10.766 - In one line: Avenue Habib Bourguiba runs through the heart of the modern city, the main artery of the colonial-era new town built outside the medina. The City Hall of Sfax opens onto it, anchoring a district of broad streets, civic buildings, and daily life. ### 27. Sfax Railway Station - Coordinates: 34.738, 10.769 - In one line: Sfax Railway Station anchors the city's place on Tunisia's rail network. Built around the lines laid between the 1890s and early 1900s, it links Sfax to Tunis and to the southern phosphate mines, carrying both passengers and the mineral wealth bound for the port. ### 28. Bab Jebli Market - Coordinates: 34.7395, 10.762 - In one line: Bab Jebli is the medina's northern gate, the "mountain gate," and the market around it is one of the busiest in Sfax. Inside lies a popular vegetable market, outside a covered market, where the old city's food and spice trade still thrives daily. ### 29. Taïeb Mhiri Stadium - Coordinates: 34.73361, 10.74639 - In one line: Sfax's main football ground, opened in 1938 and home to CS Sfaxien. Once named after a French official, it now honors Tunisian statesman Taïeb Mhiri and seats roughly twelve thousand fans. ### 30. CS Sfaxien - Coordinates: 34.73361, 10.74639 - In one line: Sfax's storied football club, founded in 1928 and famed for its black-and-white stripes. Nicknamed the Arabian Juventus, CS Sfaxien has won eight league titles and three CAF Confederation Cups. ### 31. Sidi Mansour - Coordinates: 34.78, 10.8 - In one line: A small coastal town in the Sfax Governorate that shares its name with a revered Sufi saint and a beloved Tunisian folk song known and reworked far beyond Tunisia's shores. ### 32. Gremda - Coordinates: 34.75, 10.78333 - In one line: A town in the Sfax Governorate famed for hosting Tunisia's largest olive market, busiest each December when the harvest pours in from the surrounding groves of the country's olive heartland. ### 33. Sakiet Ezzit - Coordinates: 34.8, 10.77 - In one line: A fast-growing town just north of Sfax whose name means olive water-wheel. Once a farming settlement, it is now a major olive-processing center and home to a technology park drawing thousands of students. ### 34. El Ain - Coordinates: 34.8, 10.78333 - In one line: A town and commune about seven kilometers north of Sfax whose name means the spring or the well, a reminder of the precious water that shaped settlement across this dry southern region. ### 35. Makroudh of Sfax - Coordinates: 34.736, 10.762 - In one line: A diamond-shaped Maghrebi pastry of semolina filled with date paste, fried or baked and soaked in honey syrup. A beloved sweet across Tunisia, especially cherished during Eid al-Fitr. ### 36. Harissa - Coordinates: 34.736, 10.762 - In one line: Harissa is Tunisia's fiery red chili paste, pounded from roasted peppers, garlic, caraway and coriander in olive oil. A national condiment and UNESCO-listed heritage since 2022, it flavors nearly every Sfaxian table. ### 37. Brik - Coordinates: 34.736, 10.762 - In one line: Brik is Tunisia's beloved fried pastry: a crisp triangle of paper-thin malsouka wrapped around a whole egg, tuna, onion, parsley and harissa. Eaten with the hands, it is a staple of Sfaxian homes and street corners alike. ### 38. Sfaxian Cuisine - Coordinates: 34.7406, 10.7603 - In one line: Sfaxian cuisine is among Tunisia's boldest, built on Mediterranean seafood, local olive oil and fierce harissa. Signature dishes include the fish soup marka and the sweet-savory charmoula, layered over centuries of Berber, Arab, Ottoman and Andalusian influence. ### 39. Olive Groves of Sfax - Coordinates: 34.76, 10.72 - In one line: The olive groves of Sfax stretch across the dry plains around the city, planted with the drought-hardy Chemlali variety. A cornerstone of Tunisia's standing as a top global olive-oil producer, they continue a tradition reaching back to Roman antiquity. ### 40. Salt Pans of Thyna - Coordinates: 34.68, 10.73 - In one line: The Salt Pans of Thyna spread south of Sfax along the coast, a mosaic of shallow evaporation ponds shading pink and red. A working saltworks and a Ramsar-protected wetland, they shelter flamingos and over one hundred bird species. ## Roots Earth in short Roots Earth has audio stories about 5,665 places in 130 cities, 25 countries and 6 regions, written by local people. - No account - Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection - Audio stories in English and German in every city, and in Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian in 126 of the 130 cities Roots Earth for Android is available on Google Play: [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rootsearth.app](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rootsearth.app). ## More from Roots Earth - [Africa in the Roots Earth catalogue](https://rootsearth.com/cities#africa): every city in Africa with its number of places and its languages. - [What Roots Earth is](https://rootsearth.com/app): the app in one page, how it works and what is in it. - [Questions travellers ask](https://rootsearth.com/faq): the cities, the languages, the account, listening without a connection. - [The 7 languages](https://rootsearth.com/languages): the seven languages with their codes and how many cities each one covers. - [Carthage](https://rootsearth.com/cities/carthage): 40 places in Tunisia with audio stories. - [Kairouan](https://rootsearth.com/cities/kairouan): 40 places in Tunisia with audio stories. - [Sousse](https://rootsearth.com/cities/sousse): 40 places in Tunisia with audio stories. - [Tunis](https://rootsearth.com/cities/tunis): 46 places in Tunisia with audio stories. 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