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BIZERTA (properly pronounced Ben Zert...

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Originally appearing in Volume V04, Page 16 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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BIZERTA (properly pronounced Ben Zert; Fr. Bizerte)

BIZERTA (properly pronounced See also:
BEN (from Old Eng. bennan, within)
Ben Zert; Fr. Bizerte) , a seaport of See also:

TUNISIA (Regency of Tunis)

Tunisia, in 37° 17' N., 9° 5o' E. Pop. about 12,000. Next to See also:

TOULON

Toulon, Bizerta is the most important See also:

NAVAL

naval See also:

PORT

port of See also:

France in the Mediterranean. It occupies a commanding strategical position in the narrowest See also:

PART

part of the See also:

sea, being 714 M. E. of See also:

GIBRALTAR

Gibraltar, 1168 m. W.N.W. of Port Said, 240 M. N.W. of See also:

Malta, and 420 M. S. by E. of Toulon. It is 6o m. by See also:

RAIL

rail N.N.W. of See also:

TUNIS

Tunis. The See also:

TOWN

town is built on the shores of the Mediterranean at the point where the See also:

Lake of Bizerta enters the sea through a natural channel, the mouth of which has been canalized. The See also:

MODERN

modern town lies almost entirely on the See also:

north See also:

side of the See also:

canal.

A little farther north are the See also:

ancient citadel, the walled " Arab town and the old See also:

HARBOUR (from M.E. hereberge, here, an army; cf. Ger. Heer and -beorg, protection or shelter. Other early forms in English were herberwe and haiborow, as seen in various place names, such as Market Harborough.. The French auberge, an inn, derived through

harbour (disused). The See also:

PRESENT

present See also:

OUTER

outer harbour covers about 300 acres and is formed by two converging jetties and a See also:

BREAKWATER

breakwater. The north See also:

JETTY

jetty is 4000 ft. See also:

long, the See also:

east jetty 3300 ft., and the breakwater—which protects the port from the prevalent north-east winds—2300 ft. long. The entrance to the canal is in the centre of the outer harbour. The canal is 2600 ft. long and 787 ft. wide on the See also:

SURFACE

surface. Its See also:

banks are lined with quays, and See also:

SHIPS

ships See also:

DRAWING

drawing 26 ft. of See also:

WATER

water can See also:

MOOR

moor alongside. At the end of the canal is a large commercial harbour, beyond which the channel opens into the lake-in reality an See also:

ARM (a common Teutonic word; the Indo-European root is ar, to join or fit; cf. the Lat. armus, shoulder, and the plural word arma, weapons, Gr. apphs, joint, and the reduplicated apapilKSV, to join)

arm of the sea—roughly circular in See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form and covering about 50 sq. m., two-thirds of its See also:

WATERS, TERRITORIAL

waters having a See also:

DEPTH

depth. of 30 to 40 ft. The lake, which See also:

MERCHANT (O. Fr. marcheant, modern marchand; from Lat. mercari, to trade, merx, goods, merchandise)

merchant vessels are not allowed to enter, contains the naval port and See also:

ARSENAL

arsenal. There is a See also:

TORPEDO

torpedo and submarine See also:

BOAT (0. Eng. bdt; the true etymological connexion with Dutch and Ger. boot, Fr. bateau, Ital. battello presents great difficulties; Celtic forms are from O. Eng.)

boat station on the north side of the channel at the entrance to the lake, but the See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal naval See also:

WORKS

works are at Sidi Abdallah at the See also:

south-See also:

west corner of the lake and to m. from the open sea. Here is an enclosed See also:

basin covering 123 acres with ample quayage, -dry docks and every-thing necessary to the See also:

ACCOMMODATION (Lat. accommodare, to make fit, from ad, to, cum, with, and modus, measure)

accommodation, repair, revictualling and coaling of a numerous See also:

FLEET

fleet. See also:

Barracks, hospitals and water-works have been built, the military town, called Ferryville, being self-contained. Fortifications have been built for the See also:

PROTECTION

protection of the port.

They comprise (a) the older works surrounding the town; (b) ' a See also:

GROUP

group of See also:

COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

coast batteries on the high ground of Cape Bizerta or Guardia, 4 M. north-north-west of the town; these are grouped See also:

ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

round a powerful fort called JebelKebir, and have a command of 300 to 800 ft. above sea-level; (c) another group of batteries on the narrow ground between the sea and the lake to the east of the town; the highest of these is the See also:

JEBEL (plur. jibed)

Jebel Tuila See also:

BATTERY (Fr. batterie, from battles, to beat)

battery 265 ft. above sea-level. The LAKE or BIZERTA, called Tinja by the See also:

ARABS

Arabs, abounds in excellent See also:

fish, especially . mullets, the dried See also:

roe of which, called botargo, is largely exported, and the fishing See also:

INDUSTRY (Lat. industria, from indu-, a form of the pre, position in, and either stare, to stand, or struere, to pile up)

industry employs a large proportion of the inhabitants. The western See also:

SHORE

shore of the lake is See also:

low, and in many places is covered with See also:

OLIVE (Olea europaea)

olive trees to the water's edge. The south-eastern shores are hilly and wooded, and behind them rises a range of picturesque hills. A narrow and shallow channel leads from the western side of the lake into another See also:

SHEET

sheet of water, the Lake of Ishkul, so called from Jebel Ishkul, a See also:

hill on its See also:

SOUTHERN

southern See also:

BANK

bank 1740 ft. high. The Lake of Ishkul is nearly as large as the first lake, but is very shallow. Its waters are generally sweet. Bizerta occupies the site of the ancient Tyrian See also:

COLONY (Lat. colonia, from colonus, a cultivator)

colony, See also:

HIPPO

Hippo Zarytus or Diarrhytus, the harbour of which, by means of a spacious See also:

PIER (older forms per or Pere, from Med. Lat. pera; the word for piers out of water. For river piers, where a firm, watertight is of obscure origin, and the connexion with Fr. Pierre, Lat. stratum is found at a moderate depth below the river-bed, the pctr

pier, protecting it from the north-east See also:

wind, was rendered one of the safest and finest on this coast. The town became a See also:

ROMAN

Roman colony, and was conquered by the Arabs in the 7th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century. The See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place thereafter was subject either to the rulers of Tunis or of See also:

CONSTANTINE

Constantine, but the citizens were noted for their frequent revolts. They threw in their See also:

lot (c. 1530) with the pirate Khair-ed-Din, and subsequently received a See also:

TURKISH

Turkish See also:

garrison.

Bizerta was captured by the Spaniards in 1535, but not long afterwards came under the Tunisian See also:

government. Centuries of neglect followed, and the ancient port was almost choked up, though the value of the See also:

FISHERIES

fisheries saved the town from utter decay. Its strategical importance was one of. the causeswhich led.to the occupation of Tunisia by the See also:

French in 1881. In 1890 a concession for a new canal and harbour was granted to a See also:

COMPANY

company, and five years later the new port was formally opened. Since then the canal has been widened and deepened, and the naval port at Sidi Abdallah created.

End of Article: BIZERTA (properly pronounced Ben Zert; Fr. Bizerte)

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