Mahdia

A former Fatimid capital on a peninsula of white light.

Mahdia was founded in the early 10th century as the capital of the Fatimid caliphate, on a narrow cape surrounded by sea. You enter the old town through the Skifa el Kahla, a monumental dark gate, and emerge into quiet, white streets.

Today it is one of the most peaceful towns on the coast: a working fishing port, a tradition of silk weaving, and an old cemetery running down to the water beside the Borj el Kebir fortress. Locals will tell you the light here is different. They're right.

Highlights

• Skifa el Kahla gate

• The Great Mosque

• Borj el Kebir

• Silk weaving

Best for: Slow travel, history, beaches

Photo: IssamBarhoumi / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0