El Guettar, Tunisia

Place in Gafsa Governorate, Tunisia
34°20′14″N 8°57′10″E / 34.33722°N 8.95278°E / 34.33722; 8.95278Country TunisiaGovernorateGafsa GovernoratePopulation
 (2014)
 • Total14,088Time zoneUTC1 (CET)

El Guettar (Arabic: القطار Al Qaṭār) is a town in central Tunisia in Gafsa Governorate. It is traditionally known for its pistachio nuts.

History

Hermanion of El Guettar, currently in the Bardo Natinonal Museum

In the 1950s, archaeologists found a crown of balls, 4,000 silex, mammal's teeth and bones of animals laid out near a dried up watering hole which is some 40,000 years old. Testimony of devotion with regard to a spirit of the waters, source of any life, and ruins which may constitute the oldest religious "building" known in the world (Hermaïon of El Guettar).[citation needed]

During World War II the town was the site of the Battle of El Guettar between American forces under George S. Patton, and elements of the German Afrika Korps led by general Jürgen von Arnim, as well as Italian forces led by General Giovanni Messe in early 1943. The battle was later dramatized in the 1970 war film Patton.

See also

  • v
  • t
  • e
Ariana Governorate
Béja Governorate
Ben Arous Governorate
Bizerte Governorate
Gabès Governorate
Gafsa Governorate
Jendouba Governorate
Kairouan Governorate
Kasserine Governorate
Kébili Governorate
Kef Governorate
Mahdia Governorate
Manouba Governorate
Médenine Governorate
Monastir Governorate
Nabeul Governorate
Sfax Governorate
Sidi Bouzid Governorate
Siliana Governorate
Sousse Governorate
Tataouine Governorate
Tozeur Governorate
Tunis Governorate
Zaghouan Governorate
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