About This Site
Ruins of Sidi Mechreg, also called The French Counter of Sidi Mechreg is a bay located in the governorate of Bizerte between Cap Nègre and Cap Serrat. It included from the Aghlabite period a small fortified town playing the role of a Ribat.
The French founded later (in the 16th century) a fortified trading post: the Fiumara Salata endowed with a port, an arsenal and a citadel. This counter was dismantled in 1632.
The village of Sidi Mechreg is a small ordinary fishing port overlooking a rocky sea. However, it contains a little-known treasure…
Nestled on a rock by the sea, are the remains of an old French trading post dating from the 16th century. Founded by the French, it served as a trading post with a port, an arsenal and a citadel. Dismantled in 1632, there remains only an arch on which the powerful waves come to break.
This is where GnetNews decided to take you this time. Leaving from Bizerte, it took us almost two hours to reach this corner of paradise, located between the famous Cap Serrat and Cap Negro (Tabarka).
From Tunis, count about three hours by car. But in reality, despite a chaotic and winding road, the landscapes along the way will make you forget the kilometers.
The ruins of Sidi Mechreg in Photos
Where to Find The ruins of Sidi Mechreg
Discover in Video
Frequently Asked Questions
The site near Bizerte preserves the remains of an Aghlabid-era ribat (9th century) and the traces of a 16th-century French trading post called Fiumara Salata, which was demolished in 1632. An arch and wall sections survive on the rocky coastal headland.
Like other ribats along the Tunisian coast, the Aghlabid structure at Sidi Mechreg served as a fortified monastery-garrison for volunteer Muslim fighters who guarded the coastline and maintained watch over the sea approaches to Bizerte and the northern coast.
The French establishment, known as Fiumara Salata or la Calle, was a coral and fish trading concession established in the 16th century. It was demolished in 1632, leaving only fragmentary traces alongside the older Islamic remains.
Sidi Mechreg is on the northern Tunisian coast between Bizerte and Tabarka, in a scenic area of rocky headlands and small fishing communities. The location requires a hire car to reach comfortably from Bizerte.
The site is not developed for mass tourism and has no facilities. It attracts visitors interested in Tunisian coastal heritage and the northern coastline itself, which offers beautiful beaches and dramatic scenery.
The Kasbah of Bizerte, the old port of Bizerte, and the Ichkeul National Park are all within the northern Bizerte region and can be combined with a visit to the Sidi Mechreg area in a day's itinerary.
