Wikimania 2015 bids/Monastir

Monastir Sciences Palace is a public non-administrative establishment with an area of 5470 square metres...

• Facade of the Palace of Sciences of Monastir - October 2013
  Facade of the Palace of Sciences of Monastir - October 2013
• Amphitheatre of the Palais des Sciences Monastir - October 2013
  Amphitheatre of the Palais des Sciences Monastir - October 2013
• Palace of Sciences of Monastir
  Palace of Sciences of Monastir

The science palace occupies an area of 5470 square metres, consisting of

• A conference room having a circular shape and an Annex, rectangular in a shape connected by a partially-covered gallery.

The congress hall and the gallery cover an area of 2474m 2 equipped to organize congresses and scientific as well as cultural events. This room is fully air-conditioned. It has a capacity of 850 places, 3 commission rooms, simultaneous translation cabinets, projection equipments, and a fully-developed sound system.

• The annex is a breakdown of 2 levels having an overall area of 1600m 2. It includes:
  • A videoconference room of 150 seats
  • Six rooms for training and commissions work of 35 seats
  • Other rooms used for various purposes (A "Braille" room , a virtual university room, a digital studio, a language lab,a Library and a digital crossroad)

All these spaces are equipped WiFi hot-spots.

Monastir Sciences Palace is ideally located at the very heart of the town of Monastir. It is Located in Avenue Farhat Hached in front of the municipality and 100 metres from the governorate of Monastir. The palace is next to the old city known as "La Medina". Venue map: http://www.psm.rnu.tn/anglais/index.php?page=acces_carte

Welcome to Monastir where you will have your fill of blue sky and sunshine, where you will find extraordinary heritage and original traditions, where you will enjoy twinkling sea. Monastir is a tourist city in the East coast of Tunisia. It has many fine hotels and restaurants. It has also many colleges part of the University of Monastir. "Modern Monastir extends beyond the old town and along the coast. It is full of the hotels and tourist amenities, making it a modern seaside resort" " Coloured boats on a beach of very fine sand, and then the sea, its colour growing gradually darker, from the almost white azure at the water's edge to dark blue towards the horizon. The image of relaxing, holidays and carefree existence is just one the many that Monastir has in store for the tourist." " In 2004, the population of the municipality is 71,546 inhabitants."

Monastir enjoys a dry Mediterranean climate with hot summers, extremely mild winters, lots of sunshine and low rainfall year round. The city sits in the northeast of Tunisia on its central coast. It is much hotter than the Mediterranean resorts on the European coast, but much milder than inland areas of Tunisia, forty percent of which is part of the Sahara. Summer, from June till September, is absolutely sweltering. If you spend too long outside you’ll find yourself melted to the spot or wilting in the shade. While humidity is low, the soaring heat can still be hard to handle. The average high temperature of 29°C in June skips past the 30°C mark in the middle of the month and climbs up to 33°C for July and August.

Tunisians are willing to learn foreign languages. Tourists usually don't find problems communicating with Tunisians. Arabic is the native language. French is spoken fluently by almost all Tunisians and it is often used in many fields (press, radios and all road signs). English is the third spoken language in Tunisia and it's well spoken especially in tourism areas.

Appreciated by connoisseurs, Tunisian cuisine owes its variety to the richess of its soil and the contributions of different traditions: Jewish, Turkish, Italian... A sunny cuisine where lamb mixes with sea bream and grouper, where almonds blend with peppers and rosebuds, and where olive oil is combined with carefully selected spices. The celebrated couscous can be cooked in countless different ways: with fish, dried meat, meatballs, stuffed squid... A crispy hors-d'oeuvre and delicious almond patisseries are made from filo pastry, bequeathed by Turks. The meal is accompanied with the traditional mint tea accompanied by sweets. Restaurants are classed "toursit restaurant" with a rating of between 1 and 3 forks. Here are the list of the most known restaurants in Monastir:

• la réserve
• Pirate
• Elhamra

Monastir's star attraction is its preserved ribat complex, considered as the country's finest example of Islamic military architecture. Its seemingly chaotic design with labyrinthine passageways and staircases is a legacy of the ribat's many periods of construction and renovation. The consequence is an evocative structure devoid of any uniformity. The original ribat occupied only the central courtyard and museum area and was built in AD 796. The current shape was established by the Aghalibids at the end of the 9th century and completed in the 11th century. There are panoramic views of the town and the coast line from the ramparts. "One of the monuments that is symbol of the town, the spectacular Ribat, facing the sea and strongly fortified, with battlements, turrets and a central tower from the top of wich you can enjoy a wide, enchanting view of the sea, the medina, the mosques and the mausoleum of Habib Bourguiba. Because of its great beauty, the Monastir ribat has been chosen as the set for many film productions, including Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth? Its construction goes back to 796, which is why it's considered to be the oldest Arab fotrification in Tunisia."

• A slot in the tower of Monastir Ribat
  A slot in the tower of Monastir Ribat
• The Ribat of Monastir 41 May 2013
  The Ribat of Monastir 41 May 2013
• File:Monastir-nuit.PNG

Monastir's medina was largely demolished after independence in an ill-considered rush to modernise the town in keeping with its status as the birthplace of the president. thankfully the ribat survived , a did the great Mosque. Built in the 9th century, it's severe Aghlabid creation, apart from the graceful hordeshoe arches at the northern end. the Roman columns suporting these arches and thoe of the prayer hall( closed to non-Muslims) were salvaged from the ruins of ancient Ruspina. the walls in the western part of the medina remain largely intact and are the dotted with some interesting old gates. the finest is Bab el-Gharbi, at the centre of the western wall. it was built by the Hafsids in the 15th century. Bab Tnuis, in the northwestern corner , was built in 1780 while the main southern gate, Bab Briqcha, was built by the Ottomans at the end of tha 17th century. the Costume Museum is around the corner from the tourist office and worth a quick look.

• place 3 aout
• houmat trabelsia (medina)
• sidi el mazeri

The visitors to Monastir should not leave without visiting the mausoleum of Habib Bourguiba and his family. The mausoleum could be reached via a paved walkway, the gold and green cupolas are very attractive for new comers. The marble courtyard, green-tiled arches and elegant eastern doors are superb. The mausoleum houses tombs of the family and a small display of items that belonged to the first present of the Tunisia. The admission is free of charge and it is open from Monday to Saturday. If the main gate is occasionally closed, visitors can walk around the fence to the next small gate on the northern side. "Monastir's other, spectacular symbol is the Mausoleum of Habib Bourguiba, statesman ans father of Tunisian independence, who was born in this town on 3 August 1902 and has been buried here since April 2000. The great monument is laid out as a central building covered with a large gilt dome, containing Bourguiba's tomb, surrounded by three other green domes, where the president's father, mother and first wife are buried. At the sides, there are 25-meter high minarets topped with gilt spires and the whole structure is covered in precious marble. "

The marina in modern installations offers to the admiring looks its enormous yachts, floating and slender luxury hotels. Small modern port(bearing) installed(settled) below the ledge, in the northeast of the center, her(it) differs not at all from a méditerranienne station(resort): coffees(cafés), restaurants, glaciers(ice-cream makers) - bar with cocktails(cocktail parties), shops in beauycoup architecture more " azurenne " that tunisiennne. The site also includes a hammam on the West. Of the pier, we can apércevoir the island in Pigeon and guess the marine caves of El khalia.)

• Costume Museum: Shows the old clothes wear by Tunisnas; For men: the jebba a full tunic, the burnous of camel her, the chechia (a red felt cap)... For women: the draped red garment, the melia, the white silk safsari...
• Museum of Islamic Art: It contains a collection of early Arab coins, pottery, old maps and photos of Monastir city...

Monastir's universities attracts thousands of students from all over the country. In Monastir there are 4 public dormitories that could be used for hosting wikimania guests in addition to dozens of private cheap dormitories.

Public dormitories
Dormitory name	Address and contact	Type	Capacity	Info
El Bassatin	El Bassatine 5000 Monastir Telephone number : +216 73 46 19 89	Boys and Girls	5 single rooms, 364 double rooms, 29 triple rooms	catering service,medical service,sports facilities,cultural area : reading room,living room,internet and Wifi,open space, and reception room. Lien wikimapia
Imem Elmezri	Kairouan Street 5000 Monastir Telephone number: +216 73 500 251 / 73 500 252	For Girls	30 Double rooms	Lien panoramio
03-août	Ibn Sina street 5000 Monastir Telephone number:+216 73 461 971 / 464 245	For Girls	Lien Wikimapa
Skanes	Skanes 5000 Monastir Telephone number: +216 73 461 971 / 464 245	For Girls

• Youth club
• CREFOC

The infrastructure of hotels is of a remarkable quality and continues to get even better. Classed hotels(from one to five stars) are beyond reproach for hygiene and facilities. Covered swimming pools, sporting facilities, mini-clubs for children and spa centres are very common. Costs of Hotels in Monstir varies from 20$ to 120$ for a night. In Monastir you will have a range of choices of everything between luxury hotels and simple hotels. A selection of them is listed below.

• Monastir Habib Bourguiba International Airport

Monastir Habib Bourguiba International Airport is among the first 20 busiest airports in Africa. The airport activity is mainly due to the movement of tourists coming to visit Monastir, Sousse and the surrounding resorts (Monastir-Skanes and Port El Kantaoui in particular). Almost all charter flights are concentrated during the tourist season. The airport is located at Skanes, 9km fare from the city center. The trip by taxi costs about 5 TD (3.5 $). Getting to the airport is also possible through train between monastir and sousse, since the train station "Airport" is only 200 meters from airport terminal. Visit airport website for further info: http://www.habibbourguibaairport.com/en-EN/Pages/Main.aspx

• Enfidha-Hammamet International Airport

The "primeclass" CIP Service offered by TAV Operation Services transforms travelling into a pleasant experience at 43 airports worldwide from Paris to Tokyo thanks to collaborations materialized internationally. Visit airport website for further info: http://www.enfidhahammametairport.com/en-EN/Pages/Main.aspx

Getting acces to Monastir is easy by bus, the bus station is located at the western edge of the medina.There is a bus every 20 minutes leaving from bus station located in bab bhar sousse. 2 bus 52A and 52B

Getting to Monastir, you can contact rent car agencies, this agencies are all based at Monastir's airport:

• HERITIERS AFRIC AUTOS (AVIS) (TEL: (+216) 73 521 031)
• FASHION RENT A CAR (TEL: (+216) 73 524 288/00 216 21 409 320)
• DIM RENT A CAR (TEL: (+216) 73 524 421)

You can reach also Monastir, by an other public transportation which is Louage, the Louage station is loacted next to the bus station. Chosing Louage from the capital, louage station moncef bay, you can arrive to Monastir within 3 hours.

You can reach Monastir by Train from Tunis.Trains take off 3 times a day, one in 8:30 am, the second in 13:35 pm and the last one 17:50pm Also if you are in Sousse there is fast metro from Bab Ejdid Station to H.Bourguiba Station evey half hour.

Living cost in Tunisia is not really high.As a result,you can enjoy your time here without paying too much money :) The Tunisian Dinar is the currency of Tunisia. Currency exchange could be made at Monastir airport, as well as at the many bank offices in the city. Below, you'll find Tunisian Dinar rates:

Exchange rates as of 17 February 2014 ([1])
Currency	Equivalent of 1 TND	Inverse
Pound Sterling	0.377	2.646
Canadian Dollar	0.692	1.444
Euro	0.460	2.170
AED	2.319	0.431
CHF	0.562	1.776
United States Dollar	0.631	1.583

Visitors to Tunisia must obtain a visa from one of the Tunisian diplomatic missions unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries or are eligible for a visa on arrival.

Citizens of the following 72 countries and territories can visit Tunisia for up to 90 days (unless otherwise stated) without a visa:

Citizens of the following 2 countries may obtain a visa valid for up to 1 month on arrival:

Australia

South Africa

Citizens of the following 16 countries may enter Tunisia without a visa, provided travelling on a tour organised by a travel agency and holding hotel voucher:

The citizens of the remaining countries require visa to enter the Tunisian territories.

A this time the community of wikimedia in tunisia is not big, so we are struggling to expand our activities through the help of non profit organizations like JCI-ENIT and C-Libre. Bidding to Wikimania would increase active members and lead towards creating a Tunisian Chapter of Wikimedia. The following table shows up the involved members throughout all the bidding process:

Insert your name below if you are intending to help as online team:

1. ...

Ramadan in 2015 will start on Thursday, the 18th of June and will continue for 30 days until Friday, the 17th of July. So we have chosen to distance the conference date from this holy month. The date chosen is between 4th August to 9th August. The schedule proposed for the conference is as follows:

Signed letters from organizations that could support the conference. Proposed:

• Unité des Logiciels Libres, Ministère des Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication
• Mayor of Monastir
• Ministère du trourisme

1. http://www.psm.rnu.tn/anglais/index.php?page=acces_carte
2. http://wikimapia.org/7029486/fr/Foyer-3-Aout
3. http://www.panoramio.com/photo/61218384
4. http://www.habibbourguibaairport.com/en-EN/Pages/Main.aspx
5. http://www.enfidhahammametairport.com/en-EN/Pages/Main.aspx
6. http://www.tunisietourisme.com.tn/
7. http://www.sncft.com.tn/