Bizerte history and description before your visit
Bizerte, Tunisia’s most European city, lies like a well-guarded secret just 60 kilometers north of Tunis. It is an easy place to pass a day strolling with a cooling Italian ice cream through the old French streets, around the Bizerte harbor and along the beautiful white sand beaches. Bizerte possesses a unique strategic position on the tip of the Cap Bon (the northernmost tip of the African continent). Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines and Arabs all had a stake in this part of Tunisia before the French arrived. Though some marks of Bizerte’s colorful history remain, most of its current design is left from the French occupation. The French colonial architecture of low-level, white-washed buildings provides a romantic backdrop to Bizerte’s beaches. The cornices and cerulean blue wrought-iron balconies leave visitors the impression of walking through streets of decorated wedding cakes. The history of Bizerte has the dubious distinction of being the last town that the French relinquished after Tunisian independence. Just like the French, you will no doubt be so beguiled by Bizerte’s charm that you too will need to be forced to leave its gentle streets.

Bizerte’s Fort/Kasbah
The Fort is certainly a main attraction worth including in your walking tour of Bizerte. Standing at the base of the enormous Kasbah, this historical fortress was originally built by the Byzantines, the impressive ancient structure that stands today was built by the Ottomans in the 17th century. Nested inside this impenetrable shell is a small historical town of narrow winding streets surrounding the Bizerte Kasbah and old mosque.

Russian Orthodox Church
Some tourists may be shocked by the bright blue onion domes of the Russian Orthodox Church which contrasts sharply with Bizerte’s surrounding Arab and French buildings. This wonderful church was built by refugees fleeing the Bolshevik revolution. With their wealth in jewels, the generals and high dignitaries of the tsars fled Russia in the 1920’s. They sailed the Mediterranean for years, dispossessed, unable to find a country willing to recognize them and trading their jewels for food. Finally, they arrived in Tunisia where, as a French protectorate, they were at least permitted to moor their ships. Although they were provided with asylum, they were required to live on their boats for years and years. Nevertheless, they created a life for themselves. They married, created a school and even ‘entombed’ their dead in a makeshift cemetery onboard. At long last, when they were given the opportunity to integrate themselves into Tunisia, the Russian Orthodox Church was one of the first buildings that they constructed in Bizerte. Anastasia is Bizerte’s last remaining survivor of those who escaped Russia by ship. Today she is the guardian of the church and will tell you proudly that her husband carved the dark wooden beams and her son, with the other Russian boys, painted the sacred images on the ceilings and walls.

Other sites to visit in Bizerte
The Old port
Though the French have made some changes and defined new water ways, much of the charm of the old harbor of Bizerte remains intact. When visiting Bizerte and its old port, take some time to watch the fishermen mending their nets, see the picturesque painted boats. At night the town comes out to stroll and enjoy coffee in the many cafes that line the quayside, but it is the local people that form the entertainment as strolling tourists try to mingle.

The Medina of Bizerte
This medina is not walled as many are, but instead open streets with sites to be discovered. Visitors and travelers will stumble upon archways, painted doors, wonderful examples of Tunisian architecture and beautiful mosques. It’s a perfect opportunity to snap some shots of places not often visited by the general tourist population that visits ancient Bizerte.