Djerba: Testimony to a settlement pattern in an island territory World Heritage Site

Official name

Djerba: Testimony to a settlement pattern in an island territory | UNESCO

Country

Tunisia | Map

Continent

Africa

Location

33.7924° Lat, 11.3900° Lon | Map

Code

1640

Time Zone

Africa/Tunis (CET, +0100)

Current Time

Category

Cultural

Description

Inscribed 2023. This serial property is a testimony to a settlement pattern that developed on the island of Djerba around the 9th century CE amidst the semi-dry and water-scarce environment. Low‑density was its key characteristic: it involved the division of the island into neighbourhoods, clustered together, that were economically self-sustainable, connected to each other and to the religious and trading places of the island, through a complex network of roads. Resulting from a mixture of environmental, socio-cultural and economic factors, the distinctive human settlement of Djerba demonstrates the way local people adapted their lifestyle to the conditions of their water-scarce natural environment.