Drag to pan · scroll to zoom · click a country to open it
About
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares maritime borders with Italy through the islands of Sicily and Sardinia to the north and Malta to the east. It features the archaeological sites of Carthage dating back to the 9th century BC, as well as the Great Mosque of Kairouan. Known for its ancient architecture, souks, and blue coasts, it covers 163,610 km2 (63,170 sq mi), and has a population of 12.1 million. It contains the eastern end of the Atlas Mountains and the northern reaches of the Sahara desert; much of its remaining territory is arable land. Its 1,300 km (810 mi) of coastline includes the African conjunction of the western and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Basin. Tunisia is home to Africa's northernmost point, Cape Angela. Located on the northeastern coast, Tunis is the capital of the country, which is itself named after Tunis. The official language of Tunisia is Arabic. The vast majority of Tunisia's population is Arab and Muslim. Vernacular Tunisian Arabic is the most spoken language, and French serves as an administrative and educational language in some contexts, but has no official status.
Read more on Wikipedia →The Flag
History
The national flag of Tunisia is a rectangular panel of red color with an aspect ratio of 2:3. In the center of the cloth in a white disk is placed a red crescent, surrounding a red five-pointed star on three sides. The Tunisian Bey Hussein II decided to create a flag for Tunisia, close in appearance to the modern one, after the Battle of Navarino on 20 October 1827; in 1831 he was officially approved. In that form, the flag existed during the French protectorate, and on 1 June 1959, it was proclaimed the state flag of the Republic of Tunisia. On 30 June 1999, the proportions and design of the flag were clarified by a special law. The general appearance of the flag remained virtually unchanged.
Design & symbolism
For the Tunisian embassy in France, the color red represents the blood of Tunisian martyrs killed during the Crusades before the advent of the Ottomans in 1574. Another interpretation is that the "red Beylical flag spread light throughout the Muslim world". The white symbolizes peace, the disk symbolizes the radiance of the nation as the sun, while the crescent and five-pointed star represent unity of all Muslims and the Five Pillars of Islam, respectively. According to Ludvík Mucha, author of Webster's Concise Encyclopedia of Flags & Coats of Arms, the white disk located in the center of the flag represents the sun. The red crescent and the five-pointed star, two ancient symbols of Islam, have appeared on many flags of Islamic countries. The crescent is, from the viewpoint of an Arabic observer, supposed to bring good luck. The color red represents the blood of martyrs. Whitney Smith states that the crescent was first emblazoned on standards and buildings in the Punic state of Carthage, located in present-day Tunisia. Nevertheless, they were widely adopted by Muslim countries, and have become known as symbols of Islam, when in fact, they may be cultural symbols. Likewise, the…
Text from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photos
