Zaghouan
Zaghouan
زغوان Zaghwan | |
|---|---|
Town | |
The city of Zaghouan Skyline of Zaghouan, entrance to the old town Zaghouan's mountain behind the old city | |
Zaghouan Location in Tunisia | |
| Coordinates: 36°24′20″N 10°08′35″E / 36.40556°N 10.14306°E | |
| Country | Tunisia |
| Governorate | Zaghouan Governorate |
| Delegation(s) | Zaghouan |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Tarek Zoughari (Independent) |
| Population (2022) | |
• Total | 22,637 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
Zaghouan or Zaghwan (Arabic: زغوان, romanized: Zaġwān, pronounced [zaʁˈwɛːn] ⓘ; Andalusian Arabic: إِسْطَوَان, romanized: Isṭawán) is a town in the northern half of Tunisia.
Situated on a low ridge of the Dorsale Mountains, the town has a mild climate and presents a green aspect. Cold water from here was taken by the Zaghouan Aqueduct to Carthage. The town is famous for its roses, originally cultivated by Muslim refugees from Spain in the seventeenth century. The town is located around 60 km due south of Tunis and around 50 km inland (west) from the Gulf of Hammamet and has an estimated population of around 20,837 (2014). It is the capital of the Zaghouan Governorate.
On the mountain south of the city is the Roman Water Temple Djebel Zaghouan (Temple de Eaux), source of an aqueduct which used to take water to the city of Carthage over 100 km away. The ruins here are illustrated in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1840, as 'Temple and Fountain of Zagwhan', the painting being by Sir Greenville Temple with a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon.