Introduction

The Kerkennah (Arabic: قرقنة), is a Tunisian archipelago of the mediterranean .

It is composed of six islands two of which are populated: Gharbi (or little Kerkennah) and Chergui (or Large Kerkennah). They are connected between them by a roadway (El Kantara) existing as of the Roman epoch. There are also 4 uninhabited islands named Gremdi, Sefnou, Roumadia and ar Remadia.

The effective population size is 14,400 inhabitants but during summer there are over 120,000 people living in the 18 different villages. There are just one road, which crosses the archipelago between Sidi Youssef (at the western end) and El Attaya (at the end). The perimeter of the archipelago exceeds 160 kilometers.

History

The Archipelago has known plenty of important epoches:
In fact there are :

-Phoenician epoch (1200 - 600 B.C)
-Carthaginian epoch (500 - 200 B.C)
-Roman epoch (200 B.C - 500 A.C)
-Muslims epoch (622 A.C)
-Spanish epoch (1212 A.C)
-Ottoman epoch (1451 - 1851 A.C)
-Modern epoch (1851 - )

And during each period, many celebrities past by Kerkennah, some of whom are : Ulysse who was one of the greatest grec hero, then there is also Caius Julius Caesar who was the general and a roman's political. There was also Habib Bourguiba who was the president of Tunisia.

Culture

The Kerkennian culture is ancestral and the memory of deceased people is very present in the archipelago. That is why you can see many tombs of "saints" where inabitants come to pray in Kerkennah. Furthermore, today also, people live in ancestral houses and lots of old people wear traditional clothes. But, it's in particular during summer, when families come back in the islands, that ancestors' voices can be heard. From the end of June, on beaches, darboukas and zokras and kerkennian songs resound every time. About Mellita and Remla, there are 2 monthes of nocturnal parties. Indeed, all the summery nights are animated with marriages in which there are the folk group, songs, dances and histories which remembers the past of the island. Kerkennians are proud of their roots and they will never forget it.