If you look in the guide books it will tell you that in the 10th century, Mahdia was the capital for the Fatimid's rulers before they moved to Cairo and to this day, you can still see signs of this ancient dynasty in the ruins along the coastal areas. For anyone interested, there is also a small museum near the port exhibiting many interesting artefacts.

Excellent Food
Mahdia is a fairly large, traditional, fishing town situated 50 kilometres (31 miles) to the south of Monastir. In their wisdom, the local powers that be have ensured that the town remains unspoilt by the influx of tourism, so those who expect night clubs and miles of shops selling tourist trash will be sadly disappointed. However, in recent years we have seen a few fast food pizza restaurants appear, producing excellent food at absurdly cheap prices. There are also several excellent fish restaurants alongside the port serving fish caught a few hours earlier and you can't get fresher than that! 70% of the fish eaten in Tunisia is caught in Mahdia. For those more intrepid travellers, there are small, basic, local restaurants selling superb dishes of local food for a couple of dinars - highly recommended!

Places of Interest
Most of the places of interest will be found at the north of the town, after walking through the incredible, 16th century tunnel with 10 foot walls called Skifa el Kahla. Here you will find the small, tourist souk with colourful shops, inviting you to bargain for quality souvenirs. You will also find the Place du Caire coffee bar - a delightfully, quiet oasis of calm amid all hustle and bustle. Carrying on to the end of the Souk, you will see the huge, ancient mosque - and behind that, the Big Fortress. The view from the top of there must not be missed! Carry on walking and you will arrive at the famous Sidi Salam - a lovely restaurant/coffee bar literally perched on the cliff edge, where you can sit and enjoy your coffee whilst watching the fishing boats return to the port. Walk beyond the Sidi Salam and you will arrive at the beautiful sailor's cemetery behind which is the old working lighthouse.



Weekly Market
The weekly market is held on Friday and is a must for everyone, with hundreds of stalls selling everything from beds to bracelets - panties to pickles - chicken to chocolate - spices to saucepans etc etc. (The only thing that I have failed to find was carrot seeds!) At the side of the open market is a large, indoor market selling excellent fish, fruits, herbs and vegetables. Also on Friday in the Skifa el Kahla you will find a huge array of beautiful wedding dresses and gold being sold. You can see many of the traditional, wedding clothes being woven in the workshops in the nearby medina.

Tourist Zone
With one exception, all the tourist hotels are situated about 6 kilometres (4 miles) to the north of the town centre, where there is a small centre including 2 cafes, a bank with ATM, a supermarket, taxiphones and several gift shops. You can walk along the beautiful beach to the town centre or get one of the numerous taxis for a few dinars. Opposite the hotels is the metro station where frequent trains run both south to Mahdia town and north to Monastir (1 hour journey) or Sousse (1 hour 30 minutes journey.) A daily train also goes to Tunis early every morning. For those preferring bus travel, there is an hourly bus to Sousse where you can get all the connections to the top, tourist sites of Tunisia.

* * *

Traditional Mahdia - a quiet, peaceful and unspoilt town.

The resort of Mahdia was a taxi ride away & we went twice for something to do & the shops - weere not impressed. It is not the sort of place you would go out to for the evening for instance. In some places we like to go out for a walk in the evening to different restaurants & bars etc. this was not like that - the holiday was based around the hotel.

Remember that Tunisia is a dry arid developing country, so yes, it is untidy and dusty, but please look beyond that!
Mahdia is a sleepy traditional fishing town, with very little tourist influence - although there are several excellent fish restaurants near the port - and 70% of the fish eaten in Tunisia is caught here, so the fish is fresh off the boat! If you want to see a real non tourist market - Friday is the day to visit - never to be forgotten - neither is the view from the Sidi Salam restaurant at the north end which is perched on the edge of the cliff-- as is the the fisherman's cemetery north of that - it is so peaceful and beautiful

Typical narrow beach, nice sand, beach vendors well behaved.
one disco near hotel, small shopping area opposite hotel, but entertainment hotel based.

The beach controlled by the hotel was of an excellent standard with security to keep away unwanted sellers. The parascending, jet skies and other water sports were sensibly managed. Walking along the beach to the centre of Mahdia some 6.5km, was a pleasant walk and we felt safe. The Tunisian people are very friendly and I would recommend the Friday market to everyone, where literally anything can be bought

The resort was clean and tidy, the evening entertainment was a bit samey every night. We have older kids so didn't see too much kids entertainment. The beach,which is just out the back of hotel, was appalling, dirty and rubbish everywhere, plastic bottles, clothes and general rubbish, but the sea was very clean and beautifully clear. I'd only hope that in the summer they cleaned up the sand. It was too cold to sit on the beach in Feb!!! We had a good 2 day trip down to the desert to ride a camel at sunset, but stayed in a crumby hotel overnight, so expect that!

Mahdia is a not very near any other resort so there is only the town to visit.
The Panarama Rep. could only offer 3 trips because all the others on the list were too far away.
The beach at the hotel was kept clean but as you walk towards the town it gets progressively worse with rubbish on the beach & pavements & a smell like an open sewer.

the activities in the resort are good camel riding,
its more the hotels than the area with this place though u'll find

Mahdia is an old Tunisian fishing village. It is arid and dusty but not dirty.There are adequate pavements- which are quite necessary due to the local standard of driving!!We did not venture into the town for entertainment as the hotel more than accomodated us.

I cannot comment on whatnight life is available in the town , however there are several eateries and takeaway pizza places if you are out strolling. Take a walk up into the old town a visit some of the small shops down the narrow alleys, bargains galore are to be found. I would visit the resort again as the locals are friendly and not too pushy with their wares.

There friday market is great and you can haggle for good bargains. Dont forget to try one of the tuna egg and harrissa pasties sold by the traders at the market. it will clear your sinuses without a doubt!!

The local people think nothing of throwing their rubbish directly into the sea and this can be seen all over the coast of Mahdia, this is a shame, although this is not the case around the hotel areas. But the locals do dispose of rubbish right along the train track this is not just bags of rubbish but old cookers, cars, fridges etc.

There is no entertainment outside the hotel as this is a very quiet resort.

The beaches are kept clean by the hotel staff. The sand is white and the sea is calm and clear.