Hammamet

Hammamet is a town in Tunisia. Thanks to its beaches it is a popular destination for swimming and water sports. It is the first tourist destination in Tunisia. It is located in the south east of the northern peninsula of Cap Bon in the Governorate of Nabeul, on the northern edge of the Gulf of Hammamet.The reported number of inhabitants varies from 100,000 to 400,000 and the population quadruples due to tourists' arrival in the summer.It is particularly known for jasmine, and this is how the tourist resort of Yasmine Hammamet got its name. All over Hammamet, souvenirs made of jasmine can be found.Around Hammamet, all kinds of immigrant towns/suburbs are being built as immigrants from the southern part of the country come to find work. As a popular destination for tourists, it brings a lot of money to Tunisia.The 2005 World Scout Conference was held in Hammamet.HistoryIn the 1st century, there was a settlement here known as Pupput. It was a town (now in the suburbs of Hammamet) that became a Roman colony in the 2nd century. In the 13th century, walls around town were built and medina of Hammamet was built in the 15th century. Then it came under Spanish and Turkish rule.In 1601 it was the object of a successful Spanish attack. At that time the Spanish name for the place was "La Mahometa". Alonso de Contreras participated and tells the story in his autobiography. Three hundred men took seven hundred prisoners, mostly women and children because most of the men in the town had fled.