Sfax (English spelling)

A port city on the Mediterranean coast in central-eastern Tunisia, North Africa. Population 230,855 (1994). The second largest city in the country, it is the commercial, industrial and transportation center of the southern part of the country. Located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Gabes, it has long flourished as a port town and fishing port. During the French colonial period, a railway was laid from the Gafsa phosphate mines, and it developed as an export port for phosphate rock and olive oil. Industries such as fertilizer, oil extraction and machinery are located here. The new town is located on the port side, centered around the Medina district (old town), and an industrial area has been formed along the north-south railway line.

[Hiroshi Fujii]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

北アフリカ、チュニジア中東部、地中海沿岸にある港湾都市。人口23万0855（1994）。この国第二の都市で、南部の商工業、交通の中心地である。ガベス湾北岸に位置し古くから港町、漁港として栄えた。フランス植民地時代にガフサ燐(りん)鉱山から鉄道が敷かれ、燐鉱石、オリーブ油の輸出港として発展した。肥料、搾油、機械などの工業が立地する。メディナ地区（旧市街）を中心に港側に新市街、南北の鉄道沿いに工場地帯が形成されている。

［藤井宏志］

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