Nice and Sousse Sister Cities
Nice and Sousse twinning: a hope of cooperation
On the occasion of the 3rd Euromed Cities Network Plenary Session, Thursday, February 9, 2012 the twinning ceremony with of the City of Nice with Sousse (Tunisia) was held at the Villa Massena. Mr Christian Estrosi, Deputy-Mayor of Nice, President of the new Nice-Cote d'Azur Metropolis and Mr Khaled Ben Haj Ali, Mayor of Sousse, have signed the twinning protocol between the two cities. Mr Estrosi said: "Because Nice and Sousse are alike, we gather. They are similar because they share a long history, of thousands of years, where traces of ancient civilizations are still throbbing.
They are alike because they share the same landscapes, those of the Mediterranean, diverse, changing, and yet recognizable out of all seas. They are alike because they are attached to their identity, their heritage, their culture. Finally, our cities are alike because they share a vision of the future based on respect for the environment, better service to people, prosperity and wise economic development.
Mr Estrosi stressed how important the twinning with Sousse was to him: "For Sousse is the first Arab city with which Nice concludes a twinning pact. I want to see more than a symbol, besides, I want to see hope. Hope for the future in terms of cooperation and development."
Khaled Ben Haj Ali thanked the City of Nice for the quality of care and friendship showed to him: "I consider this agreement, reinforcing the relationship between our two regions, is an accomplishment in itself. A accomplishment of several actions of cooperation over several months. I hope this partnership will hold more hope and friendship between the two shores."
Sousse, key city full of history, whose historic center is a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, was able to harmoniously marry modernity by becoming a major economic center and a center of Mediterranean tourism. It is now recognized as a dynamic regional city in perpetual expansion. Chief town of an important governorate, it is the third largest city by its demographic weight (185,263 inhabitants), its vast territory (nearly 4,516 hectares) and its many functions. Its tremendous growth it experiences since the 60s, make of it the center of development of central Tunisia and one of the pillars of the national economy.
The city of Sousse
A magnificent cultural heritage
Of its 3,000 years of history, Sousse today retains testimonies of rare splendor. For visitors keen to antiquity, the archaeological museum (the second in the country after the Bardo) offers a set of instructive vestiges of the old Hadrumetum. He is most famous for the magnificent collection of Roman mosaics in the first four centuries AD. The underground tunnels of the Catacombs, early Christian necropolis, are another ancient archaeological site must.
The Eternal Medina
Completely framed inside its imposing medieval walls, the ancient city, built on a hillside, rises like a vast amphitheater facing the sea This privileged position has always been its distinctive, so admirable character, that has bewitched so many traveling artists. With 31 hectares and 7,000 inhabitants, the medina is now only an immense area from a sprawling 150 times larger urban area.