Mahdia was founded as a port in AD916 by the first Fatimid caliph, Obeid Allah, who used the rugged peninsula as his base to plan his attack on his ultimate goal - Cairo. When the Fatimids abandoned Mahdia in AD947 the inhabitants of Zawila moved in and by the 14th century it had become one of the wealthiest cities on the Barbary coast.
Today, it's easily reached by train, just an hour away from Monastir. As we walked around the peninsula of Cap d'Afrique, we could see remnants of the old Fatimid walls and they led us to Borj el-Kebir, a large fortress, built in the 16th centuary, standing on the highest point of the peninsula.
One of the attactions of Mahdia today is the traditional silk weaving. There are numerous artisans dotted around the cobbled streets working hard on the looms. They are very happy to down tools for a while and show us what they are making and how the loom works. As were were deciding where to go for a lunch, a local guy came up to us and told us that he knew of a great place where the locals went that was not expensive. He was right in that the locals went there and the food was great, our best meal out so far, but he certainly knew how to ramp up the bill. It's not that it was expensive (around 17 euros each) for the amount of food that we had, but it was expensive for where we were. All part of the travelling experience!
Our stroll around the peninsula also took us past the cematary where all the graves point towards Mecca. It was a beautiful and peaceful location built around the old Fatima port. Another feature of Tunisian architecture is the ornate doorways and entrances. This blue door is typical and very pretty.
Not only is Mahdia a lovely day trip from Monastir but you can also take your boat in there too. We spoke to the Port authorities who said that cruisers are very welcome there. It makes a great jumping point for Lampadeusa.