El Haouaria

The story of El Haouaria

El Haouaria, known to the Greeks as Hermaea, is a coastal town in the Nabeul Governorate in northeastern Tunisia. It appears in the Periplus of Pseudo-Skylax, dated to the 4th or 3rd century BC, as a city and one of the oldest maritime ports of the Cap Bon peninsula.

About three kilometres west of the town, near the Ghar El Kebir site, lie caves that were quarried for stone, most likely by prisoners or slaves under the Carthaginians and later the Romans.

The stone was shipped across the Gulf of Tunis to Carthage and was also used for fortifications in the Tunis Medina. The town stands near the Zembra and Zembretta national park, a UNESCO biosphere reserve since 1977. Its population was 9,273 in 2004 and 9,629 in 2014.

Falconry in El Haouaria

Sparrowhawk falconry, known locally as saf, is a spring tradition in El Haouaria and Kelibia on the Cap Bon peninsula.

A 1988 article in Aramco World described hunters trapping wild sparrowhawks in mid-March, training them for about two weeks, and flying them at quail in April and May before releasing them at the end of the season.

El Haouaria hosts the Festival de l'Épervier, founded in 1967 as the Festival des chasseurs. Its 57th edition ran from 25 to 28 June 2026, organised by the regional association of falconers of the Nabeul Governorate with support from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.

The programme included sparrowhawk and peregrine falcon competitions, a falconry workshop and a biodiversity conference. The organisers have stated an effort to have the practice added to UNESCO's Representative List.