Monastir, also called Mestir (Arabic: المنستير Monastīr / Mestīrⓘ, from the Greek μοναστήριον "hermit's cell, monastery"), is a city on the central coast of Tunisia, in the Sahel area, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Sousse and 162 kilometres (101 miles) south of Tunis.

The city features a well-preserved Ribat of Monastir that was used to scan the sea for hostile ships and as a defence against the attacks of the Byzantine fleet.

The ribat was, in the 1970s, also one of the filming locations for both the miniseries Jesus of Nazareth and Monty Python's Life of Brian.

The average high temperature of 29 °C (84.2 °F) in June skips past the 30 °C (86 °F) mark in the middle of the month and rises to 33 °C (91.4 °F) in July and August.

[7] Nouvelair has its head office in Monastir in the Dkhila Tourist Zone,[8][9] near the Hôtel Sahara Beach.

[10] Monastir has a museum of Islamic arts, inaugurated on August 5, 1958, and which is housed on the first floor of the south wing of the ribat; it contains nearly 300 works (fragments of wood, funerary stelae, polished ceramics, etc.)

[11] The ethnomusicologist and clarinetist Hassine Haj Youssef is one of Monastir's most active personalities in the musical field.

A disciple of Salah El Mahdi, he is also the father of the violinist and composer Jasser Haj Youssef.

The monastirian team plays its matches in the Mustapha Ben Jannet stadium for the football, and the Mohamed-Mzali indoor for the basketball.

[citation needed] Hugging Tunisia's coastline, Skanes is a holiday resort known mostly for its professional golf courses; white, sandy beaches; clear blue sea; and hotels that fuse Moorish architecture with modern designs.

[citation needed] They also come for the medina, where it is possible to sample fresh Tunisian cooking and bargain for local goods.