title: Wisteria

text: "W. floribunda" (Japanese wisteria), which has the longest racemes of wisteria species, is decorative and has given rise to many cultivars that have won the prestigious Award of Garden Merit.


title: Wisteria

text: Wisteria, especially "W. sinensis" (Chinese wisteria), is very hardy and fast-growing. It can grow in fairly poor-quality soils, but prefers fertile, moist, well-drained soil. It thrives in full sun. It can be propagated via hardwood cutting, softwood cuttings, or seed. However, specimens grown from seed can take decades to bloom; for this reason, gardeners usually grow plants that have been started from rooted cuttings or grafted cultivars known to flower well.


title: Wisteria

text: Another reason for failure to bloom can be excessive fertilizer (particularly nitrogen). Wisteria has nitrogen fixing capability (provided by Rhizobia bacteria in root nodules), and thus mature plants may benefit from added potassium and phosphate, but not nitrogen. Finally, wisteria can be reluctant to bloom before it has reached maturity. Maturation may require only a few years, as in "W. macrostachya" (Kentucky wisteria), or nearly twenty, as in "W. sinensis". Maturation can be forced by physically abusing the main trunk, root pruning, or drought stress.


title: Wisteria

text: Wisteria can grow into a mound when unsupported, but is at its best when allowed to clamber up a tree, pergola, wall, or other supporting structure. If you want wisteria to grow along the pergola, "W. floribunda" (Japanese wisteria) with longer racemes is the best choice. If you want wisteria to grow along the wall, "W. sinensis" (Chinese wisteria) with shorter racemes is the best choice. Whatever the case, the support must be very sturdy, because mature wisteria can become immensely strong with heavy wrist-thick trunks and stems. These can collapse latticework, crush thin wooden posts, and even strangle large trees. Wisteria allowed to grow on houses can cause damage to gutters, downspouts, and similar structures. Wisteria flowers develop in buds near the base of the previous year's growth, so pruning back side shoots to the basal few buds in early spring can enhance the visibility of the flowers. If it is desired to control the size of the plant, the side shoots can be shortened to between 20 and 40 cm long in midsummer, and back to in the fall. Once the plant is a few years old, a relatively compact, free-flowering form can be achieved by pruning off the new tendrils three times during the growing season in the summer months. The flowers of some varieties are edible, and can even be used to make wine. Others are said to be toxic. Careful identification by an expert is strongly recommended before consuming this or any wild plant.


title: Wisteria

text: In the United Kingdom, the national collection of wisteria is held by Chris Lane at the Witch Hazel Nursery in Newington, near Sittingbourne in Kent.


title: Wisteria

text: Wisteria and their racemes have been widely used in Japan throughout the centuries and were a popular symbol in family crests and heraldry. One popular dance in kabuki known as the "Fuji Musume--" or ""The Wisteria Maiden""-- is the sole extant dance of a series of five personifying dances in which a maiden becomes the embodiment of the spirit of wisteria. In the West, both in building materials such as tile, as well as stained glass, wisterias have been used both in realism and stylistically in artistic works and industrial design.


title: Mall of America

text: Mall of America (MOA) is a shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, United States. It lies southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway 77, north of the Minnesota River, and across the Interstate from the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. It opened in 1992, and is the largest mall in the United States, the largest in the Western Hemisphere, and the ninth largest shopping mall in the world.


title: Mall of America

text: The mall is managed by the Triple Five Group (which in turn is owned by the Ghermezian family, along with the West Edmonton Mall and the American Dream). Approximately 40 million people visit the mall annually, 80% of whom are from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Illinois and Ohio.


title: Mall of America

text: In addition to the Mall, outside of the mall are additional hotels, restaurants, and stores. The Mall of America and the additional businesses meet at the South Loop District in Bloomington, Minnesota.


title: Mall of America

text: The mall's concept was designed by the Triple Five Group in conjunction with global design firm DLR Group, owned by the Ghermezian brothers, who also own the second largest shopping mall in North America, the West Edmonton Mall. The Mall of America is located on the site of the former Metropolitan Stadium, where the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Twins played until the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome opened in 1982. A plaque in the mall's amusement park commemorates the former location of home plate and one seat from Met Stadium was placed in Mall of America at the exact location it occupied in the stadium, commemorating a home run hit by hall-of-famer Harmon Killebrew on June 3, 1967.


title: Mall of America

text: In 1986, the Bloomington Port Authority signed an agreement with the Ghermezian organization. Groundbreaking for the mall took place on June 14, 1989. Organizations involved include Melvin Simon and Associates, Teachers Insurance and Annuity, and the office of architect Jon Jerde.


title: Mall of America

text: Mall of America opened its doors to the public on August 11, 1992. Its anchors were Nordstrom, Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Sears. Even before opening, the mall had earned several nicknames, including "The Megamall", "Sprawl of America", "Hugedale" in reference to the four major "dale" shopping malls within the Twin Cities: Rosedale, Southdale, Ridgedale and the now-defunct Brookdale.


title: Mall of America

text: Mall of America became the largest shopping mall in total area and largest in total store vendors in the United States when it opened. The Mall of America's 42 million annual visitors equal roughly eight times the population of the state of Minnesota. , the mall employed over 11,000 workers year-round and 13,000 during peak seasons.


title: Mall of America

text: In spring 2020, Mall of America closed for a period of twelve weeks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, closing on March 17, and reopening on June 10 with only 150 tenants open for business. The mall was originally scheduled to reopen on June 1, but civil unrest in the Twin Cities around this time caused the mall to postpone the reopening.


title: Mall of America

text: In 2003, after a protracted six-year legal battle between Simon Property Group, the managing general partner of the property, and the Ghermezian brothers/Triple Five Group, over majority ownership of the site, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the Ghermezians, effectively transferring control and planning authority of the mall back to the creator of the concept. The dispute stemmed from a 1999 purchase of Teacher's Insurance's 27.5% equity stake by Simon Properties, giving them majority ownership. The Ghermezians claimed they were never told of the deal and sued Simon, citing fiduciary responsibility. On November 3, 2006, the Ghermezians gained full control of Mall of America by spending US$1 billion.


title: Mall of America

text: On May 18, 2008, the Mall of America received a tax break for a proposed $2 billion expansion. The bill gave the city of Bloomington the ability to increase taxes on sales, lodging and food and beverages to finance a parking ramp at the mall. On March 24, 2012, the Triple Five Group, partnered with architectural firm DLR Group, announced the start of a $200 million expansion that would build into the north parking lot of the mall. The plans called for an additional hotel and an additional of retail space. The project broke ground in the fall of 2013 and began opening in stages in the summer of 2015. In March 2014, ground was broken on the mall's north side for the $104 million, 14-story JW Marriott hotel, owned and financed by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. In 2018, it was announced that MOA had proposed to build an indoor water park, with a cost between $150 to $200 million for the project. In March 2022, the plan was approved by the Bloomington city council.


title: Mall of America

text: The Mall of America has a gross area of or , enough to fit 7 Yankee Stadiums inside. The mall is nearly symmetric, with a roughly rectangular floor plan. More than 500 stores are arranged along 3 levels of pedestrian walkways on the sides of the rectangle, with a 4th level on the east side. 4 anchor department stores are located at the corners. The mall is organized into 4 different zones. Each of those zones had its own decorative style until a series of renovations from 2010 to 2015 led to a unified and more luxurious style, as well as to coincide with the mall's first major expansion. The mall's food court is on the 3rd floor.


title: Mall of America

text: Despite Minnesota's cold winters, only the mall's entrances and some below ground areas are heated. Heat is allowed in through skylights above the central amusement park area. The majority of the heat is produced by lighting fixtures, other electric devices and people in the mall. In fact, even during the winter, air conditioning systems may still be in use during peak hours to ensure a comfortable shopping environment. Although the common areas are unheated, the individual stores do have heating systems.


title: Mall of America

text: Two nearly identical seven-story parking ramps on the east and west sides of the mall provide 12,287 parking spaces. Overflow parking north of the building provides an additional 1,200–1,500 spaces and 1,407 spaces are provided by IKEA, which opened in July 2004.


title: Mall of America

text: During its run as an all-encompassing entertainment and retail venue, certain aspects, particularly its bars, have come under scrutiny. In early 2000, a Mardi Gras-themed bar, Fat Tuesday, shut its doors due to indecent exposure and alcohol-related offenses. On November 29, 2011, Google announced indoor maps for Mall of America along with several other places like airports, parks, and public spaces. On January 3, 2012, Macy's Inc. announced it would close its Bloomingdale's location at the Mall of America after nearly two decades.


title: Mall of America

text: The Theatres at Mall of America opened three days after the grand opening of the mall. Initially, the cinema was run by General Cinemas, but it was bought out then rebranded by AMC Theatres, and eventually operated by mall management. The cinema occupied the south side of the fourth floor through December 2016, when it closed permanently. It was replaced by Cinemex subsidiary CMX Cinemas in late 2017. Due to CMX Cinema's bankruptcy proceedings, CMX Mall of America closed down and replaced with B&B Theatres in 2021.


title: Mall of America

text: On December 28, 2018, it was announced that Sears (which had been at the Mall of America since its opening in 1992) would be closing as part of a plan to close 80 stores nationwide.


title: Mall of America

text: There are also junior anchors, including L.L. Bean, Barnes & Noble, DSW, and Marshalls. Former stores included Best Buy and American Girl, with the latter being replaced with a 24,000-square-foot M&M's retail store, which opened in late 2020.


title: Mall of America

text: Nickelodeon Universe, formerly Camp Snoopy, is an indoor theme park in the center of the mall. The park features roller coasters, among numerous other rides and attractions, including many not related to Nickelodeon, and is the largest indoor theme park in the United States. Unlike many indoor amusement parks, Nickelodeon Universe has a great deal of natural foliage in and about the park, and its floor has a wide variance in height – the highest ground level in the park is above the lowest. The rides include the roller coasters SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge, Fairly Odd Coaster, Back at the Barnyard Hayride and , and a thrill ride called BrainSurge. It also has a miniature golfing section called Moose Mountain. This miniature golf course features eighteen holes and a relatively fast astroturf surface.


title: Mall of America

text: At the Sea Life Minnesota Aquarium, guests travel through a curved tunnel through of water to view over 4,500 sea creatures including sharks, turtles, stingrays and many more. Sea Life Minnesota Aquarium offers special events such as sleepovers, scuba diving, snorkeling and birthday parties.


title: Mall of America

text: In the lower level of the eastern parking ramp is the Mall of America station, the busiest transit hub in Minnesota with services to and from many destinations in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The Transit Station contains two stops on the Metro Transit network: the southern terminus of the METRO Blue Line (light rail) to Downtown Minneapolis via MSP Airport and Hiawatha Avenue (operated by Metro Transit), and the northern terminus of the METRO Red Line (BRT) to Apple Valley (operated by the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority). Both agencies also operate many local bus services to the Transit Station and many area hotels along with the Mystic Lake Casino offer free shuttles to their establishments.


title: Mall of America

text: The mall is not a park and ride facility, and overnight parking is banned to prevent passengers taking the train to the airport. Commuters are required to use the nearby 28th Avenue station's parking ramp. The station underwent a $25 million upgrade which was completed in October 2019.


title: Mall of America

text: Behavior Detection Officers (BDOs) are trained extensively in Israel, each one going through at least 240 hours of training that includes communication techniques, first aid, defensive tactics, crisis intervention, terrorism awareness and rapid response. As Doug Reynolds, the former Security Director at the mall noted in a congressional testimony in 2008, BDOs are taught to "look for intent, rather than means. The objective is to focus on suspicious indicators in three categories: People, vehicles, and unattended items like backpacks, shopping bags,and suitcases." This methodology has prepared the mall for a variety of threats, both from terrorists and everyday criminals.


title: Mall of America

text: In 2010, it was noted that mall security officials were instructed to question or detain individuals exhibiting what they deemed "suspicious behavior". Signs of suspicious behavior included photographing air-conditioning ducts, or signs that a shopper was hiding something. At the time, some officials within the Bloomington Police Department worried that the mall's security methods may infringe on citizens' rights.


title: Mall of America

text: In 2011, NPR's "All Things Considered" and "Morning Edition" and PBS's "NewsHour" both aired programs documenting security abuses by the mall's security personnel. On December 31, 2013, members from the First Nations protest movement Idle No More attempted to repeat a successful Native-American round dance held at the mall in 2012, but failed after being stopped by mall security. Organizers of the dance, Patricia Shepard and Reyna Crow from Duluth were arrested on site for trespassing.


title: Mall of America

text: In February 2015, the al-Shabaab militant group also released a propaganda video calling for attacks on the Mall of America and other Western shopping centers. Although the group had never launched attacks in North America, security at the mall was tightened in response and the Department of Homeland Security issued a one-day alert to shoppers to remain vigilant.


title: Mall of America

text: On December 21, 2014, thousands of protesters attended an unauthorized demonstration organized by Black Lives Matter in the mall's rotunda. The demonstration was in response to the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and the then recent jury decision not to prosecute the white officer in that case, as well as the death of Eric Garner of New York. In response to the demonstration, the Mall of America closed the areas of the mall around the rotunda. Police arrested 25 demonstrators. The Bloomington City Attorney, Sandra Johnson, pursued charges against the organizers, and the city is sought compensatory damages from some of the organizers for out-of-pocket costs the city incurred while paying overtime for additional security. In response to these charges, demonstrators have called for a boycott of the mall.


title: Mall of America

text: Plans for another Black Lives Matter demonstration at the Mall of America on December 23, 2015, prompted mall officials to file a restraining order against the movement's activists. Eight individual activists were sued in Hennepin County District Court. The mall's lawsuit would prohibit the defendants from demonstrating and require them to delete all of their posts to social media pertaining to the demonstration. The lawsuit additionally asked that the court jail Black Lives Matter activists unless they publicly announce that the demonstration is cancelled on their social media accounts. The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota called the mall's lawsuit an "improper prior restraint on speech" and an unconstitutional overreach.


title: Mall of America

text: On April 12, 2019, a five-year-old was thrown from a third-story balcony by 24-year-old Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda of Minneapolis. The boy was in the hospital for over five months and eventually recovered. Aranda was sentenced to 19 years in prison in June with the possibility for parole after 12 years served.


title: Mall of America

text: On December 31, 2021, a single gunshot was fired on the north side of the third floor of the mall. A patrolling Bloomington Police Department officer who heard the shot immediately notified mall security, who activated the mall's lockdown alarm. Responding officers found a man who had been shot in the leg when they arrived at the scene and later another injured person was found who appeared to have been grazed by the bullet. The first victim was transported to the hospital while the second was treated on the scene by paramedics and released. According to a statement by Deputy Chief Kim Clausen, she recommended that there was an "altercation" between two men that resulted in one shooting the other. After a thorough search of the mall by police and security officers, the lockdown was lifted approximately 40 minutes after it started and the mall closed for the rest of the day shortly thereafter. On January 3, 2022, an 18-year-old Roseville man was identified as they left the scene of the shooting with the shooter was arrested for aiding and abetting first-degree assault, and on January 4, police arrested the suspect on assault charges and in a subsequent search of the house found a gun.


title: Mall of America

text: On August 4, 2022, the mall was put under lockdown after two men fired gunshots during an altercation at the Nike store who then fled. Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch was in the mall with his family at the time; they were unharmed. The two alleged shooters were apprehended a week later in Chicago. They were detained shortly after stepping out of a barbershop. Three people were also arrested for allegedly aiding the shooters as they fled the scene and hid from authorities at a nearby Best Western hotel. Two of the suspects originated from Minneapolis, while the other three originated from Burnsville, all between the ages of 21 and 23.


title: Mall of America

text: The Mall of America was used as a filming location for various movies and television shows, including:


title: Mall of America

text: The mall was also referenced in the series "How I Met Your Mother" during the episode "Slap Bet" as the reason why native Minnesotan Marshall Eriksen believed that Robin Scherbatsky would have been married in a mall; this is a reference to the Chapel of Love in the mall. The mall was the location of the premiere of "" (2000).


title: Tunis

text: Tunis ( "") is the capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casablanca and Algiers) and the eleventh-largest in the Arab world.


title: Tunis

text: Situated on a large Mediterranean Sea gulf (the Gulf of Tunis), behind the Lake of Tunis and the port of La Goulette (Ḥalq il-Wād), the city extends along the coastal plain and the hills that surround it. At its core lies Ancient Medina, a World Heritage Site. East of the Medina, through the Sea Gate (also known as the "Bab el Bhar" and the "Porte de France"), begins the modern city "Ville Nouvelle", traversed by the grand Avenue Habib Bourguiba (often referred to by media and travel guides as "the Tunisian Champs-Élysées"), where the colonial-era buildings provide a clear contrast to smaller, older structures. Further east by the sea lie the suburbs of Carthage, La Marsa, and Sidi Bou Said. As the capital of the country, Tunis is the focus of Tunisian political and administrative life and also the center of the country's commercial and cultural activities.


title: Tunis

text: "Tunis" is the transcription of the Arabic name which can be pronounced as "Tūnus", "Tūnas", or "Tūnis". All three variations were mentioned by the Arab geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi in his "Mu'jam al-Bûldan" ("Dictionary of Countries").


title: Tunis

text: Different explanations exist for the origin of the name "Tunis". Some scholars relate it to the Phoenician goddess "Tanith" ('Tanit or Tanut), as many ancient cities were named after patron deities. Some scholars claim that it originated from "Tynes", which was mentioned by Diodorus Siculus and Polybius in the course of descriptions of a location resembling present-day Al-Kasbah, Tunis's old Berber village.


title: Tunis

text: Another possibility is that it was derived from the Berber verbal root "ens" which means "to lie down" or "to pass the night". The term "Tunis" can possibly mean "camp at night", "camp", or "stop", or may have referred to as "the last stop before Carthage" by people who were journeying to Carthage by land. There are also some mentions in ancient Roman sources of such names of nearby towns as "Tuniza" (now El Kala), "Thunusuda" (now Sidi-Meskin), "Thinissut" (now Bir Bouregba), and "Thunisa" (now Ras Jebel). As all of these Berber villages were situated on Roman roads, they undoubtedly served as rest-stations or stops.


title: Tunis

text: The historical study of Carthage is problematic. Because its culture and records were destroyed by the Romans at the end of the Third Punic War, very few Carthaginian primary historical sources survive. While there are a few ancient translations of Punic texts into Greek and Latin, as well as inscriptions on monuments and buildings discovered in Northwest Africa, the main sources are Greek and Roman historians, including Livy, Polybius, Appian, Cornelius Nepos, Silius Italicus, Plutarch, Dio Cassius, and Herodotus. These writers belonged to peoples in competition, and often in conflict, with Carthage. Greek cities contended with Carthage over Sicily, and the Romans fought three wars against Carthage. Not surprisingly, their accounts of Carthage are extremely hostile; while there are a few Greek authors who took a favourable view, these works have been lost.


title: Tunis

text: Tunis was originally a Berber settlement. The existence of the town is attested by sources dating from the 4th century BC. Situated on a hill, Tunis served as an excellent point from which the comings and goings of naval and caravan traffic to and from Carthage could be observed. Tunis was one of the first towns in the region to fall under Carthaginian control, and in the centuries that followed Tunis was mentioned in the military histories associated with Carthage. Thus, during Agathocles' expedition, which landed at Cape Bon in 310 BC, Tunis changed hands on various occasions.


title: Tunis

text: During the Mercenary War, it is possible that Tunis served as a center for the native population of the area, and that its population was mainly composed of peasants, fishermen, and craftsmen. Compared to the ancient ruins of Carthage, the ruins of ancient Tunis are not as large. According to Strabo, it was destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC during the Third Punic War. Both Tunis and Carthage were destroyed; Tunis, however, was rebuilt first under the rule of Augustus and became an important town under Roman control and the center of a booming agricultural industry. The city is mentioned in the Tabula Peutingeriana as "Thuni". In the system of Roman roads for the Roman province of Africa, Tunis had the title of ("way station, resting place"). Tunis, increasingly Romanized, was also eventually Christianized and became the seat of a bishop. However, Tunis remained modestly sized compared to Carthage during this time.


title: Tunis

text: When the Arab Muslim troops conquered the region at the end of the 7th century, they established themselves at the outskirts of ancient Tunes, and the small town soon became the city of Tunis that could easily be taken for an Arab foundation. The medina of Tunis, the oldest section of the city, dates from this period, during which the region was conquered by the Umayyad emir Hasan ibn al-Nu'man al-Ghasani. The city had the natural advantage of coastal access, via the Mediterranean, to the major ports of southern Europe. Early on, Tunis played a military role; the Arabs recognized the strategic importance of its proximity to the Strait of Sicily. From the beginning of the 8th century, Tunis was the "chef-lieu" of the area: it became the Arabs' naval base in the western Mediterranean Sea, and took on considerable military importance. Under the Aghlabids, the people of Tunis revolted numerous times, but the city benefited from economic improvements and quickly became the second most important in the kingdom. It was briefly the national capital, from the end of the reign of Ibrahim II in 902, until 909 when control over Ifriqiya was lost to the newly founded Fatimid Caliphate.


title: Tunis

text: Local opposition to the authorities began to intensify in September 945, when Kharijite insurgents occupied Tunis, resulting in general pillaging. With the rise of the Zirid dynasty Tunis gained importance, but the Sunni population tolerated Shi'ite rule less and less, and carried out massacres against the Shi'ite community. In 1048 the Zirid ruler Al-Muizz ibn Badis rejected his city's obedience to the Fatimids and re-established Sunni rites throughout all of Ifriqiya. This decision infuriated the Shi'ite caliph Al-Mustansir Billah. To punish the Zirids, he unleashed the Banu Hilal Arab tribe on Ifriqiya; a large part of the country was set to the torch, the Zirid capital Kairouan was razed in 1057, and only a few coastal towns, including Tunis and Mahdia, escaped destruction. Exposed to violence from the hostile tribes that settled around the city, the population of Tunis repudiated the authority of the Zirids and swore allegiance to the Hammadid prince El Nacer ibn Alennas, who was based in Béjaïa, in 1059. The governor appointed by Béjaïa, having reestablished order in the country, did not hesitate to free himself from the Hammadids to found the Khurasanid dynasty with Tunis as its capital. This small independent kingdom picked up the threads of trade and commerce with other nations and brought the region back to peace and prosperity.


title: Tunis

text: In 1159, the Almohad 'Abd al-Mu'min took Tunis, overthrew the last Khurasanid leader, and installed a new government in the kasbah of Tunis. The Almohad conquest marked the beginning of the dominance of the city in Tunisia. Having previously played a minor role behind Kairouan and Mahdia, Tunis was promoted to the rank of provincial capital.


title: Tunis

text: In 1228, Governor Abu Zakariya seized power and, a year later, took the title of Emir and founded the Hafsid dynasty. The city became the capital of a Hafsid kingdom stretching towards Tripoli and Fez. Walls were built to protect the emerging principal town of the kingdom, surrounding the medina, the kasbah, and the new suburbs of Tunis. In 1270 the city was taken briefly by Louis IX of France, who was hoping to convert the Hafsid sovereign to Christianity. King Louis easily captured Carthage, but his army soon fell victim to an outbreak of dysentery. Louis himself died before the walls of the capital and his army were forced out. At the same time, driven by the reconquest of Spain, the first Andalusian Muslims and Jews arrived in Tunis and would become of importance to the economic prosperity of the Hafsid capital and the development of its intellectual life.


title: Tunis

text: During the Almohad and Hafsid periods, Tunis was one of the richest and grandest cities in the Islamic world, with a population of about 100,000.


title: Tunis

text: During this period, one of the famous travelers to Tunis was Ibn Battuta. In his travel account, when Ibn Battuta and his group arrived in Tunis, the population of the city came out to meet him and the other members of his party. They all greeted them and were very curious, many were asking questions, however, no one in Tunis personally greeted Ibn Battuta, greatly upsetting him. He felt very lonely and could not hold back the tears coming from his eyes. This went on for a while until one of the pilgrims realized he was upset, he went up and greeted and talked to Ibn Battuta until he entered the city. At the time, the Sultan of Tunis was Abu Yahya and during Ibn Battuta's stay, the Festival of the Breaking of the Fast was taking place. The people in the city assembled in large numbers to celebrate the festival, in extravagant and most luxurious outfits. Abu Yahya arrived on horseback, where all of his relatives joined him. After the performance, the people returned to their homes.


title: Tunis

text: The Ottoman Empire took nominal control of Tunis in 1534 when Hayreddin Barbarossa captured it from the Hafsid Sultan Mulai Hassan, who fled to the court of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain. Charles, suffering losses from the corsairs operating out of Djerba, Tunis, and Algiers, agreed to reinstate Mulai Hassan in exchange for his acceptance of Spanish suzerainty. A naval expedition led by Charles himself was dispatched in 1535, and the city was recaptured. The victory against the corsairs is recorded in a tapestry at the Royal Palace of Madrid. The Spanish governor of La Goulette, Luys Peres Varga, fortified the island of Chikly in the lake of Tunis to strengthen the city's defenses between 1546 and 1550.


title: Tunis

text: The Ottoman Uluç Ali Reis, at the head of an army of janissaries and Kabyles, retook Tunis in 1569. However, following the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, the Spanish under John of Austria succeeded in retaking the city and re-establishing the Hafsid sovereign in October 1573. Following these conflicts, the city finally fell into Ottoman hands in August 1574. Having become an Ottoman province governed by a Pasha who was appointed by the Sultan based in Constantinople, the country attained a degree of autonomy. After 1591, the Ottoman governors (Beys) were relatively independent, and both piracy and trade continued to flourish. Under the rule of deys and Moorish beys, the capital sprang into new life. Its population grew by additions from various ethnicities, among which were Moorish refugees from Spain, and economic activities diversified. To traditional industry and trade with distant lands was added the activity of the Barbary pirates, then in their golden age. Profits obtained from the trade in Christian slaves allowed the rulers to build sumptuous structures that revived the architectural heritage of the Middle Ages.


title: Tunis

text: In April 1655 the English admiral Robert Blake was sent to the Mediterranean to extract compensation from states that had been attacking English shipping. Only the Bey of Tunis refused to comply, with the result that Blake's fifteen ships attacked the Bey's arsenal at Porto Farina (Ghar el Melh), destroying nine Algerian ships and two shore batteries, the first time in naval warfare that shore batteries had been eliminated without landing men ashore.


title: Tunis

text: At the beginning of the 18th century, Tunisia entered into a new period in its history with the advent of the Husainid dynasty. Successive Husainid rulers made great progress in developing the city and its buildings. During this period, the city prospered as a center of commerce. Taking advantage of divisions within the ruling house, Algerians captured Tunis in 1756 and put the country under supervision. Hammouda Bey faced bombardment by the Venetian fleet, and the city experienced a rebellion in 1811. Under the reign of Hussein Bey II, naval defeats by the British (1826) and French (1827) saw the French become increasingly active in the city and in the economy.


title: Tunis

text: Various sources estimate the 19th-century population to have ranged from 90,000 to 110,000 inhabitants. During the later 19th century, Tunis became increasingly populated by Europeans, particularly the French, and immigration dramatically increased the size of the city. This resulted in the first demolition of the old city walls, from 1860, to accommodate growth in the suburbs. The city spilled outside the area of the earlier town and the banks of the lake, and the new districts were modernized with running water (1860), lighting gas (1872), roads, waste collection (1873), and communication with adjacent suburbs and the city center. The crafts and traditional trades declined somewhat, as the newcomers increased trade with Europe, introducing the first modern industries and new forms of urban life.


title: Tunis

text: The creation of the French protectorate in 1881 was a turning point in Tunis's history, leading to rapid redevelopment of the city in the span of two to three decades. The city quickly spread out of its fortifications: it divided into a traditional Arab-populated old city, and a new city populated by immigrants, with a different structure from that of the traditional medina. Tunis also benefited from the French construction of a water supply, natural gas and electricity networks, public transport services, and other public infrastructure.


title: Tunis

text: Under French rule, a substantial number of Europeans settled (like the Tunisian Italians); half of the population was European in origin. The city expanded and created new boulevards and neighborhoods.


title: Tunis

text: Tunis was quiet during the First World War. After the war, the city faced new transformations as the modern portion grew in importance and extended its network of boulevards and streets in all directions. In addition, a series of satellite cities emerged on the urban rim and encroached on the municipality of Tunis proper. In the economic sphere, commercial activities expanded and diversified as modern industries continued to grow, while traditional industry continued to decline.


title: Tunis

text: During World War II, Tunis was held by Axis forces from November 1942 to May 1943. It was their last base in Africa, as they retreated towards Sicily after being surrounded by Allied forces from Algeria to the west and from Libya to the east.


title: Tunis

text: On 7 May 1943, at about 15:30 in the afternoon, Tunis fell to troops of British 1st Army and the U.S. 1st Army, which had defeated the German 5th Panzer Army guarding the city. At midday on 20 May 1943, the Allies held a victory parade on Avenue Maréchal Galliéni, and Avenue Jules Ferry, to signal the end of fighting in North Africa.


title: Tunis

text: Having succeeded in driving the Axis powers out of Tunisia, the Allies used Tunis as a base of operations from which to stage amphibious assaults first against the island of Pantelleria, and then Sicily, and finally the mainland of Italy.


title: Tunis

text: After independence in 1956, Tunis consolidated its role as the capital, first with the establishment of a constitution stating that the Chamber of Deputies and the Presidency of the Republic must have their headquarters in Tunis and its suburbs. In a very short time, the colonial city transformed rapidly. As the city has grown and native Tunisians gradually began to replace the extensive European population, the conflict between the Arab city and the European city has gradually decreased with the arabization of the population.


title: Tunis

text: Because of population pressure and the rate of migration to the capital, the city continued to grow, even with the creation of new districts in the suburbs. Old buildings have gradually been renovated and upgraded. New buildings have come to influence the urban landscape. At the same time, an active policy of industrialization is developing the municipal economy.


title: Tunis

text: The Arab League represents 22 Arab nations. It transferred its headquarters to Tunis in 1979 because of Egypt's peace with Israel. The Arab League returned to Egypt in 1990.


title: Tunis

text: The Palestine Liberation Organization also had its headquarters in Tunis, from 1982 to 2003. In 1985, the PLO's headquarters was bombed by Israeli Air Force F-15s, killing approximately 60 people.


title: Tunis

text: On 18 March 2015, two gunmen attacked the Bardo National Museum and held hostages. Twenty civilians and one policeman were killed in the attack, while around 50 others were injured. Five Japanese, two Colombians, and visitors from Italy, Poland, and Spain were among the dead. Both gunmen were killed by Tunisian police. The incident has been treated as a terrorist attack.


title: Tunis

text: Tunis is located in north-eastern Tunisia on the Lake of Tunis, and is connected to the Mediterranean sea's Gulf of Tunis by a canal which terminates at the port of La Goulette/Halq al Wadi. The ancient city of Carthage is located just north of Tunis along the coastal part. The city lies on a similar latitude as the southernmost points of Europe.


title: Tunis

text: The city of Tunis is built on a hill slope down to the lake of Tunis. These hills contain places such as Notre-Dame de Tunis, Ras Tabia, La Rabta, La Kasbah, Montfleury, and La Manoubia with altitudes just above . The city is located at the crossroads of a narrow strip of land between Lake Tunis and Séjoumi. The isthmus between them is what geologists call the "Tunis dome", which includes hills of limestone and sediments. It forms a natural bridge and since ancient times several major roads linking to Egypt and elsewhere in Tunisia have branched out from it. The roads also connect with Carthage, emphasizing its political and economic importance not only in Tunisia but more widely in North Africa and the Mediterranean Sea in ancient times.


title: Tunis

text: The Greater Tunis area has an area of , 10% of which are urbanized, the rest being shared between bodies of water ( of lakes or lagoons) and agricultural or natural land (). However, urban growth, which is estimated to be increasing by 500 hectares per year, is gradually changing the landscape with urban sprawl.


title: Tunis

text: After World War II, suburbs began to rapidly spring up on the outskirts of Tunis. These form a large percentage of the population of the Tunis metropolitan area. It grew from 27% of the total population in 1956, to 37% in 1975 and 50% in 2006.


title: Tunis

text: Tunis has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification "Csa"), characterized by hot and dry, prolonged summers and mild winters with moderate rainfall. The local climate is also affected somewhat by the latitude of the city, the moderating influence of the Mediterranean sea, and the terrain of the hills.


title: Tunis

text: Winter is the wettest season of the year, when more than a third of the annual rainfall falls during this period, raining on average every two or three days. The sun may still increase the temperature from in the morning to in the afternoon on average during the winter. Frosts are rare. The lowest temperature of was recorded on 18 January 1979. In spring, rainfall declines by half. The sunshine becomes dominant in May when it reaches 10 hours a day on average. In March temperatures may vary between and , and between and in May. However, it is common for temperatures to soar even as early as April with record temperatures reaching . In summer, rain is almost completely absent and the sunlight is at a maximum.


title: Tunis

text: The average temperatures in the summer months of June, July, August, and September are very high. Sea breezes may mitigate the heat, but sometimes the sirocco winds reverse the trend. Occasional thunderstorms in the afternoon can develop quickly, especially after the periods of extremely hot weather. They usually don't produce precipitation (see dry thunderstorm), but may be accompanied by a brief shower. The highest temperature of was recorded on Tunis-Carthage International Airport on 10 August 2021. In autumn, it begins to rain, often with short thunderstorms, which can sometimes cause flash floods or even flood some parts of the city. The month of November marks a break in the general heat with average temperatures ranging from to .


title: Tunis

text: Tunis has been the capital of Tunisia since 1159. Under Articles 43 and 24 of the Constitution of 1959, Tunis and its suburbs host the national institutions: the Presidential Palace, which is known as Carthage Palace, residence of the President of Tunisia, the Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Advisors and parliament, the Constitutional Council and the main judicial institutions and public bodies. The revised Tunisian Constitution of 2014 similarly provides that the National Assembly is to sit in Tunis (article 51) and that the Presidency is based there (article 73).


title: Tunis

text: Following the municipal elections of 6 May 2018, Ennahdha obtained 21 seats out of 60. Nidaa Tounes came second with 17 seats. On 3 July 2018, the head of the Ennahdha list Souad Abderrahim was elected by the council as the new mayor of the capital.


title: Tunis

text: Before 2011, unlike other mayors in Tunisia, the mayor of Tunis is appointed by decree of the President of the Republic from among the members of the City Council.


title: Tunis

text: The 2008 budget adopted by the City Council is structured as follows: 61.61 million dinars for operations and 32,516 million dinars for investment. It reflects the improved financial situation of the municipality, the year 2007 was a year registering a surplus in resources that allowed the settlement of debts of the municipality and the strengthening of its credibility with respect its suppliers and public and private partners.


title: Tunis

text: Revenues are generated by the proceeds of taxes on buildings and vacant lots, fees for the rental of municipal property, income from the operation of the public, advertising, and that the fact that the municipality has capital shares in some companies. On the expenditure side, provision is made for the consolidation of hygiene and cleanliness, the state of the environment and urban design, infrastructure maintenance, rehabilitation and renovation of facilities, and strengthening the logistics and means of work and transport.


title: Tunis

text: The city of Tunis, whose size has increased significantly during the second half of the 20th century, now extends beyond the Tunis Governorate into parts of the governorates of Ben Arous, Ariana and Manouba.


title: Tunis

text: The municipality of Tunis is divided into 15 municipal districts: These include El Bab Bhar, Bab Souika, Cité El Khadra, Jelloud Jebel El Kabaria, El Menzah, El Ouardia, Ettahrir, Ezzouhour, Hraïria, Medina, El Omrane, El Omrane Higher Séjoumi and Sidi El-Bashir.


title: Tunis

text: In the years following independence, the population of the metropolitan area continued to grow: by 21.1% from 1956 to 1966 and by 28.5% from 1966 to 1975 (55.6% between 1956 and 1975). This steady growth was accompanied by changes that affected the nature of the settlement of the capital. Decolonization led to the exodus of some European minorities whose numbers dwindled every year. The gaps created by their departure were filled by Tunisians who emigrated to Tunis from other parts of the country.


title: Tunis

text: The population of the city of Tunis exceeds 2,000,000 inhabitants. After independence, the Tunisian government implemented a plan to cope with the population growth of the city and country, a system of family planning, to attempt to lower the rate of population growth. However, between 1994 and 2004, the population of the governorate of Tunis grew more than 1.03% per annum. It represents, in the 2004 census, 9.9% of the total population of Tunisia. As in the rest of Tunisia, literacy in the region of Tunis evolved rapidly during the second half of the 20th century and has reached a level slightly higher than the national average. The education level is only exceeded by the neighboring governorate of Ariana which has many institutions of education.


title: Tunis

text: Products include textiles, carpets, and olive oil. Tourism also provides a significant portion of the city's income.


title: Tunis

text: Because of the concentration of political authority (headquarters of the central government, presidency, parliament, ministries, and central government) and culture (festivals and mainstream media), Tunis is the only nationally ranking metropolis. Tunis is the heartland of the Tunisian economy and is the industrial and economic hub of the country, home to a third of Tunisian companies—including almost all the head offices of companies with more than fifty employees, with the exception of the Compagnie des Phosphates de Gafsa, headquartered in Gafsa—and produces a third of the national gross domestic product. Tunis attracts foreign investors (33% of companies, 26% of investments and 27% of employment), excluding several areas due to economic imbalances. According to the Mercer 2017 Cost of Living Rankings, Tunis has the lowest cost of living for expatriates in the world. The urban unemployment rate of university graduates is increasing and the illiteracy rate remains high among the elderly (27% of women and 12% of men). The number of people living below the poverty line, falling at the national level, remains higher in urban areas. In addition, unemployment is high in young people aged 18 to 24, with one in three unemployed as compared to one in six at the national level. In Greater Tunis, the proportion of young unemployed is at 35%.


title: Tunis

text: Gulf finance house or GFH has invested $10 billion in order for the construction of Tunis financial harbor, which will transform Tunisia as the gateway to Africa from Europe. The project hopes to boost the economy of Tunisia as well as increase the number of tourists visiting Tunisia annually. The project is going through planning.


title: Tunis

text: The economic structure of Tunis, as well as that of the country, is overwhelmingly tertiary industry. The city is the largest financial center in the country hosting the headquarters of 65% of financial companies – while the industrial sectors are gradually declining in importance. However the secondary industry is still very represented and Tunis hosts 85% of industrial establishments in the four governorates, with a trend towards the spread of specialized industrial zones in the suburbs.


title: Tunis

text: Primary industry such as agriculture, however, is active in specialized agricultural areas in the suburbs, particularly in the wine and olive oil industries. The generally flat terrain and the two main rivers in Tunisia, the Medjerda to the north and the Milian to the south, the soils are fertile. Tunis has several large plains, the most productive are in Ariana and La Soukra (north), the plain of Manouba (west) and the plain of Mornag (south). In addition, groundwater is easily accessible through the drilling of deep wells, providing water for the different agriculture crops. The soils are heavy and contain limestone in the north but are lighter and sandy containing clay in the south. There is much diversification in the municipality of Tunis, with Durum grown in Manouba, Olives and olive oil in Ariana and Mornag, wine (Mornag), and fruit, vegetable and legumes are grown in all regions.


title: Tunis

text: The Medina, built on a gentle hill slope on the way down to the Lake of Tunis, is the historical heart of the city and home to many monuments, including palaces, such as the Dar Ben Abdallah and Dar Hussein, the mausoleum of Tourbet el Bey and many mosques such as the Al-Zaytuna Mosque. Some of the fortifications around it have now largely disappeared, and it is flanked by the two suburbs of Bab Souika to the north and Bab El Jazira to the south. Located near the Bab Souika, the neighborhood of Halfaouine gained international attention through the film 'Halfaouine Child of the Terraces'.


title: Tunis

text: But east of the original nucleus, first with the construction of the French Consulate, the modern city was built gradually with the introduction of the French protectorate at the end of the 19th century, on open land between the city and the lake. The axis to the structure of this part of the city is the Avenue Habib Bourguiba, designed by the French to be a Tunisian form of Champs-Élysées in Paris with its cafes, major hotels, shops, and cultural venues. On both sides of the tree lined avenue, north and south, the city was extended in various districts, with the northern end welcoming residential and business districts while the south receives industrial districts and poorer peoples.


title: Tunis

text: South-east of the Avenue Bourguiba the district of La Petite Sicile (Little Sicily) is adjacent to the old port area and takes its name from its original population of workers from Italy. It is now the subject of a redevelopment project including the construction of twin towers. North of the Avenue Bourguiba is the district of La Fayette, which is still home to the Great Synagogue of Tunis and the Habib Thameur Gardens, built on the site of an ancient Jewish cemetery that lay outside the walls. Also to the north is the long Avenue Mohamed V, which leads to the Boulevard of 7 November through the neighborhood of the big banks where there are hotels and Abu Nawas Lake and finally to the Belvedere area around the place Pasteur. This is where the Belvedere Park lies, the largest in the city, and home to a zoo and the Pasteur Institute founded by Adrien Loir in 1893. Continuing to the north are the most exclusive neighborhoods of Mutuelleville which house the French Lycée Pierre-Mendès-France, the Sheraton Hotel, and some embassies.


title: Tunis

text: Still further north of the Belvedere Park, behind the Boulevard of 7 November are the neighborhoods of El Menzah and El Manar now reaching the peaks of the hills overlooking the north of the town. They support a range of residential and commercial buildings. To the west of the park lies the district of El Omrane which holds the main Muslim cemetery in the capital and the warehouses of public transport. Heading east is the Tunis-Carthage International Airport and the neighborhoods of Borgel, giving his name to the existing Jewish and Christian cemeteries in the capital, and the neighborhood of Montplaisir. Beyond that, several kilometers north-east, on the road to La Marsa, the Berges du Lac was built on land reclaimed from the north shore of the lake near the airport, which has held offices of Tunisian and foreign companies, many embassies as well as shops.


title: Tunis

text: Southwest of the Medina, on the crest of the hills across the Isthmus of Tunis, is the Montfleury district then on down to the foothills of Séjoumi, the poor neighborhood of Mellassine. Northwest of the latter, north of the National Route 3 leading to the west, is the city of Ezzouhour (formerly El Kharrouba), which spans more than and is divided into five sections. It is still surrounded by farmland and vegetables are grown which supply many of the souks in the region.


title: Tunis

text: The south of Tunis is made up of disadvantaged neighborhoods, especially due to the strong industry in this part of the metropolis. These include Jebel Jelloud, located in the southeast of Tunis, which concentrates on the heavy industry of cement production, the treatment plant of phosphate s, etc. The main cemetery in Tunis, the Djellaz Cemetery, dominates this part of town, perched on the slopes of a rocky outcrop.


title: Tunis

text: The medina of Tunis has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. The Medina contains some 700 monuments, including palaces, mosques, mausoleums, madrasas, and fountains dating from the Almohad and the Hafsid periods. These ancient buildings include:


title: Tunis

text: With an area of 270 hectares (over 29 hectares for the Kasbah) and more than 100,000 people, the Medina comprises one-tenth of the population of Tunis. The planning of the Medina of Tunis has the distinction of not grid lines or formal geometric compositions. However, studies were undertaken in the 1930s with the arrival of the first anthropologists who found that the space of the Medina is not random: the houses are based on a socio-cultural code according to the types of complex human relations.


title: Tunis

text: Domestic architecture (palaces and townhouses), official and civilian (libraries and administrations), religious (mosques and zaouïas), and services (commercial and fondouks) are located in the Medina. The notion of public space is ambiguous in the case of Medina where the streets are seen as an extension of the houses and subject to social tags. The concept of ownership is low however and souks often spill out onto public roads. Today, each district has its culture, and rivalries can be strong.


title: Tunis

text: The northern end supports the football club of Esperance Sportive de Tunis while at the other end is the rival Club Africain. The Medina also has a social sectorization: with the neighborhood of Tourbet el Bey and the Kasbah district being aristocratic, with a population of judges and politicians, while the streets of Pacha often being military and bourgeois.


title: Tunis

text: Founded in 698 is the Al-Zaytuna Mosque and the surrounding area which developed throughout the Middle Ages, dividing Tunis into a main town in two suburbs, in the north (Bab Souika) and the south (Bab El Jazira). The area became the capital of a powerful kingdom during the Hafsid era and was considered a religious and intellectual home and economic center for the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. A great fusion of influences can be seen blending Andalusian styles with eastern influences, and Roman or Byzantine columns, and typical Arab architecture, characterized by the archways.


title: Tunis

text: The architectural heritage is also omnipresent in the homes of individuals and small palace officials as well as in the palace of the sovereign of Kasbah. Although some palaces and houses date back to the Middle Ages, a greater number of prestigious houses were built in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries such as Dar Othman (early 17th century), Dar Ben Abdallah (18th century), Dar Hussein, Dar Cherif and other houses. The main palace beys are those of La Marsa, Bardo, and Ksar Said. If we add the mosques and oratories (about 200), the madrasahs (El Bachia, Slimania, El Achouria, Bir El Ahjar, Ennakhla, etc..), The zaouias (Mahrez Sidi Sidi Ali Azouz, Sidi Abdel Kader, etc.) and Tourbet El Fellari, Tourbet Aziza Othman and Tourbet El Bey the number of monuments in Tunis approaches 600. Unlike Algiers, Palermo and Naples, its historical heart has never suffered from major natural disasters or urban radical interventions. The main conflicts and potentially destructive human behavior has been experienced in the city occurred relatively recently following the country's independence which is why it made into a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. At the beginning of the 21st century, the Medina is one of the best-preserved urban locations in the Arab world.


title: Tunis

text: Furthermore, along the boulevards, the contribution of the architectural period 1850–1950 can be felt in the buildings, such as the government buildings of the nine ministries and the headquarters of the municipality of Tunis.


title: Tunis

text: The souks are a network of covered streets lined with shops and traders and artisans ordered by specialty. Clothing merchants, perfumers, fruit sellers, booksellers, and wool merchants have goods at the souks, while fishmongers, blacksmiths, and potters tend to be relegated to the periphery of the markets.


title: Tunis

text: North of the Al-Zaytuna Mosque is the Souk El Attarine, built in the early 18th century. It is known for its essences and perfumes. From this souk, there is a street leading to the Souk Ech-Chaouachine (chachia). The main company that operates it is one of the oldest in the country and they are generally descendants of Andalusian immigrants expelled from Spain. Attached to El Attarine are two other souks: the first, which runs along the western coast of the Al-Zaytuna Mosque, is the Souk El Kmach which is noted for its fabrics, and the second, the Souk El Berka, which was built in the 17th century and houses embroiderers and jewelers. Given the valuable items it sells, it is the only souk whose doors are closed and guarded during the night. In the middle, there is a square where the former slave market stood until the middle of the 19th century.


title: Tunis

text: Souk El Berka leads to Souk El Leffa, a souk that sells many carpets, blankets, and other weavings, and extends with the Souk Es Sarragine, built in the early 18th century and specializing in leather. At the periphery are the souks Et Trouk, El Blat, El Blaghgia, El Kébabgia, En Nhas (copper), Es Sabbaghine (dyeing) and El Grana that sell clothing and blankets and was occupied by Jewish merchants.


title: Tunis

text: From the early days of its founding, Tunis has been considered an important military base. The Arab geographer El Yacoubi has written that in the 9th century Tunis was surrounded by a wall of brick and clay except for the side of the sea where it was stone. Bab El-Jazeera, perhaps the oldest gate of the south wall, opened onto the southern road. Bab Cartagena gave access to Carthage, important for bringing in construction materials needed for the city. Bab Souika (initially known as Bab El Saqqayin) had a strategic role to keep the roads to Bizerte, Béja and Le Kef. Bab Menara (initially known as Bab El Artha) opened onto the medina and onto the suburb of El Haoua. As for El Bab Bhar, it allowed access to some funduqs where Christian merchants lived in Tunis.


title: Tunis

text: With the development of the capital under the reign of the Hafsids, two emerging suburbs grew outside the walls; Bab El Jazira in the south and Bab Souika to the north. In the early 14th century, Hafsid Darba Abû al-Muhammad al-Mustansir Lihyânî ordered the construction of a second chamber including the Medina and two suburbs outside. Six new gates were built including Bab El Khadra, Bab Saadoun, Bab El Allouj (initially called Bab Er-Rehiba), Khalid or Bab Bab Sidi Abdallah Cherif, Bab El Fellah and Bab Alioua. In the Ottoman period, four new gates were established: Bab Laassal, Bab Sidi Abdesselam, Bab El Bab Gorjani, and Sidi Kacem. The city retains some of these gates including Bab El Khadra, Bab El Bhar, and Bab Jedid but some of the earlier ones have long disappeared.


title: Tunis

text: Among the places of worship, they are predominantly Muslim mosques. There are also Christian churches and temples : Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tunis (Catholic Church), Protestant churches, Evangelical Churches.


title: Tunis

text: As in the rest of Tunisia, a very large majority of the population of Tunis (around 99%) is Sunni Muslim. The capital is home to a large number of mosques in various architectural styles, signs of construction of their respective eras. The main and oldest of them is the Al-Zaytuna Mosque, founded in 689 and built in 732 and is in the heart of the Medina. Practicing the Maliki rite as the vast majority of Tunisia's Mosques. It was completely rebuilt in 864 and is a prestigious place of worship, and was long an important place of culture and knowledge with the University of Ez-Zitouna on the premises until the independence of Tunisia. It still hosts the main ceremonies marking the dates on the Muslim calendar and is regularly attended by the president.


title: Tunis

text: The medina contains most of the major mosques in the capital which were built before the advent of the French protectorate. The mosque in the Kasbah, was founded in 1230. Practicing the Hanafi rite since 1584, it is recognisable mainly by the dome as well as its minaret, similar to the Koutoubia in Marrakesh and is the highest in the city. Ksar Mosque, also of the Hanafi rite, is located in front of Dar Hussein (Bab Menara) and was built in the 12th century. The Hammouda Pasha Mosque, built in 1655, is the second mosque built by the Hanafi rite in Tunis. Youssef Dey Mosque operated primarily as a public speaking venue before becoming a real mosque in 1631. The Sidi Mahrez Mosque is the largest mosque Hanafi mosque in terms of area but not the tallest. Built in 1692, it resembles the Ottoman Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul. The Saheb Ettabaâ Mosque, built between 1808 and 1814 was the last mosque built by the Tunis Husseinites before the French occupation.


title: Tunis

text: The presence of modern churches in Tunis is also testimony to the French presence for half a century. Tunis is the seat of the Diocese of Tunis, with the seat located at the Cathedral of St Vincent de Paul, The church was built in 1897 on the site of the old Christian cemetery of Saint-Antoine. This includes a network of Catholic buildings, including the Church of St. Joan of Arc, but also with the Protestant Reformed Church and the Anglican church Saint-Georges.


title: Tunis

text: Greeks used to enjoy an important presence in the city since ancient times. Tunis is the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Holy Archdiocese of Carthage with jurisdiction over Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. It belongs to the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa, and its cathedral, small school, and other buildings are in Central Tunis.


title: Tunis

text: In total, there are three Greek Orthodox and two Russian Orthodox parishes in Tunisia. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria also maintains jurisdiction in Tunisia.


title: Tunis

text: The small Orthodox community is centred around the Greek Orthodox Church (1862), managed by the Greek Embassy and the Russian Orthodox Church (1957), reflecting the presence in Tunisia of a small colony of Russian immigrants.


title: Tunis

text: Judaism, meanwhile, enjoys a long tradition of presence in the city despite the emigration of a large part of the community after independence. Among the places of worship are Beit Yaacouv Synagogue and especially the Great Synagogue of Tunis, built at the end of the 1940s to replace the former Great Synagogue which was demolished as part of the Jewish redevelopment area, the Hara.


title: Tunis

text: Tunis has some large parks, many of which were installed at the end of the 19th century by the authorities of the French protectorate. The largest Park, Belvédère Park, which was founded in 1892, overlooks Lake Tunis. It is the oldest public park in the country and is built in the landscape style common to France. The park covers an area of more than one hundred hectares across roads that can be explored on foot or by car. It is also home to Tunis Zoo, which houses African fauna, and the Museum of Modern Art.


title: Tunis

text: Habib Thameur garden in Tunis has a central pond and flower beds. The Gorjani garden is an English garden located southwest of the city, which notably takes an irregular form, partly due to the steep topography of the land.


title: Tunis

text: Located in an old beylical palace (the palace of the Bey of Tunis since the end of the 18th century), the Bardo National Museum is the most important archaeological museum in the Maghreb, and has one of the richest Roman mosaic collections in the world. Its collections developed rapidly because of numerous archaeological discoveries in the surrounding territory.


title: Tunis

text: In 1964, the Dar Ben Abdallah, a palace probably dating back to the 18th century, became the seat of the capital's Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions. In its exposition halls, it holds numerous traditional items, witnesses of the everyday lives of families of the Medina quarter.


title: Tunis

text: The Museum of the National Movement is situated in Dar Maâkal Az-Zaïm, which was the residence of nationalist Habib Bourguiba for the entirety of the fight for independence. After the advent of independence, a museum was built there to relate the details of the national struggle between 1938 and 1952.


title: Tunis

text: The National Military Museum, opened in 1989 in the suburbs west of the city, holds a collection of 23,000 weapons, 13,000 of which date back to the 19th century, and some of which were used by the Tunisian troops during the Crimean War.


title: Tunis

text: Tunis holds some of the most prestigious musical institutions in the country. The Rachidia was founded in 1934 to safeguard Arab music, and in particular to promote Tunisian and malouf music. The group is made up of 22 members, both instrumental players and choral musicians.


title: Tunis

text: The Musical Troupe of the City of Tunis was created in 1954 by Salah El Mahdi. In 1955 he placed his student Mohamed Saâda in charge of the ensemble, which at that time included the best artists, and later merged with the ensemble of Radio Tunis. This group contributed to the rise to stardom of numerous Tunisian singers, including Oulaya.


title: Tunis

text: The Association of Arab Orchestra of the City of Tunis began its activities at the end of April 1982, as a workshop linked to the cultural center of the city. It worked on promoting Arab music, on music education and training, and on cooperation with various partners both in Tunisia and abroad. The Tunisian Symphony Orchestra, created in 1969 by the Minister of Culture, has also produced monthly concerts at the Municipal Theater and in various cultural spaces in the city.


title: Tunis

text: Tunis is a center of Tunisian culture. The Théâtre municipal de Tunis, opened on 20 November 1902, showcases opera, ballet, symphonic concerts, drama, etc. On the stage of this theater, many performances are regularly given by Tunisian, Arabic, and international actors. The National Theatre of Tunisia is an important public enterprise in Tunis, and since 1988 been located in the Khaznadar palace (dating from the middle of the 19th century and situated in the Halfaouine quarter), renamed "Theater Palace." In 1993, it also took possession of the former movie theater Le Paris, with a 350-person seating capacity. During each "cultural season" (from October 1 to 30 June) the theater holds over 80 events. The Al Hamra theater was the second theater to be opened in Tunis, situated on El Jazira Road. Al Hamra was one of the most famous theaters in the capital during the 1930s and 1940s. After being closed for fifteen years, it was turned into a small theater in 1986, and since 2001 has housed the first Arab-African center for theater training and research. One should also note the El Teatro and Étoile du Nord theater groups.


title: Tunis

text: Other arts are also represented in the capital. The National Center of the Arts established the puppet theatre in 1976. The National School of Circus Arts was founded following a meeting between the Director of the National Theater and the Director General of the National Center for Arts of Châlons-en-Champagne (France) in 1998. In addition, various small theatres and cultural centers are scattered throughout the city and display various artistic performances.


title: Tunis

text: Film producers and cinema have long been present in the city of Tunis. The first animated film was shown in Tunis by the Lumiere brothers as early as 1896. The first screenings were held the following year and the first cinema, the Omnia Pathé, opened in October 1908. The first film club opened in Tunis in 1946 and the Globe, in 1965. The Carthage Film Festival is the oldest established film festival in Africa, running biennially until 2014 and annually thereafter.


title: Tunis

text: In 1990, Ferid Boughedir shot the notable film "Halfaouine Child of the Terraces" in Halfaouine district. The films "The English Patient" (1996) and "The Last Days of Pompeii" (2003) were also shot in studios in Tunis.


title: Tunis

text: The city holds several festivals each year, of which the largest is the International Festival of Carthage which takes place in July and August. Founded in 1964, much of the festival is held in Carthage in an old amphitheater with a capacity of 7,500 seats. It hosts the performances of singers, musicians, actors, dancers, and films on display on outdoor screens.


title: Tunis

text: Tunis and its suburbs have many of the major Tunisian universities including the University of Tunis, Tunisia Private University, University of Ez-Zitouna, the University of Tunis – El Manar, the University of Carthage and the Manouba University. It therefore has the highest concentration of students in Tunisia, with a student population of 75,597 .


title: Tunis

text: There are also a number of other post-secondary institutions, such as the National School of Engineers of Tunis, the National School of Science, the Graduate School of Communications of Tunis, and the Higher Institute of Technological Studies in Communications of Tunis. In addition, private training institutes include the Open University of Tunis, the Central University Private Business Administration and Technology, the Graduate School of Private Engineering and Technology, and the North African Institute of Economics and Technology.


title: Tunis

text: Among the high schools in the capital, the best-known are the Lycée de la Rue du Pacha (founded 1900), Lycée Bab El Khadhra, Lycée de la Rue de Russie, Lycée Bourguiba (formerly Lycée Carnot de Tunis), and the Lycée Alaoui. Until independence, Sadiki College (founded 1875) and Khaldounia (founded 1896) were also among the most recognized. A legacy of the French presence in the country remains, and the city retains many French schools, the most important being the Lycée Pierre Mendes-France at Mutuelleville.


title: Tunis

text: Students can pursue language studies at small private schools such as Sidi Bou Said Centre for Languages (Centre Sidi Bou Said de Langues et d'Informatique) in the picturesque Tunis suburb of Sidi Bou Said, next to the Sidi Bou Said TGM station that specializes in Arabic, offering classes in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), classical Arabic, Tunisian Arabic and the various dialects of North Africa, the Gulf and the Levant.


title: Tunis

text: Tunis has some of the most important libraries in Tunisia including the National Library of Tunisia which was first installed in 1924 in the Medina, in a building built in 1810 by Hammouda Bey to serve as barracks for troops and then a jail. The library moved to its current location on Boulevard 9 April in 1938. The new building contains a reading room, conference room, laboratories, an exhibition gallery, a block of technical and administrative services, a restaurant, parking, and green space areas.


title: Tunis

text: Housed in a former home of a Hafsid scholar, the library of the Khaldounia was founded in 1896 along with the creation of the educational institution. After independence and following the consolidation of programs of education, the association ceased operations but the library is now linked to the National Library, which provides for its management.


title: Tunis

text: Built in the 17th century, the Dar Ben Achour also contains a library. Acquired in the late 1970s by the municipality of Tunis, the house was restored in 1983 into a library.


title: Tunis

text: An engraving of a painting by Charles Bentley entitled was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1838 with a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon that comments on the potential the city has for development.


title: Tunis

text: The growing metropolitan area is served by an extensive network of public transportation including buses, an above-ground light rail system (le Metro), as well a regional train line (the TGM) that links the city center to its closest northern suburbs. Multi-lane autoroutes surround the city and serve the increasing number of privately owned cars one encounters in Tunisia.


title: Tunis

text: The Tunis area is served by the métro léger (Ar.: المترو الخفيف لمدينة تونس) and TGM (Tunis-Goulette-Marsa), as well as bus services, and is linked to other places in Tunisia by SNCFT, the national railways. The important transport authorities are the Société des Transports de Tunis (STT) and the Ministry of Transport (Airports)


title: Tunis

text: The city has, as of the beginning of the 21st century, a public transportation system developed under the management of the Société des transports de Tunis (STT). In addition to some 200 bus routes, the first light rail line opened in 1985. The Métro léger de Tunis network has extended gradually since then to reach the suburbs. The capital is also linked to its northern suburbs by the railway line that crosses the lake, dividing the lake into two.


title: Tunis

text: New mass transit was planned for Greater Tunis in 2009. This was the RTS (rapid rail network), the local equivalent of the Paris RER, which was to carry tens of thousands of travellers from the distant suburbs of Tunis to the centre by using either existing tracks or new tracks yet to be built. The plan was for lines based on certain criteria such as population density and the lack of coverage for a given area. Among the priority lines were: Tunis-Borj Cédria (23 km) where modernization and electrification are already planned; Tunis-Mohamedia-Fouchana (19.4 km); Tunis-Manouba-Mnihla (19.2 km); Tunis-Ezzouhour-Sidi Hassine Séjoumi (13.9 km). In addition, the TGM will be integrated into the light-rail network and a new line built around Ayn Zaghouan and Bhar Lazrag (8.4 km). Such an operation would require the upgrading of the docks' TGM stations so that they become suitable for light rail trains. Among other projects are a line to the city of Ennasr (8.4 km) and the extension of the Tunis-Ettadhamen to Mnihla (1.7 km). For its part, the south light-rail line was extended in November 2008 to El Mourouj with a length of . The total length of the network will eventually be in the range of .


title: Tunis

text: Tunis is served by Tunis-Carthage International Airport, located northeast of downtown, which began operating in 1940 under the name of Tunis El Aouina. The terminal had 4.4 million passengers (35.98% of total airport traffic in the country) in 2006. In 2007 that increased to 6 million passengers with a rise in tourism to the city.


title: Tunis

text: After independence, in the 1960s, the National Board of Seaports, which supports all ports in the country, modernized the infrastructure of the port of Tunis. In the 21st Century, the port of Tunis underwent further transformation with a marina as part of the redevelopment district of La Petite Sicile.


title: Tunis

text: Tunis is the starting point from which the main roads and all highways that serve different parts of the country of Tunis originate. This city has a high density of traffic because vehicle ownership is rising at 7.5% per year. The capital is home to approximately 40% of the cars in Tunisia, with 700,000 cars on average used in the city per day. In this context, major road infrastructure (bridges, interchanges, roads, etc..) was initiated in the late 1990s to decongest the main areas of the capital. The main roads to other Tunisian cities include: Autoroute A1, Tunis-Sfax; Autoroute A3, Tunis-Oued Zarga; and Autoroute A4, Tunis-Bizerte. Also, as part of the major infrastructure project, the city's traffic lights were increased from 5,000 to 7,500.


title: Tunis

text: At the beginning of the 20th century, a number of sports institutions were established in Tunis, particularly in school and college settings. In 1905 the Muslim Association of Tunisia brought together students from Lycée Alaoui and Sadiki College to organize gymnastics. A regional gymnastics competition was held in Tunis in 1912 with the participation of thousands of French gymnasts.


title: Tunis

text: Football made its appearance in the capital on 15 September 1904, followed by the formal creation of the country's first league, the Racing Club Tunis, on 11 May 1905. It took some time to run properly, but it soon organized meetings between the teams in schools. The first took place on 9 June 1907, between teams from Lycée Alaoui and Lycée Carnot (1–1).


title: Tunis

text: Football is not the only discipline to emerge. Between 1928 and 1955 the city hosted nine rounds of the Grand Prix of Tunis, where notable drivers such as Marcel Lehoux, Achille Varzi, Tazio Nuvolari and Rudolf Caracciola took part. The Grand Prix of Tunis has re-emerged since 2000. The city has also held the Mediterranean Games twice, in 1967 and 2001, and the international tennis tournament, the Tunis Open, which is included in the ATP Challenger Series. The 2005 World Championship final for men in team handball was played in Tunis.


title: Tunis

text: In total, the governorate of Tunis registered 24,095 licenses for various clubs in the municipal area in 2007. Regarding international basketball, the city hosted the FIBA Africa Championship 1965 and the FIBA Africa Championship 1987.


title: Tunis

text: The Esperance Sportive de Tunis (EST), Club Africain (CA), and Stade Tunisien are the major sports clubs in the city. A symbolic class difference is present between the EST's and the CA's supporters, despite their playing at the same stadium. The EST is supported by the majority of the masses, while the CA, a poorer club, is supported by the others.


title: Tunis

text: The first true sports facilities were managed under the French protectorate, as illustrated by the development of the Ksar Said racecourse and construction of the Stade Chedli Zouiten in the neighborhood of Belvedere, which had long been the main stadium in the capital before being supplanted by the Olympic stadium, Stade El Menzah, where EST and CA play their football today. The Olympic stadium and village area were built to accommodate the Mediterranean Games in 1967. A 60,000-seat stadium was also built in Radès for the Mediterranean Games in 2001 at an estimated cost of 170 million dinars, with nearly half of the loans financed by South Korean businessmen. The Olympic Village was financed by an investment estimated at 50 million dinars. In 2008, the government announced the start of construction of a large sports complex that will include several sports academies, a 20,000-seat stadium, and a swimming centre. Known as Tunis Sports City, it will expand around the lake of Tunis, on the road to La Marsa.


title: Gary Oldman filmography

text: English actor and filmmaker Gary Oldman made his film debut in the 1982 British ensemble drama "Remembrance". He rose to prominence in British film with his portrayals of Sid Vicious in "Sid and Nancy" (1986), Joe Orton in "Prick Up Your Ears" (1987) and Rosencrantz in "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead" (1990), while also gaining attention as the leader of a gang of football hooligans in the made-for-television drama film "The Firm" (1989). Regarded as a member of the "Brit Pack", he is also known for portraying a New York gangster in the American neo-noir crime film "State of Grace" (1990), Lee Harvey Oswald in "JFK" (1991) and Count Dracula in "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (1992).


title: Gary Oldman filmography

text: Oldman is known for his portrayal of villains, like in the films "True Romance" with Christian Slater (1993), as Norman Stansfield in "" with Jean Reno (1994), "The Fifth Element" with Bruce Willis (1997), "Air Force One" with Harrison Ford (1997) and "The Contender" again with Christian Slater (2000). In 2004, he was cast as Sirius Black in "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", the third film in the "Harry Potter" film series. He went on to reprise the role in "Goblet of Fire", "Order of the Phoenix" and a cameo in "The Deathly Hallows – Part 2". He also played James Gordon in "The Dark Knight Trilogy" (2005–2012), George Smiley in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" (2011) and Dreyfus in "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" (2014).


title: Gary Oldman filmography

text: Oldman's portrayal of Winston Churchill in the 2017 war drama film "Darkest Hour" earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor, a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role.


title: Gary Oldman filmography

text: Oldman has executive produced films like "The Contender", "Plunkett & Macleane" (1999) and "Nil by Mouth" (1997), the latter of which he also wrote and directed. He's been featured in television shows such as "Fallen Angels" (1993), "Tracey Takes On..." (1999) and "Friends" (2001). He has voiced the characters Ignitius and Viktor Reznov in the video games "The Legend of Spyro" and "Call of Duty", respectively.


title: Desi

text: Desi (also Deshi ; , ) is a word used to describe the people, cultures, and products of the Indian subcontinent and their diaspora, derived from Sanskrit देश ("deśá"), meaning "land, country". Deshi traces its origin specifically to the people of the countries India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.


title: Desi

text: The ethnonym belongs in the endonymic category (i.e., it is a self-appellation). "Deshi" is borrowed from the Hindustani "desī" (/), 'national', ultimately from Sanskrit ', derived from ' () 'region, province, country'. The first known usage of the Sanskrit word is found in the "Natya Shastra" (~200 BCE), where it defines the regional varieties of folk performing arts, as opposed to the classical, pan-Indian "margi". Thus, ' () refers to one's own country or homeland, while ' () refers to another's country or a foreign land.


title: Desi

text: The word "Desi" comes from the Sanskrit word "Desh" meaning "country". The word "Desi" is used to refer to something "from the country" and with time its usage shifted more towards referring to people, cultures, and products of a specific region; for example, desi food, desi calendars, and desi dress.


title: Desi

text: Desi contrasts with the Hindustani language word "vilāyati" (Anglicised as "Blighty"), which originally referred to Afghanistan and Central Asia, over time it came to refer to Britain (during the British rule "vilāyat", an Arabic-origin word meaning 'state', signified Britain) but may also refer more generally to anything that is European or Western. People from the subcontinent living in "vilāyat" (Britain) or in other Western countries refer to themselves and their ethnic culture as "desi". The "desi/vilāyati" pair of antonyms is widely used in subcontinent languages (Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, etc.).


title: Desi

text: After the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the United States dramatically increased immigration from the subcontinent. As increasing numbers of students from the subcontinent arrived in the U.S. and UK, their countries of origin were colloquially referred to as "". For example, all things Indian including Indian expatriates were referred to as "desi".


title: Desi

text: In the U.S., as in other countries, some diaspora desis are creating a "fusion" culture, in which foods, fashions, music, and the like from many areas of South Asia are "fused" both with each other and with elements from Western culture. For example, urban desi is a genre of music formed by the fusion of traditional Indian and Western urban music. The growing demand of popular programming for South Asians caused MTV to launch the desi-targeted television channel MTV Desi.


title: Desi

text: In the UK, desi communities have continued the fusion culture which first emerged during the rule of the British Raj, influencing music, art, fashion and food. There are now dedicated radio stations catering to British-South Asians such as the BBC Asian Network.


title: Desi

text: In Canada, desis have established sizable ethnic enclaves in areas such as Brampton, Ontario (suburban Toronto) and Surrey, British Columbia (suburban Vancouver).


title: Desi

text: The Natya Shastra refers to the regional varieties of folk dance and music elements as "desi", and states that these are meant as pure entertainment for common people, while the pan-Indian "margi" elements are to spiritually enlighten the audience. The medieval developments of the classical Indian dance and music led to the introduction of desi gharanas, in addition to the classical gharanas codified in Natya Shastra. The "desi" gharanas further developed into the present-day adavus. There is raga in Indian classical music known as "Desi".


title: Desi

text: In regions of South Asia, "desi" in the context of food, implies "native" or "traditional". Common examples are "desi ghee", which is the traditional clarified butter used in South Asia as opposed to more processed fats such as vegetable oils. "Desi chicken" may mean a native breed of chicken. This word is also usually restricted to Sanskrit-derived (Indo-Aryan) languages.


title: Desi

text: Heritage varieties of vegetables and other produce can also be qualified as "desi". "Desi diet" refers to a diet and food choices followed by Indians around the world. "Desi daru" refers to "country liquor", such as fenny, toddy and arrack. It is differentiated from Indian-made foreign liquor such as Indian-made whisky, rum, or vodka.


title: Desi

text: In the United Kingdom, the term Desi pub is used to describe a pub which is owned or managed by an Indian landlord, or which serves Punjabi food. They developed during the 1960s and 1970s at a time when some British pubs enforced color bars to prevent Indians and other immigrants from drinking there. Desi pubs are especially common in the Black Country and surrounding areas of the West Midlands. As well as drinking places, they also act as community hubs and meeting places for people from different backgrounds and are considered to be an example of successful integration of Indian immigrants into British culture.


title: Block, Inc.

text: Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.) is an American multinational technology conglomerate founded in 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey and launched its first platform in 2010. It has been traded as a public company on the New York Stock Exchange since November 2015 with the ticker symbol SQ.


title: Block, Inc.

text: From its founding to December 10, 2021, the company was named Square, Inc. The company's namesake product for small businesses is still titled "Square". Square is a payments platform aimed at small and medium businesses that allows them to accept credit card payments and use smartphone or tablet computers as payment registers for a point-of-sale system. Block has a number of other businesses. Cash App is a mobile app that allows monetary transfers both among users and between users and businesses. Afterpay is a buy-now-pay-later service. Weebly is a web hosting service. Tidal is a subscription-based music, podcast and video streaming service that offers audio and music videos.


title: Block, Inc.

text: The original inspiration for Square occurred to Jack Dorsey in 2009 when Jim McKelvey (a friend of Dorsey) was unable to complete a $2,000 sale of his glass faucets and fittings because he could not accept credit cards. Co-founders Dorsey—who also co-founded Twitter—and McKelvey began developing the company out of a small office in St. Louis. The name "Square" derives from the company's square-shaped card readers.


title: Block, Inc.

text: In October 2020, Square put approximately 1% of their total assets ($50 million) in Bitcoin (4,709 bitcoins), citing Bitcoin's "potential to be a more ubiquitous currency in the future" as their main reasoning. The company purchased an additional $170 million worth of Bitcoin (approximately 3,318 bitcoins) in February 2021, bringing Square's total holdings to almost $500 million in Bitcoin (total approximately 8,027 bitcoins).


title: Block, Inc.

text: On March 2, 2021, Square reached an agreement to acquire majority ownership in Tidal. Square will pay $297 million in cash and stock for Tidal, with Jay-Z joining the company's board of directors. Jay-Z, as well as other artists who currently own stock in Tidal, will remain stakeholders.


title: Block, Inc.

text: On December 1, 2021, Square announced that it would change its company name to Block, Inc. on December 10. The change was announced shortly after Dorsey resigned as CEO of Twitter. On December 10, 2021, the name change took effect, and Square, Inc. became Block. However, on December 16, less than a week into the rebrand, H&R Block, sued the company for trademark infringement, claiming that the name seeks to confuse customers by misappropriating the Block brand name, which H&R owns.


title: Block, Inc.

text: Square is a payments platform aimed at small and medium businesses that allows them to accept credit card payments and use tablet computers as payment registers for a point-of-sale system. The platform was founded in 2009 by Twitter Co-Founder Jack Dorsey and fellow entrepreneur Jim McKelvey. Their goal was to create a POS technology that would group together merchant services and mobile payments into one, simple, smooth, and modern service. Currently, businesses in 8 countries can use Square’s Technology, and their POS systems can accept 130 internationally accepted currencies.


title: Block, Inc.

text: Launched in October 2013, Cash App (formerly Square Cash) allows person-to-person money transfer via the app or website. Cash App reported 36 million monthly active Cash App customers as of December 2020.


title: Block, Inc.

text: In March 2015, the firm introduced Square Cash for businesses, which includes the ability for individuals, organizations, and business owners to use a unique username, known as a $cashtag, to send and receive money. In January 2018, the app expanded to allow users to buy and sell bitcoin. Additionally they began offering stock trading. The company issues a debit card to be used with the account. Cash App is currently testing new features to allow users to borrow up to $200.


title: Block, Inc.

text: Afterpay is an Australian digital payment platform in which a bought product can be paid off in four installments. This idea made in 2008 by a then eighteen-year-old Nick Molnar was geared towards millennials and inspired by the aftermath of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. Molnar and Partner/ Co-founder Anthony Eisen launched their platform in 2014 and in four years their product reached a market capitalization of around $3.3 billion dollars. In February 2020, Afterpay was reported to have 3.6 million active customers in the US, 3.1 million in Australia and New Zealand, and 600,000 in the UK. In August 2021, Afterpay and Square announced that Afterpay would be acquired by Square. Block paid US$29 billion in stock for the acquisition and the process was finalized in January 2022. Although Afterpay is now owned by Block inc., Molnar and Eisen still spearhead Afterpay’s merchant and consumer businesses.


title: Block, Inc.

text: Weebly is a web hosting service. Weebly was founded in 2006 by David Rusenko, Dan Veltri, and Chris Fanini after they all met as students at Pennsylvania State University. In 2007, Weebly raised $650,000 in initial capital from a group of angel investors. In 2018, Square Inc. (Now Block Inc.) bought Weebly in exchange for $365 million in cash and stock. The company slowly grew and updated its capabilities over the course of a decade and now Weebly is a free online website creator that operates out of the web browser. The site offers users access to drag and drop features to build their websites, with unlimited storage options and custom URLs.


title: Block, Inc.

text: Tidal is a digital music streaming service that gives users access to over 80 million songs from genres and artists across the world. Tidal was founded on the basis of artists getting paid rightfully for their work, meaning fully and directly instead of through traditional means. Tidal was first launched in 2014 by a Norwegian company called Aspiro. Aspiro was purchased by Jay-Z in 2015 for $56 million. In early 2017, the Sprint Corporation purchased 33% of the company for $200 million and then in 2021 Square Inc. paid $297 million for a majority ownership of the company. Tidal now operates in 61 countries worldwide. In June, 2022, through the disclosure of the Annual Stockholder Meeting 2022, Block reported that the stake acquired in the Tidal music service was 86.8%.


title: Block, Inc.

text: Square received angel investments from Marissa Mayer, Kevin Rose, Biz Stone, Dennis Crowley, Shawn Fanning, MC Hammer, and Esther Dyson. Since then, it has raised several additional rounds of funding:


title: Block, Inc.

text: The company's valuation in October 2014 was $6 billion. On November 19, 2015, Square had its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange with an initial valuation of $2.9 billion, down by more than half from its last valuation in October 2014 at $6 billion. The series E funding shares had different rights than the common shares sold at the IPO, therefore the $6 billion 'valuation' from October 2014 is wrong. Although the firm was yet to make a profit as of 2015 and had lost $420 million since 2012, it had decreased its losses from 44% of revenues to 16% in the six months leading up to its IPO. For the fiscal year 2018, Square reported losses of US$38 million, with an annual revenue of US$3.299 billion, an increase of 49.0% over the previous fiscal cycle.


title: Block, Inc.

text: Block was co-founded by Twitter creator Jack Dorsey under the name Square. Dorsey also serves as chief executive officer and Amrita Ahuja serves as chief financial officer. Block's office is in San Francisco. The firm has more than 5,000 employees.


title: Block, Inc.

text: Block's payment platform, Square, has been available in the United States since 2010 and the company launched in Canada at the end of 2012. In March 2020, Square implemented remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2020, Square announced that some of its workers would be allowed to be permanent remote workers. As of 2021, although Block's real estate footprint remains intact, they no longer have a designated headquarters location.


title: Block, Inc.

text: In August 2014, Victory Park Capital, an asset management firm, invested in Square Capital. In May 2015, Square Capital raised additional funding, with Victory Park Capital tripling its initial investment. As of 2016, Square had loaned $1 billion to companies through Square Capital since the program's inception. On November 19, 2015, Square Inc. became a public company via an initial public offering. On April 19, 2018, Square announced that it had acquired Zesty, a food delivery service that caters to corporate offices. On April 26, 2018, Square announced that it would acquire Weebly, a website-building service, for $365 million. In May 2019, Square announced that it had acquired Eloquent Labs, an artificial intelligence startup helping improve the customer service experience.


title: Block, Inc.

text: In February 2020, Square announced that it had acquired Dessa, a Toronto-based deep learning company. In November 2020, Square announced it was acquiring Credit Karma Tax, a free do-it-yourself tax-filing service, from Credit Karma for $50 million and would make it a part of its Cash App unit. In March 2021, Square announced it was acquiring a significant majority in music streaming platform Tidal for $293 million in a deal of stock and cash. In the same month, Square's Q1 sales surged 266% as transactions jumped amid economic recovery. In August 2021, Square announced its acquisition of Afterpay, a company offering a "buy now, pay later" service. Square finalized the $29 billion stock deal on January 31, 2022.


title: Nagoya

text: In 1610, the warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu, a retainer of Oda Nobunaga, moved the capital of Owari Province from Kiyosu to Nagoya. This period saw the renovation of Nagoya Castle. The arrival of the 20th century brought a convergence of economic factors that fueled rapid growth in Nagoya, during the Meiji Restoration, and became a major industrial hub for Japan. The traditional manufactures of timepieces, bicycles, and sewing machines were followed by the production of special steels, ceramic, chemicals, oil, and petrochemicals, as the area's automobile, aviation, and shipbuilding industries flourished. These factors made the city a target for US air raids during World War II.


title: Nagoya

text: Following the war, Nagoya's economy diversified, but the city remains a significant centre for industry and transport in Japan. It is linked with Tokyo, Kyōto, and Osaka by the Tokaido Shinkansen, and is home to the Nagoya Stock Exchange as well as the headquarters of Brother Industries, Ibanez, Lexus, and Toyota Tsusho, among others. Nagoya is home of educational institutes such as Nagoya University, the Nagoya Institute of Technology, and Nagoya City University. Famous landmarks in the city include Atsuta Shrine, Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens, Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium, Nagoya Castle, and Hisaya Ōdori Park, and Nagoya TV Tower, one of the oldest TV towers in Japan.


title: Nagoya

text: The city's name was historically written as or (both read as "Nagoya"). One possible origin is the adjective , meaning 'calm'


title: Nagoya

text: The name , consisting of "chū" (middle) + "kyō" (capital) is also used to refer to Nagoya. Notable examples of the use of the name Chūkyō include the Chūkyō Industrial Area, Chūkyō Metropolitan Area, Chūkyō Television Broadcasting, Chukyo University and the Chukyo Racecourse.