Historical place · Chebba

Borj Khadija Tower

AT A GLANCE

Why go?

On the windswept shore at Chebba, a few kilometres east of the town centre, stands the ruined Bordj (fortress-tower) of Khadija—the last substantial relic of the Byzantine occupation that followed the fall of the Vandals. Built on Byzantine foundations and later reinforced as part of a chain of Arab coastal forts, this square sea-tower at the headland of Ras Kaboudia (the ancient Caput Vada) watched over a harbor entrance for centuries and now gives the modern seaside town its most evocative historic landmark.↗↗

An open-air ruin you can view free at any hour, Borj Khadija is a stop for history lovers and photographers rather than a fully restored monument. Its weathered masonry, the tall circular bastion that crowns it, and the sea setting make it a memorable aside on a Sahel coast trip, with the beaches and fishing port of Chebba just around the corner.↗↗

A Sea-Tower on the Ancient Caput Vada

Chebba takes its name from the headland to its east, known in classical times as Caput Vada, the "headland above the shoals," and today called Ras Kaboudia. It was here, in 533 CE, that the Byzantine general Belisarius landed to inflict a crushing defeat on the Vandals, after which the emperor Justinian refounded the town as Justinianopolis. The Bordj Khadidja ruin sits on this very promontory, built upon those earlier Byzantine foundations.

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Historical place · Chebba

Borj Khadija Tower

Chebba, TN 4.7 (46 Google reviews)

Photo: Google Maps

AT A GLANCE

Why go?

On the windswept shore at Chebba, a few kilometres east of the town centre, stands the ruined Bordj (fortress-tower) of Khadija—the last substantial relic of the Byzantine occupation that followed the fall of the Vandals. Built on Byzantine foundations and later reinforced as part of a chain of Arab coastal forts, this square sea-tower at the headland of Ras Kaboudia (the ancient Caput Vada) watched over a harbor entrance for centuries and now gives the modern seaside town its most evocative historic landmark.↗↗

An open-air ruin you can view free at any hour, Borj Khadija is a stop for history lovers and photographers rather than a fully restored monument. Its weathered masonry, the tall circular bastion that crowns it, and the sea setting make it a memorable aside on a Sahel coast trip, with the beaches and fishing port of Chebba just around the corner.↗↗

A Sea-Tower on the Ancient Caput Vada

Chebba takes its name from the headland to its east, known in classical times as Caput Vada, the "headland above the shoals," and today called Ras Kaboudia. It was here, in 533 CE, that the Byzantine general Belisarius landed to inflict a crushing defeat on the Vandals, after which the emperor Justinian refounded the town as Justinianopolis. The Bordj Khadidja ruin sits on this very promontory, built upon those earlier Byzantine foundations.

↗↗

The fortress guarded the entrance to the sheltered harbor and formed one link in a chain of similar coastal forts raised along the North African shore. What survives at the water's edge is essentially a strongpoint rebuilt and reused over many centuries, its lower fabric echoing the Byzantine presence that first made Chebba a fortified landing place.↗↗

What You'll See

The tower reads as a near-square block of masonry some 9 by 9.5 metres at the base, rising to roughly 17.5 metres, set right on the shoreline of Chebba. It is buttressed by a projecting circular bastion—the sole surviving element of the watch-tower (manar) of the Aghlabid ribat of Ksar Kabboudia that once stood beside it.↗↗

Archaeologists describe the surviving square tower as part of a much larger fortified enclosure whose outer works had largely vanished by the early twentieth century, leaving this tall core and its round turret as the visible monument. Inside, the structure originally stacked three defensive chambers one above the other, joined by an internal staircase. As with most sea-ruins here, treat it as a building to admire from the outside, its broken walls silhouetted against the Mediterranean.↗↗

The Legend of Khadija

The fortress owes its name not to a sultan but to a woman of letters. It is called after Khadija bint Ahmed ben Kalthoum el-Maafiri er-Roussafiya—an 11th-century poetess of the Zirid era whose nickname means "native of Ruspea," the Roman name for Chebba. Trained at Kairouan, she is remembered for her love for the Andalusian-born poet Abou Marouane, a romance that ended tragically when her brothers had him killed after their liaison came to light.↗↗

Naming a battle-scarred sea-fort after a celebrated local poetess is a quietly fitting tribute, and it gives the ruin a human story to carry beyond its military stones.↗

A Hoard Hidden Beside the Walls

The tower's surroundings have yielded more than weathered masonry. In 1989 a hoard of Byzantine gold coins—solidi of the emperors Justinian and Maurice—was discovered by chance on the shore near Borj Khadija, the largest part of it now studied and preserved. Buried around the turn of the 6th to 7th centuries, amid the last of the local Maure revolts, the treasure is a vivid snapshot of the turbulent transition that this very stretch of coast once stood guard over. The coins are exhibited in the museum at Mahdia.↗↗

Visiting Tips

Borj Khadija is an open historical landmark rather than a ticketed site, and the public area around it is accessible at any time of day—good for a relaxed stop. The headland at Ras Kaboudia is the easternmost point of the Tunisian Sahel, where the town reaches out on a peninsula washed by the sea on three sides, so combine the tower with a look at Chebba's sandy beaches and its busy fishing port.↗↗

Plan for a short, weather-aware visit: there is no restored interior to tour, and the beauty lies in the ruin, the light and the sea view, making early morning or late afternoon the best times for photographs. If you want the full context, the region's archaeology—the Chebba treasure and Byzantine history—continues at the museum in Mahdia, a roughly 30-kilometre drive north along the coast.↗↗

About this guide

Compiled with AI assistance from the sources below; this is not a first-hand visit. Place details collected October 5, 2026. Hours, access and ratings can change; confirm with the venue before visiting.

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65M4+WH8, Chebba, Tunisia

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Friday: Open 24 hours
Monday: Open 24 hours
Sunday: Open 24 hours
Tuesday: Open 24 hours
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Wednesday: Open 24 hours

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