Battan National Stud Farm slated for restoration and inclusion in tourist and cultural circuit (Minister)

Tunis: El Battan National Stud Farm in Manouba governorate, known as El Kechla (former barracks), is slated for restoration and inclusion in a tourist and cultural circuit as part of the "Ciné Trip Tunisia" film route initiative, announced Minister of Tourism and Handicrafts Mohamed Moez Belhassine at the opening of El Battan Chechia festival on Saturday. Launched by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), this initiative aims to promote the filming locations of famous international movies and thereby promote cinema tourism. Managed by the National Foundation for the Improvement of the Horses Breed (FNARC), the Stud Farm was established in a 17th-century Beylik palace, originally built by Uthman Dey, a military commander of Tunis during the Ottoman era. It was subsequently converted into a military barracks under the French protectorate rule. In 1885, it came under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture and was converted into a horse br eeding centre in 1949. In 1982, the stud farm came under the management of FNARC. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse