Kairouan

Kairouan is an ex-nihil Arab settlement in African land. In 670 A.D. Oqba, rightly, saw it as an ideal strategic place. Situated half-way between the coastline dominated by the Byzantines, and the mountains, a refuge for the Berbers, Kairouan became the starting point of Arab military campaigns in the Maghrib. After the conquest, the settlement evolved into a city; Kairouan became the capital of Maghribi Islam. It reached an apex, however, during the local princedom of the Aghlabites, after the name of the founder of this dynasty, Ibrahim ibn Al-Aghlab. At the advent of the Shiites, Kairouan grappled with the rivalry of Mahdia which became the capital of Ifriqiya in 921, and after the departure of the Fatimids for Egypt in 973, it had to contend with the pre-eminence of Cairo. From then on, it started losing its prestige only to be gradually supplanted by Tunis which the Hafsids made their capital.
In spite of such ups and downs, the site has preserved many of its prestigious monuments ! It is the case of the Medina girdled with a wall of baked bricks - an age-old customary material; this 3.5 km long and 10 m high wall which is moreover fortified by 20 circular towers, harbours many religious monuments among which the Great Mosque, the oldest sanctuary in the Islamic Maghrib. Totally in bricks, the monument has ten entrances one of which leads to the prayer-room where the mihrab is ornamented with faience tiles having metallic glint. To the left of this niche, stands the minbar, the oldest known muslim chair. The sumptuous prayer-room is divided by 17 naves dominated by 6 domes and regulated by 414 pillars with capitals dating back to Roman and Byzantine times. Opposite the Mosque is Ibrahim ibn Al-Aghlab's museum which houses beautiful artefacts coming from Kairouan itself, but also from the vicinities, namely Raqqada and Sabra el-Mansouriyya...
It is also important to recall as part of Kairouan's heritage, the prestigious Aghlabite pool - today well displayed owing to its integration in an exclusive space - , the Mosque of the Three Doors, the Barber's Mosque, the Mosque of the Swords : so many monuments which cause admiration and make the detour compelling...