Founded in 670, Kairouan in Tunisia is one of Islam’s holiest sites and was an important centre for Sunni Islamic scholarship and Quranic learning in its heyday. This UNESCO World Heritage Site has a rich architectural heritage that includes the Great Mosque, with its marble and porphyry columns, and the 9th-century Mosque of the Three Gates.
Today, Kairouan is a vital carpet and handicrafts centre, with tourism contributing to the preservation of the town. This is seen in the conservation of the old city, the development of the town’s Musée d’Art Islamique, and the rise of leatherwork and other crafts in the city's old quarter (medina). Here’s all you need to know about Kairouan’s history and the top places to visit during the holy month of Ramzan.
According to legend, Kairouan was founded by ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ (Sīdī ʿUqbah), a companion of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), on the site of the Byzantine fortress of Kamouinia. The town served as the camp from which the offensive was launched, resulting in the Islamic political and religious subjugation of the Maghreb (northwest Africa).
The Maliki school of Islam emerged in Kairouan then, as clerics challenged the personal and political excesses of the Aghlabid emirs. Subsequently, the town served as the political centre through the Fāṭimid and Zīrid dynasties into the 11th century, becoming one of the great administrative, commercial, religious, and intellectual centres of Islam. It also served as the site of a famous medical research centre for both Jews and Muslims in the medieval period.
Established in 670, the Great Mosque occupies an area of over 9,000 sq m and is one of the oldest places of worship in the Islamic world. Its 405-metre perimeter contains a hypostyle prayer hall, a marble-paved courtyard, and a square minaret. There is also a pool, known as the Old Cistern (Al-Majal al-Qadim), and what is said to be the oldest surviving minbar—a finely carved wooden pulpit of Asian teak. In addition to its spiritual prestige, the Mosque of Uqba, as it’s also known, is one of the masterpieces of Islamic architecture, notable, among other things, for the first Islamic use of the horseshoe arch. The holy structure is beautiful both during the day and at night when the minaret is aglow with lights.
Commissioned by a Spanish holy man in 866 during the Aghlabid dynasty period, this mosque is notable for being one of the earliest occurrences of a richly decorated external façade in Islamic architecture. The mosque’s three arched doorways are topped by intricate friezes of Kufic script (two of which name the mosque’s founder) interspersed with floral reliefs and crowned with a carved cornice. The interior is off-limits to non-Muslims.
The Aghlabid Basins are a series of historic water reservoirs and hydraulic works that were built under Aghlabid rule in the 9th century to supply Kairouan with water. They are composed of two connected cisterns, which together form an open-air reservoir fed by a 57-kilometre aqueduct that sourced water from the hills beyond town. Considered the largest hydraulic installation of the Middle Ages, there were originally 16 of these pools, though just two remain today. Visitors can check out the now completely excavated basins, though the water is not recommended for drinking.
Also known as the Mosque of the Barber, this lavishly tiled 17th-century complex northwest of the medina comprises a mosque, madrassa, and mausoleum. It is the final resting place of Abu Zama' al-Balawi, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), who, according to legend, always carried three hairs from the Prophet's beard with him. The complex was first built in the 14th century under the Hafsids, but in its present state, it dates from the 17th century under the Muradids.
Take a flight from New Delhi or Mumbai to Tunis–Carthage International Airport (TUN) via Doha or Jeddah. From Tunis, take a bus or taxi to Kairouan, a journey which takes about two hours (161 km).