Architecture sights in Tunis
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Zaytouna Mosque
Everything in the medina leads to or from the Zaytouna Mosque. Zaytouna means 'olive tree' - it's said the founder, Hassan Ibn Nooman, conqueror of Byzantine Carthage, used to hold lessons under a tree here.
Entering, it's impossible not to be awed by the calm of the open space after the busy souqs.
Dating from various eras, the building is remarkably harmonious. The first mosque here was built in AD 734, but it was rebuilt in the 9th century by the Aghlabid ruler Ibrahim ibn Ahmed (AD 856-63), and resembles the Great Mosque in Kairouan in design. The builders recycled 184 columns from Roman Carthage for the central prayer hall. The adjoining prayer room is 9th century. Th…
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A
Mosque of Sidi Mahres
There are mosques all over the medina; interiors are off-limits to non-Muslims. The finest include Mosque of Sidi Mahres, built in 1692 and named after Tunis' patron saint, who saved the city after it was captured by Abu Yazd during a rebellion against Fatimid rule in AD 944. He also allowed Jews to settle within the walls, and reorganised the souqs. His tomb lies opposite the entrance, in the Zaouia of Sidi Mahres.
The mosque is ranked as one of the city's finest Ottoman buildings, with a cluster of white domes resembling a heap of eggs. But there's something missing. It's the minaret - never added as the project ran into difficulties following 17th-century political uph…
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B
Mosque of Youssef Dey
There are mosques all over the medina; interiors are off-limits to non-Muslims. The finest include Mosque of Youssef Dey, Tunis' first Ottoman-style mosque (1616), designed by Andalusian architect Ibn Ghalib in a colourful mishmash of styles. It was surrounded by Turkish souqs - El-Trouk (tailors), El-Berka (slaves) and El-Bechamkia (slippers) and catered to the Turkish traders.
Look out for the minaret crowned with a miniature green-tiled pyramid - this was the first, much-copied octagonal minaret in Tunis, serving as propaganda for the new masters. The mosque contains the tombs of Youssef Dey and his family - another innovative Ottoman custom.
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C
Mosque of the Dyers
There are mosques all over the medina; interiors are off-limits to non-Muslims. The finest include Mosque of the Dyers, built in 1716 by Hussein ben Ali, founder of the Husseinite line of beys (provincial governors). It has an adjoining medersa (Quranic school), and an Ottoman octagonal minaret. Hussein buried two holy men in the mausoleum, leaving a space between them for his own tomb, but his nephew Ali Pasha drove him from power and buried his own father in Hussein's spot.
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D
Kasbah Mosque
There are mosques all over the medina; interiors are off-limits to non-Muslims. The finest include Kasbah Mosque, which dates from 1235 and was once within the Hafsid citadel, which no longer stands. The minaret's lozenge design pays tribute to Moroccan style, purposefully showing the Hafsid's links with the Almohad strand of Islam. It was hugely influential, serving as a model for the Zaytouna Mosque minaret. The call to prayer is quietly signalled by a white flag.
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E
Sahib El-Tabía Mosque
Sahib El-Tabía Mosque dates from the 19th century, when Halfouine was an emerging fashionable quarter. It forms part of Tunis' only külliye - a medersa, souq, hammam (public bathhouse) and tomb complex. It's almost Venetian looking; the railings and black marble were imported from the continent. The minaret was only added in 1970.
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F
Bab Bhar
Bab Bhar, also called the Porte de France or French Gate, is a huge freestanding arch that was the medina's eastern gateway until the surrounding walls were demolished by the French to create place de la Victoire. Note rue des Glaciéres, leading off to the north - this is where huge blocks of Alpine ice for sale were stored in the 18th and 19th centuries.
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G
Hamuda Pasha Mosque
There are mosques all over the medina; interiors are off-limits to non-Muslims. The finest include Hamuda Pasha Mosque, a 17th-century, harmonious, richly decorated building that reflects the prosperity of the times. Its witch's-hat minaret is octagonal - typical of the Turkish Hanefite strand of Islam.
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Ville Nouvelle
The Ville Nouvelle is an entirely different city from the medina, with tall shuttered windows, wrought-iron balconies, cafés and pâtisseries. There are some fine examples of colonial architecture, ranging from the exuberant to the bizarre.
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