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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.
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National Library
The National Library, once a barracks, was built in 1814 by Hamouda Bey to house Berber soldiers who'd been recruited after an Ottoman mutiny.
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National Theatre
Fabulously ornate façades dot the city. Supreme examples include the Art Nouveau National Theatre, built by the French in 1902, which has a meringue-sculpted frontage that looks as if you could crack it off and eat it.
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Palais Khereddine
Palais Khereddine is on a pretty, palm-shaded square. This 19th-century palace, later split to house two schools - one for Jews, one for Muslims - is somewhat grandly named the Museum of Tunis, and hosts some excellent, free, art exhibitions.
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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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Sahib Hammam
You haven't fully experienced Tunisia until you've been scrubbed down with an oven scourer by an enthusiastic elderly masseur. The oldest and most atmospheric hammams (public bathhouse) are in the medina, keeping residents steamed and cleaned. Often recognisable by their candy-striped red-and-green doorways and undecorated domes, they feel as if they haven't changed (or been cleaned) for hundreds of years. It's an amazingly exotic, sensual and relaxing experience.
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Souq de la Laine
Close to the Zaytouna Mosque, the narrow Souq de la Laine, the Wool Souq, is now packed with silver shops.
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Souq des Libraires
Leading from Zaytouna Mosque is the 13th-century Souq des Libraires, the Booksellers' Souq, lined with medersas (Quranic schools) and a hammam (public bathhouse).
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Souq el-Attarine
The medina markets (souqs) were organised into different commercial areas. Refined trades surrounded the Zaytouna Mosque, while dirtier businesses such as tanners or blacksmiths stayed on the outskirts. The markets are either named after their traditional trade or their founding community, such as Souq el-Grana - the Livornese Jews' Souq. The main markets include the Souq el-Attarine - the Perfume Makers' Souq, dating from the 13th century, near the Zaytouna Mosque.
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Souq el-Berka
North of the narrow Souq de la Laine, the Wool Souq, barrel-vaulted Souq el-Berka dates from Ottoman times: this was the slave souq where prisoners of Muslim corsairs (pirates) were brought, sometimes from the prison at La Goulette, to be sold from a wooden block. When piracy dwindled, the human market was supplied by sub-Saharan Africa. The trade was abolished in 1846 and it's now a goldsmith's market.
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Souq el-Trouk
Souq el-Attarine, the Perfume Makers' Souq, leads into the Souq el-Trouk, the Turkish Souq - traditionally the tailors' souq, and still selling some outfits among the souvenirs.
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Souq Étouffes
Souq Étouffes runs alongside the Zaytouna Mosque, and was once the elegant cloth market, wide, with green-and-red striped columns; it still sells cloth and clothes.
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Tourbet el-Bey
The Tourbet el-Bey has the green fish-scale domes typical of mausoleums. Inside is a mishmash of tiles and intricate stucco, built during Ali Pasha II's reign (1758-82). Many subsequent Husseinite beys (provincial governors), princesses, ministers and trusted advisers ended up here. The male tombs are topped with strange, anonymous marble renditions of their preferred headgear, be it turban or chechia (small, red felt hat), with the number of tassels showing their importance.
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Tunis Zoo
Tunis Zoo is a child-friendly hit, in a shady, peaceful park with some interesting animals including monkeys and colourful parrots, though cages look cramped.
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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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Zaouia Sidi Kacem Ezzilizi
Zaouia Sidi Kacem Ezzilizi is the tomb of an Andalusian craftsman who's credited with bringing tile-making to Tunis. The restored building contains some beautiful Tunisian ceramics, ranging from medieval to modern.
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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.
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Zitouni Hammam
You haven't fully experienced Tunisia until you've been scrubbed down with an oven scourer by an enthusiastic elderly masseur. The oldest and most atmospheric hammams (public bathhouse) are in the medina, keeping residents steamed and cleaned. Often recognisable by their candy-striped red-and-green doorways and undecorated domes, they feel as if they haven't changed (or been cleaned) for hundreds of years. It's an amazingly exotic, sensual and relaxing experience.
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