Visit to Tunisia (6): Kairouan
Wednesday was another early start as at 8 am we left Tunis to head due south on a modern motorway. It was the hottest day as the temperature rose to 31C. Our destination was Kairouan.
Kairouan – the name means ‘military camp’ in Arabic – is Tunisia’s oldest city, founded in 670 AD by Oqba ibn Nafi. It is Islam’s fourth holiest city, after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.
This UNESCO-listed city was a revered centre of Islamic scholarship in the 9th century and today it is a place of pilgrimage. Indeed it is said that seven visits here by the faithful equates to one pilgrimage to Mecca.
The town includes the enormous Great Mosque of Sidi Oqba, dating from the 8th century with most of its buildings constructed in 17th century.
The oldest part of the mosque is the square minaret which was built between 724 and 728, making it the oldest minaret in the world. The location features a total of 414 marble, granite and porphyry pillars, many reused from ancient Roman and Byzantine sites across North Africa.
Our other visit in the city was to the Mausoleum of Sidi Sahab, also known as the Zaouia of Sidi Sahab or the Mausoleum of the Barber.
It is one of Kairouan’s most famous religious monuments. The mausoleum is dedicated to Abu Zama‘a al-Balawi, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad who, according to tradition, always carried three hairs from the Prophet’s beard—hence the nickname “the Barber.”
The complex includes a mosque, courtyards, and richly decorated rooms, making it a significant site of pilgrimage and an excellent example of traditional Tunisian architecture.
We remain in the city for lunch – an affair of four courses – at the Hotel Amiga. Afterwards we drove north-east to our accommodation in Sousse, arriving in mid-afternoon so that it was not too challenging a day.
Our stay for the next three nights is the Movenpick Hotel. Located on the beachfront in the heart of the city, this is a splendid, modern hotel with over 600 rooms. Tess and I were given one overlooking a terrace garden with the Mediterranean Sea just beyond.