Tunisia

Kairouan

WHS Score 3.03
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2.0

  • Adrian Turtschi
  • Evgenii
  • George Gdanski
  • Mikko

2.5

  • Cezar Grozavu
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  • Ian Cade
  • João Aender
  • Philipp Peterer
  • SaoDies
  • Solivagant
  • Stanislaw Warwas
  • Svein Elias
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3.0

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  • Szucs Tamas
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  • Wojciech Fedoruk

3.5

  • Alexander Lehmann
  • Andrew_Kerr
  • Aspasia
  • Dutchnick
  • Els Slots
  • Eric PK
  • Hanming
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  • Juha Sjoeblom
  • Klaus Freisinger
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4.0

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4.5

  • Persian Globetrotter

5.0

  • Inigo Cia
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  • Thibault Magnien
  • WalGra

Kairouan, one of the holy cities of Islam, is renowned for its Great Mosque, which has influenced the style of other mosques in the Maghreb.

Kairouan was founded in 670 CE as a post in the Arab conquest of the West. Its heyday came with the Aghlabid dynasty which built the Great Mosque and established a university that was a centre of education both in Islamic thought and secular sciences. Other notable monuments of that period include the Mosque of the Three Doors, the Basin of the Aghlabids and the Zawiya of Sidi Sahib.

Community Perspective: Easy to reach from the tourist hub of Sousse, but don’t visit on a Friday as everything will be dead. Wander around beyond the medina and the Great Mosque, for example to the impressive Aghlabid Basins.

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Kairouan (ID: 499)
Country
Tunisia
Status
Inscribed 1988 Site history
History of Kairouan
1988: Inscribed
Inscribed
WHS Type
Cultural
Criteria
  • i
  • ii
  • iii
  • v
  • vi
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
Related Resources
News Article
  • Dec. 17, 2023 theguardian.com — Three killed while repairing ancient wall at Kairouan

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Religious structure: Islamic
  • Archaeological site: Near Eastern
  • Urban landscape: Arabic and Middle Eastern
Travel Information
Tunisia hotspot
Tunisia hotspot
161km (best by car)
Recent Connections
View all (23) .
Connections of Kairouan
Trivia
History
  • Berbers
    In 745, Kharijite Berbers captured Kairouan, which was already at that time a developed city with luxuriant gardens and olive groves. (Wiki)
  • Ottoman Empire
    "The Ottomans safeguarded Kairouan as the place in which Islam gained its first foothold in the Maghreb."

    See funci.org

  • Located in a Former Capital
    Kairouan - capital of Aghlabid Kingdom
  • Umayyad Caliphate
    Umayyad general Uqba ibn Nafi founded Kairouan
Architecture
  • Spolia
    Great Mosque of Sidi-Uqba: There are 414 marble, granite and porphyry columns in the mosque. Almost all were taken from the ruins of Carthage. (wiki)
  • Hypostyle
    The Great Mosque "is one of the oldest places of worship in the Islamic world, as well as a model for all later mosques in the Maghreb. (It) is one of the most impressive and largest Islamic monuments in North Africa, its perimeter is almost equal to 405 metres (1,328 feet). This vast space contains a hypostyle prayer hall" See

    See en.wikipedia.org

  • Moorish architecture
    9th-century monuments: "Great Mosque, an architectural masterpiece that served as a model for several other Maghreban mosques, the Mosque of the Three Doors that represents the most ancient existent sculpted facade of Muslim art." (OUV statement) .. " notable among other things for the first Islamic use of the horseshoe arch" (wiki)

    See en.wikipedia.org

  • Medina
    Criterion (v): ..., the medina of Kairouan, whose skyline is punctuated by the minarets and the cupolas of its mosques and zawiyas, has preserved its network of winding streets and courtyard houses.
World Heritage Process
Religion and Belief
  • Islamic pilgrimage sites
    Centre of Islamic faith in the Maghreb; "third-holiest site" in Islam
  • Notable mosques
    Great Mosque (7th century) and the 9th-century Mosque of the Three Gates (both Sunni)
Human Activity
Constructions
WHS on Other Lists
Timeline
WHS Hotspots
Literature & Film
News
theguardian.com 12/17/2023
Three killed while repairing ancie…
Recent Visitors
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Visitors of Kairouan
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Community Reviews

Show full reviews
First published: 16/05/22.

Els Slots

Kairouan

Kairouan (Inscribed)

Kairouan by Els Slots

I visited Kairouan on a half-day trip from Sousse by louage, the typical Tunisian minibus share taxi. The 60km distance is easily covered within an hour and a ticket costs only 5 Tunisian dinars (1.70 EUR). It was a scorching day, but still I managed to see all of Kairouan’s significant sights on foot – I walked the streets for 10km in total. With about 140,000 inhabitants, it is a fairly large city, located in a semi-arid region. Fortunately, there are many mini-markets where you can stop for a cool drink.

I started at the Aghlabid Basins, 1 of the 3 locations that make up this WHS. This is already quite a trek from the louage station. The Basins, large water reservoirs from the 9th century, were built outside the city walls and are fed by an aqueduct. I entered from the side, where the gate was open; the official entrance wasn’t and there were no tickets checked or sold. Local boys were using the reservoirs for swimming, although with plastic garbage floating in them this didn't look inviting. Still, I found the monumentality of the reservoirs quite impressive – the largest is 128m in diameter. Later I heard from the guide in Dougga that more basins have been found recently.

I then continued to location #2, the Zaouia of Sidi Sahib which shelters the remains of a companion of the Prophet. It is a white, domed building just inside the city walls. I found it closed …

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First published: 23/01/19.

Philipp Peterer

Kairouan

Kairouan (Inscribed)

Kairouan by Philipp Peterer

I might have caught Kairouan on a bad day. I went on a Friday and everything was closed. The town was mostly deserted and I had no idea what to do, so I went with a guy offering me a guided tour. This proofed to be more interesting, than walking on my own and was a rather pleasant experience, apart from the last stop with the obligatory carpet shop (I specifically negotiated not to visit before starting the tour). With most shops and restaurants closed and almost no people, it felt rather weird to wander around the streets. I would also not be able to see the outstanding value of this town, compared to other medinas in the country I saw. I’d say it’s one of these places that due to proximity to the other WHS is a must for the real hunters, but can easily be skipped if you only go for the country’s highlights.

The town can be reached rather easy by car. Expect some narrow roads on the way if you come from the coast. I did it on an easy half day trip from Port El Kantaoui, spending the rest of the day at the beach. You could easily combine the day trip with Sousse and/or el Jem, if you have limited time resources.

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First published: 01/05/05.

Ian Cade

Kairouan

Kairouan (Inscribed)

Kairouan by Ian Cade

Kairouan is the fourth holiest city in Islam, (although I have just done a little research and this may be a tad controversial!) and it is said that travelling there 7 times is the equivalent of travelling to Mecca. The most impressive site is the great Mosque with its powerful if austere minaret and columns taken from Carthage! Also impressive is the facade of the Mosque of Three Doors! Near the medina entrance is the mosque containing the well that the city was founded around which is supposedly linked to the Zamzam well in Mecca and is a site of Pilgrimage, I found it a bit odd as there was a blinkered camel turning the well in a very small space, but there are some amusing pictures of the camel going up and down the stairs that reach the site.

Kairouan is easy to get to from Sousse, either by bus or Louagge which I would recommend more as on the bus we got picked up by a tout for one of Kairouan's many famous Carpet shops before we even arrived, and it is best to get picked up by one outside the great Mosque as their views are much better, and they will tell you their carpets are better too!!!

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First published: 01/05/05.

Klaus Freisinger

Kairouan

Kairouan (Inscribed)

Kairouan by Els Slots

Since it is practically impossible for Westerners to visit the holy sites of Islam in Saudi Arabia, Kairouan is the closest most people can get to an introduction to the history of one of the world's major religions. Kairouan is easy to visit from the tourist regions of the coast and certainly makes for a worthwhile trip, if only to see the really impressive Great Mosque.

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