Kairouan, Islam's fourth holiest city

The fourth holiest city in Islam, Kairouan is the administrative capital of the eponymous governorate. Located 150 kilometres south-west of Tunis and fifty kilometres west of Sousse, it is the first holy city in North Africa. Founded in 670, Kairouan was the first Arab town in North Africa. The site was far enough from the coast to avoid the assaults of the Byzantine fleet then controlling the Mediterranean Sea. The qayrawān (garrison camp in Arabic) gave the site its name.

The mysterious Bir Barrouta well, which dates back to the origins of the city, is the reason why Kairouan is a holy city: the source is said to be linked by underground rivers to the sacred well of Mecca. The Great Mosque, built as soon as the city was founded in 670, contributed to Kairouan's reputation in the Islamic world, making the city a major centre of influence for Arab culture and Islam. Kairouan played a significant role in the Arabisation of the Berbers and Latin-speaking populations of Ifriqiya. Even today, Tunisia's spiritual capital, the country's fifth-largest city, enjoys a great reputation throughout the Muslim world.

The medina of Kairouan is one of the most unspoilt and authentic in Tunisia. You can lose yourself in the narrow streets, indulge in the local pastries, particularly the makroudh segni, the town's speciality, haggle in the souk, and stumble across its treasures, such as the mysterious Bir Barrouta well and the little mosque of the Three Doors, not forgetting the bey's splendid house!

The Great Mosque is the symbol of Kairouan. It is one of the oldest and most beautiful mosques in the world, and one of the most impressive monuments in the whole of the Maghreb! Built in 670, this architectural masterpiece is reminiscent of an adobe fortress and has inspired other mosques in the Maghreb. The four domes symbolise the four holy cities of Islam (Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem and Kairouan).

Its religious prestige makes Kairouan the 4th holiest city in Islam. It is particularly famous for its prayer hall, decorated with dozens of marble columns and housing the oldest minbar in the Muslim world!

Unfortunately, it's reserved for Muslims only, but it's not hard to spend a few minutes there. Don't be surprised if the material differs from one column to another, as these were taken from ancient Roman sites! You can admire its imposing minaret, its majestic courtyard of impressive dimensions, surrounded by superbly designed arcades and housing a sundial, and the high, richly carved cedar wood doors, taken from the thousand-year-old cedars of Lebanon.

The medina is revealed as it was in the past, along vaulted passageways housing porches, courtyards and the mysterious silhouettes of veiled women. Don't miss the small Mosque of the Three Doors, which boasts the oldest sculpted and decorated mosque façade in the Islamic world. And don't hesitate to enter the house of the bey (the governor of the city in Ottoman times). It is now a carpet temple, but the interior is as sumptuous as ever! Another curiosity is the mysterious Bir Barrouta well, which dates back to the 8th century, when the town was founded. Housed in a 17th-century building beneath one of the medina's countless white domes, it is said to be linked by underground rivers to the sacred well of Mecca. A dromedary adorned with multicoloured scarves draws the sacred water by driving a noria. Feel free to drink the water - glasses are available!

Located outside the medina walls, the Barber Mosque is actually a mausoleum where Sidi Saheb, a companion of the Prophet Mohammed, is buried. It is said that Sidi Saheb kept three hairs from the Prophet's beard as a relic, hence the nickname of the barber's mausoleum given to the mausoleum of Sidi Saheb. This vast seventeenth-century building is a zawiya, a place dedicated to a spiritual master who gave religious instruction in Kairouan. It is renowned for its delightful courtyards and galleries decorated with ceramic panels and sculpted stucco, a blend of Andalusian and Turkish influences.

Founded in 800, the Aghlabid dynasty, under the Abbasid caliphate, made Kairouan the capital of an independent province, Afriqiya. Thanks to its wealth and influence, Kairouan was one of the greatest Mediterranean metropolises for two centuries. It was during this golden age of the Aghlabid emirs that the large circular reservoirs on the outskirts of Kairouan were built. The largest reservoir is 128 metres in diameter. This complex system of water reservoirs was much admired by chroniclers in the Middle Ages.