Kairouan, Holy City

The next morning we headed to Kairouan, Tunisia’s holy city. It ranks behind only Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem among Islam’s holiest cities. According to legend, when a golden goblet (mysteriously disappeared from Mecca) was picked up after being stumbled on by a horse walking in the sand, water sprang up. People believe that the water source was the same that supplied the holy well of Zem-Zem in Mecca. Kairouan’s name comes from the Arabic word qayrawan, meaning ‘military camp.’ Founded in 670 AD, Kairouan’s medina is still the heart of the city and is quite authentic and colorful. It was pleasurable exploring the multitude of narrow streets, peering in the shops and taking in the details of architecture or the traditional costumes of passers-by. Although we had locals eager to be our tour-guide, we decided to meander on our own.

The Great Mosque

The original mosque of this holy city dates back to 670 AD, but most of what stands today was built by the Aghlabids in the 9th century. Although the thick buttressed stone outer walls conveys a rather austere presence, the look changes drastically as you step onto the large inner marble-paved courtyard. The paving slopes gradually to the center, where an intricately decorated central drainage hole (which reminded me of some of the baptismal fonts I saw at Byzantine sites in Tunisia) delivers the collected rainwater into the 9th century cisterns below. At one end of the courtyard is a square three-tiered minaret, with the lowest level built in AD 728. Also in the courtyard was a sundial that helped ascertain the times of prayer. At the opposite end of the courtyard was the prayer hall. The enormous, studded, carved wooden doors were open to catch a glimpse of the interior, with the enormous conical chandeliers above and woven carpets on the pillared floor below. The roof around the courtyard revealed a beautiful pattern of archways, created with approximately 450 (it is considered bad luck to count them) columns pilfered from the Roman sites in Carthage and Sousse.

	Mosque interior with chandeliers and Kairouan's famous carpets
Arched columnade composed of pilfered ancient columns				The great cedar door entrance
Central marble courtyard
				Three-tiered minaret - 728 AD

The Zaouia and Islamic cemetery
Moving on, we stopped at an Islamic cemetery. Whitewashed, the simple graves were unadorned, except for some calligraphic writing on a few. We then stopped in the Zaouia of Sidi Abid el’Ghariani. Recently restored, the building dates from the 14th century and contains some fine stucco and woodcarving. The small marble patterned courtyard was framed by thin columns and arches. The black and white striped arches reminded me of Moorish architecture. In a small room with a beautifully wooden carved ceiling, the tomb of the Hafsid sultan Moulay Hassan who ruled from 1525-1543 was on display.

Mosque of the Barber

This mosque houses the tomb of Abu Zama el-Balaui, a companion of the Prophet Mohammed, an imam who always carried three hairs from the Prophet’s beard around with him. The pretty tile work is Andalusian in style. Green is a dominant color, signifying the color of heaven.

When we were there, two brothers, one about 4 years old and the other around two, were waiting in the central courtyard for their circumcision ceremonies. Our guide Driss explained that families often wait until the second child is old enough and have both boys done at the same time, thus making the obligatory sacrifice of a sheep more economically palatable. Both boys were dressed identically, with an ivory-colored traditional robe, white slip-on shoes, white headdress, black and yellow headband, white long-sleeve blouse, and a Western black bowtie. Although the younger boy did not seem to understand what was about to happen, the family doted on the two children and welcomed photographs by onlookers.

	Inner courtyard with Andalusian style tiles and arches
Intricately carved plaster designs decorate rooms of the mosque		Two brothers prepare for their circumcision ceremony

The Aghlabid Pools

The Aghlabid Pools consists of two large cisterns built by the Aghlabids in 896 AD to hold the city’s water supply. In the center of the larger pool, you could still see the remains of pillars that once supported a pavilion where the rulers would come to relax on summer evenings.

Carpet Shopping
Once again meandering through the narrow passageways, a man approached us, eager to take us to a rug shop. Once inside an upstairs room, we were encouraged to sit down and enjoy a cup of sweet mint tea as the store clerk and his assistants began unrolling rugs lining the perimeters of the room. Some of the wool rugs for which Kairouan is so famous were in the knotted style and others were woven. Prices varied by number of knots per square meter and quality of the weave – although the clerk was reluctant to begin quoting prices until he was satisfied that we had seen a sufficient number of examples. After another cup of tea and intense bargaining, the teaching couple with whom I had been traveling purchased a woven rug with traditional designs.
Typical of Saturdays in Kairouan, there was intense activity going on inside a dark, narrow souk. In heavy, heated Arabic, an exchange of dialogue and money took place between the local buyers and sellers of carpets. If only I had a supply of cash, knowledge of good prices for carpets, and the ability to speak Arabic, I too could have engaged in the process and come away with a famous Kairouan carpet. Perhaps another time…Outside the souk, a short man was busily piling rugs onto his donkey cart, no doubt to be sold elsewhere for larger sums. Soon the pile rose higher than the man.

Traditional market
With the rains from the previous evening, the heavily traveled street of the main market quickly turned into mud. Trucks and donkey carts quickly unloaded their goods, including veggies, fruit, bread, eggs, and other items. Clothes, electronics, plastics, Pokémon items and other cheap plastic toy trinkets were also displayed. An old man was particularly enthralled by the rotating blades of a toy helicopter, unconcerned that one of the blades was broken. More men and women were wearing traditional clothing. Some of the Berber women’s faces and hands were tatooed with traditional Berber symbols. Many drove on motorbikes while others rode on donkey-pulled carts. At times, three people crammed on to a bicycle. Amazingly, even a small girl sleeping managed to hold on as the bike was pedaled forward. Around noon, we had a quick snack of local bread. Coarse and grainy, the flat bread didn’t seem to be composed of any flour or yeast. As we were sitting on a doorstep eating the bread, a few young boys came up to us, rather curious and eager for their photo to be taken.

Medina walk
As in other more traditional medinas, the Kairouan medina is divided into souks. For example, one souk would be devoted to perfumes, where one could purchase jasmine extract, locally made versions of Chanel and beautiful glass perfume bottles. Another souk dealt with fabric, where one could buy the fabric, buttons in another shop, and tailors in still another. Other souks were devoted to creating and repairing shoes, weaving, carpentry, and more.
Common t o many medinas, the streets in Kairouan were very narrow. Some of the streets contained arched upper dwellings that joined the buildings at both sides. Many of the doors were painted in various tints of bright blue, apparently believed to ward off mosquitoes. The hand of Fatima was a common component of many doors, believed to bring good luck. For homes of one family, one hand would be on the door; for two families, two hands would proudly be displayed. Barber shops were busy, giving customers an extra close shave in the old-fashioned chair. While on our walk, we went past the Mosque of the 3 Doors. Built in 866, the main attraction of the mosque is the elaborate façade. The mosque’s three arched doorways are topped by three friezes of kufic (early Arabic) script interspersed with floral relief and crowned with a carved cornice.