Kairouan

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Kairouan: The Ancient Holy City of Tunisia

Kairouan (Arabic: القيروان, Al-Qayrawān), officially known as Nour Essaf (Arabic: نور الصف, meaning "Light of the Row"), is a historic city located in central Tunisia, serving as the capital of the Kairouan Governorate. Established in 670 AD during the reign of Caliph Mu'awiya I, Kairouan has been a significant center for Sunni Islamic scholarship and Quranic learning since its founding, attracting Muslims from across the globe. In recognition of its historical and cultural significance, Kairouan was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.

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UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

Founded in 670, Kairouan flourished under the Aghlabid dynasty in the 9th century. Despite the transfer of the political capital to Tunis in the 12th century, Kairouan remained the Maghreb's principal holy city. Its rich architectural heritage includes the Great Mosque, with its marble and porphyry columns, and the 9th-century Mosque of the Three Gates.

UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site

Criterion (i): The Great Mosque, rebuilt in the 9th century, is not only one of the major monuments of Islam but also a universal architectural masterpiece. The many but small changes in it have not altered the layout of this place of prayer, which forms a quadrilateral of 135 m by 80 m. At its southern end is a hypostyle prayer room with 17 naves supported by a « forest » of columns in marble and porphyry. On the north is a vast flagstone courtyard bordered with porticoes, interrupted in the middle of the smaller northern end by the massive square-shaped three-storey minaret.

Criterion (ii): The Great Mosque served as a model for several Maghreban mosques, particularly for its decorative motifs, which are unique. Moreover, the Mosque of the Three Doors, built in 866 AD, is the oldest known Islamic mosque with a sculpted facade.

Criterion (iii): With the Great Mosque, the Mosque of the Three Doors, and the Basin of the Aghlabids, not to mention the numerous archaeological vestiges, Kairouan bears exceptional witness to the civilisation of the first centuries of the Hegira in Ifrîqiya.

Criterion (v): Protected by its walls and gates (Bab et Tounes, Bab el Khoukha, Bab ech Chouhada), 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. Very few small windows or arched doorways are cut in the exterior walls, but inner walls have larger openings that give onto the central courtyard. This traditional architecture, having become vulnerable through the impact of socio-economic changes, constitutes a valuable heritage which must be protected in its entirety.

Criterion (vi): Kairouan is one of the holy cities and spiritual capitals of Islam. Next to the Great Mosque, the first place of worship founded in the Maghreb only 38 years after the death of the Prophet, is the Zawiya of Sidi Sahâb where the remains of Abu Djama, one of Mahomet’s companions, are kept. It is not surprising that in the past, seven pilgrimages to Kairouan could take the place of the one pilgrimage to Mecca prescribed for all Muslims.

Encyclopedia Record: Kairouan

Kairouan, also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan, is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by the Umayyads around 670, in the period of Caliph Mu'awiya ; this is when it became an important centre for Sunni Islamic scholarship and Quranic learning, attracting Muslims from various parts of the world. The Mosque of Uqba is situated in the city.

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