35°42N 10°01E, pop (2000e) 94 000. Capital of Kairouan governorate, NE Tunisia, 130 km/81 mi S of Tunis; founded in 671; capital of the Aglabite dynasty, 9th-c; carpets, crafts; an important Muslim holy city; Great Mosque, the oldest in the Maghreb; carpet museum; archaeological site of Reqqada nearby.
Kairouan (Arabic القيروان) (variations include Kairwan, Kayrawan, Al Qayrawan) is a city in Tunisia, about 160 kilometres south of Tunis.
An article titled “Towards A Strategic Geopolitic Vision of Afro-Arab Relations” by Professor Kwesi Prah states “By 670, the Arabs had taken Tunisia, and by 675, they had completed construction of Kairouan, the city that would become the premier Arab base in North Africa. Kairouan was later to become the third holiest city in Islam in the medieval period, after Mecca and Medina”.
The University of Calgary's Applied History Research Group states: "By 670, the Arabs had taken Tunisia, and by 675, they had completed construction of Kairouan, the city that would become the Arab base in North Africa. Kairouan would also become the third holiest city in Islam in the medieval period, after Mecca and Medina, because of its importance as the centre of the Islamic faith in the Maghrib".
History
Kairouan was founded in about the year 670 when the Arab general Uqba ibn Nafi selected a site in the middle of a dense forest, then infested with wild beasts and reptiles, as the location of a military post.
The city was soon recaptured and remained for four centuries a major holy city, the "Mecca of North Africa". Under the Ottomans, who called it Kairuan in Turkish (as in modern German), and included mention of the city in the full style of the Great Sultan (alongside broader Barbary and the new vilayet), Tunis became the capital (as seat of the Dey, next the soon ever more autonomous (Basha) Bey), and remains so in modern Tunisia. In 1881, Kairouan was taken by the French, after which non-Muslims were allowed access to the city. oops this is all copyrighted
Religion
Kairouan is a holy city for many Muslims, and many Sunni Muslims consider it the fourth holiest city of Islam, after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem, and the holiest city of the Maghreb. Judaism, no longer prevalent in the city, has an illustrious history in Kairouan, particularly in the early Middle Ages.
Sights
The souk (market place) of Kairouan is very famous, it is in the medina, which is surrounded by walls, and of which the entrance gates can be seen from far. As with merchants in most major Tunisian cities, Kairouan merchants rely on tourism for much of their income. The city's other main site is the Great Mosque, which is said to largely consist of its original building materials.
Miscellaneous
Amongst Tunisians, Kairouan is famous for its pastries (e.g., zlebia and makroudh).
In Raiders of the Lost Ark, the street scenes in "Cairo" were filmed in Kairouan.
User Comments Add a comment…