Kairouan
Kairouan (
Arabic القيروان) (variations include
Kairwan,
Kayrawan,
Al Qayrawan) is a city in
Tunisia, about 160 kilometres south of
Tunis. In 2003 the city had about 150,000 inhabitants. Founded in about the year
670, the original name was derived from Arabic
kairuwân, from
Persian Kâravân, meaning "camp", "caravan", or "resting place" (see
caravanserai). It is the capital of the
Kairouan Governorate, and regarded by
Muslims as a
holy city.
Kairouan was founded in about the year
670 when the Muslim 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. It was to keep in check the
Berber hordes and was located far from the sea where it was safe from attack. A city soon developed, with luxuriant gardens and olive groves. Ibn Nafi was killed in battle by the
Berbers about fifteen years after the military post was established.
The city was soon recaptured and remained for four centuries a major holy city, the "
Mecca of North
Africa". In the tenth century, the city was embellished by the
Aghlabites who ruled
Ifriqiya from there between 800 and 909. It was the capital in the eleventh century, and was famous for its wealth and prosperity.
About the middle of the eleventh century, the
Ismaili Shiite
Fatimites of
Egypt instigated the Egyptian
Bedouins to invade this part of Africa. These invaders so utterly destroyed the city in
1057 that it never regained its former importance. Then
Mahdia became the capital under the
Fatimites. 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.
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. There are very many
mosques in the city, among which the great mosque. For a long time, non-muslims were not allowed to enter the city, in more recent times this is allowed.
Pilgrimages are made to this holy city. Judaism, no longer prevalent in the city, has an illustrious history in Kairouan, particularly in the early Middle Ages.
Rabbeinu Hananel was from Kairouan and many other important and famous rabbis, including the RIF, (Rabbi
Isaac Alfasi) studied there with him.
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. Products that are sold here are carpets, vases and goods made of leather. 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. In fact most of the column stems and capitals were taken from ruins of earlier-period buildings, while others were produced locally.
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.
*
Kairouan, tourismtunisia.com
*
Kairouan World heritage Site, whc.unesco.org
*
Kairouan University*
Kairwan, jewishencyclopedia.com
*
WorldStatesmen-Tunisia
