Kairouan day trip from Sousse.

It is undoubtedly the oldest Islamic religious building erected in the Muslim West. It was in 670, during the first campaign for the annexation of Ifriqiya to the nascent Muslim Empire. After having chosen, at the edge of the mountainous foothills of the north of the country, the location of the "cantonment" - al qayrawân - in which he installed his troops in the wake of a first victorious offensive, General Okba Ibn Nafaa hastened to erect there a seat for the government of the Ifriqiyenne province and an oratory in mud bricks which, in the ninth century, after several redevelopments and with a few details, will appear under the appearance that we know today at the Great Mosque . A singular monument, that this Great Mosque of Kairouan whose perfect harmony perfectly hides an architectural "synchretism" unique in its kind. The materials which were used for its construction all come, indeed, from ancient sites belonging to various times before the Islamic conquest, while the general appearance of the building, in particular, the minaret, reflects a distant oriental influence. The whole forms an original whole, with sober features but not devoid of elegance. As for interior decoration, we must speak of exuberance: a real explosion of geometric and floral patterns carved in fine marble that decorates the facade of the mihrâb, the niche that indicates the direction of Mecca, or engraved in the panels of precious woods that make up the minbar, pulpit for preaching.

Sidi Sahbi Mosque (Sidi Sahbi Mausoleum) The Sidi Sahbi mausoleum, generally called the barber's mosque, is actually a zaouia commonly known as the barber's mosque. The bey mouradite Hammouda Pasha builds the mausoleum, the dome and the courtyard and the bey Mohamed Mourad builds the minaret and the madrasah. There is indeed the burial of Abu Zammat al-Belaoui who would have preserved some hairs from the beard of the Prophet Muhammad of which he is one of the companions. The earthenware and stucco panels found there form remarkable decorations.

Erected in a semi-arid steppe zone, the city of Kairouan had, at its creation, only very scarce drinking water resources. Thus, from the start, the city was haunted by the concerns arising from this deficit. And history has retained a testimony dating back to the years 734-741 in which the Caliph of Damascus ordered his governor in Kairouan to install around fifteen water reservoirs in the vicinity to supply the population with water drinking.

The Kairouan medina is one of the most preserved and authentic in Tunisia. We get lost in its alleys, we succumb to local pastries, including makroudh segni, the city's specialty, we haggle at the souk, and we discover by chance its treasures, like the mysterious well Bir Barrouta and the small mosque of the Three Doors , without forgetting the splendid house of the bey.

Bir Barrouta Bir Barrouta, one of the oldest wells in Kairouan, The Bir Baroutan is a very unattractive tourist attraction. Bir means "well" and Routa was the name of the Prophet's companion dog, who became Barouta through abuse of language. This well was built around 796 and restored in 1690, and is 20 m deep, 18.5 meters long and 13.5 meters wide. People come here to drink holy water because it is said that the well connected (communicating in depth) to the sacred well of Mecca Bir Zemzem in Saudi Arabia. The monument is located on the main artery of the Kairouan medina. From the outside, the building faces the street through two niches housing a drinking trough, above which are placed marble taps. The facade features a white marble memorial plaque bearing a poem in Naskhi characters that celebrates the construction of the building and dates from 1690.