1997
Tunis
Minaret of Zitouna, The Great Mosque
The Great Mosque was begun by the Umayyads
in 732, completed by the Aghlabids
in 864,
and enlarged and adjusted almost every century since. The minaret dates
back to only the
nineteenth century, and was modeled directly on that of the 1235 Kasbah mosque.
Decorative Tiles
The Bardo Museum
Housed in the former Beylical Palace (the royal palace of the
Bey, or Regent), the
Bardo Museum contains one of the world's largest collections of mosaics.
Roman Ruins
Thuburbo Majus
Near El Fahs, the remains at Thuburbo Majus date from Imperial times and are
typical
of a Roman city in North Africa. The Capitol (168 AD) is in the left background.
Dougga
Dougga's existence is recorded as early as the 4th century
BC, and by the 2nd century BC it had become the seat
of the Numidian
king Massinissa.
The Romans arrive in the 2nd century AD. The Capitol dates from 166 AD,
and
is dedicated to the gods Jupiter,
Juno
and Minerva,
for the safety of co-emperors Marcus
Aurelius and Lucius
Verus.
Kairouan
The Great Mosque
The original mosque was founded by Oqba Ibn Nafaa in the 7th
century; the present structure was
built by the Aghlabids
in the 9th century, although the lowest storey of the minaret is said to date
from
730. Notice how the size of the minaret's windows increase as the
ascending storeys grow smaller.
Fishmonger
El Kef
Sidi Bou Makhlouf Mosque
Built in about 1300 the mosque is named after the patron
saint of El Kef, who originally came from Fès.
At the beginning of the nineteenth
century the building became home to members of the Aissaouia sufi
brotherhood, known for their more outlandish rituals.
Cap Bon
Café du Fauconnier
The rugged coastline of Cap Bon makes an appropriate breeding ground for falcons, and falconry is a popular sport.