Part 56

In the centre of the S. suburb, almost exclusively inhabited by Europeans, is the PLACE CARNOT (Pl. C, 5), with its small _Jardin Public_. On its W. side the Rue du Contrôle, with the building of the _Contrôle Civil_ (Pl. C, 5; see p. 372), leads to the N. to the Place Mérabet (Pl. C, 4) and the S. gate of the town-walls, which were largely rebuilt after the bombardment of 1740.

On emerging from the Rue du Contrôle we see immediately to the left the _Zaouïa Sidi ben-Aïssa_ (Pl. C, 5), where the hideous castigations of the Aïssaoua sect, originally Moroccan, are held on Friday afternoons. A little to the N.E., in the Rue de la Poste, is the _M’sala Darb et-Tamar_ (Pl. D, 4; no admittance), a large open place of prayer for great Mohammedan festivals, with an underground cistern for rain-water.

The main street of the old town, between the _Bâb Djelladin_ (Pl. C, 4; ‘Porte des Peaussiers’), or S. gate, now partly demolished, and the N. gate, the Porte de Tunis (p. 377), is the GRANDE RUE (Pl. C, B, 4, 3), officially called Rue du Général-Saussier, enlivened by a picturesque crowd and numerous small shops.

In the Rue Sidi el-Guerian, the second side-street on the right, is the zaouïa of =Sidi Abid el-Guerian= (Pl. C, 4), an elegant building of the Turkish period (16th cent.?). The handsome portal, with the black and white striped decoration so often recurring in the other buildings, leads into a vestibule with tiled walls and stucco decoration, beyond which are a fine colonnaded court in two stories (with the sumptuous tomb of the saint on the left) and a small mosque. Adjacent on the left is the court of the Medersa (p. 228), where the capitals of the columns are remarkable for their richness and variety.

Farther on in the Grande Rue are several mosques of little architectural interest. The gateway on the right, halfway between the two town-gates, leads to the =Souks= (Pl. C, 3, 4). The vaulted main street here, the _Souk des Selliers_ and _Souk des Cordonniers_, is intersected by two vaulted side-streets, the _Souk des Parfums_ and _Souk des Tapis_. The latter, for the sale of carpets, woollen rugs (margums), etc., has declined since the vegetable dyes have been superseded by the aniline. The farther part of the main street is the _Souk des Gandourahs_, ending at the quiet Place Finot (Pl. C, 3).

To the S.E. from the Place Finot the short Rue Moulei-Taïeb leads to the—

=Djamâa Tleta Biban= (Pl. C, D, 3; Mosquée des Trois-Portes), in the Rue Hassin Lalenni. It dates from the time of Obeïd Allah el-Mahdi (p. 369), being the only early-Moorish building in Kairwan besides the Sidi Okba mosque, but was much altered in 1440 and 1509. The peculiar façade in three sections, with blind arcades (possessing Byzantine capitals) on the lower story, is composed above of older slabs with geometrical ornamentation. The interior is uninteresting.

We follow the Rue de la Mosquée des Trois-Portes to the N.E., then the Rue Zoughar to the right, and at the end of it a street to the left to the town-wall. To the left, in 2 min. more, we reach the Place de Sousse, with the _Bâb el-Khoukha_ (Pl. D, 2, 3), the E. town-gate, an interesting double gateway, with two fine Byzantine capitals on the inner archway. From the N. end of the Place de Sousse the broad Rue de la Grande-Mosquée leads to the—

*=Sidi Okba Mosque= (_Grande Mosquée_; Pl. D, 1, 2), one of the oldest in the world, and, next to the Kairwin mosque at Fez, the most important in Barbary. After the mosques of Mecca and Medina and the Dome of the Rock at Jerusalem (p. 477), this has ever been deemed the greatest sanctuary of Islam. The poverty of the oldest building, founded by Sidi Okba ben-Nâfi in 671, is evidenced by the mud-built walls of the old mihrâb (p. 377). A new building was first erected in 703 by Hassan ibn en-Nôman (p. 322), the conqueror of Carthage. The plan seems to have been suggested by that of the oldest Egyptian mosques (such as the mosque of Amru, p. 460), combined with that of the Damous el-Karita (p. 349), while the ruins of Carthage, Susa, and Sbeïtla (p. 371) supplied the building-materials. Of a second new building by the governor Bichr ibn Safuan, in 724, the fortress-like lower story of the minaret still exists. A further extension was made in 821 by the Aglabide Sijadet Allah I. The central story of the minaret, the arcades of the quadrangle, the Bâb el-Behou (p. 376), and the last enlargement of the sanctuary itself are due to the Aglabide Ibrahim ibn-Ahmed (d. 875), who erected also the fine dome of the mihrâb, caused the mihrâb-wall to be decorated by Bagdad artists, and presented the superb Friday pulpit. The present maksûra (seat of the caliph) dates from the time of the Zirite Abû Teminn el-Muizz (p. 443). The decay of the mosque after the irruption of the Hilalides seems to have been first arrested by Abd el-Mûmen and the Hafside El-Mostanser Billah (p. 332). The latter, in 1284, caused most of the outer gateways to be rebuilt. At a later period we hear of restorations by Mohammed Murad Bey (p. 335) and Hussein Ali ben-Turki (p. 323). In 1828–42 the insecure state of the mosque necessitated the rebuilding of the external walls on the N.W. and N.E. sides and the restoration of the minaret, the Bâb el-Behou, and the arcades of the court. In 1872 the nave and its two adjoining aisles also were restored, but with little taste, and since 1895 the French government has bestowed its attention on the transept and the side-portals.

The immense edifice, an irregular quadrilateral of 136 by about 78–82 yds., covers an area of over 2¼ acres. The fortress-like OUTER WALL, with its huge buttresses, has four doors on both its longer sides. These have lost their bronze mountings and some of them their cupolas. Above the S.E. wall rises the dome of the mihrâb chapel and above the N.W. wall the minaret.

We first walk round the whole enclosure. From the Rue de la Grande-Mosquée a short street leads to the right, past the new _Court of Ablution_ (comp. p. 63), to a large open space adjoining the S.E. end of the mosque, where there are numerous underground silos or granaries. From the walls here project the buildings of the mihrâb chapel and the maksûra, with the Bâb el-Imâm (p. 377).

A few paces farther, at the beginning of the ‘Boulevard Ali Bey’, a poor street on the N.E. side of the precincts, is the massive square gateway tower of *_Bâb Lella Rejana_, adjoined by the insignificant domed tomb of that saint. The front half of the gateway, restored in 1828, is painted like the minaret with ‘giant-spiders’ to ward off snakes and scorpions, and is adorned below the battlements with blind horseshoe arcades. The perforated stucco decoration of the arch-recesses of the side-portals is one of the earliest examples of such work. The long inscription over the door extols caliph El-Mostanser-Billah (p. 374), the builder.

Passing the next three gates we come to the N. angle of the precincts, where their fortress-like character is most apparent. Beside the embrasures of the minaret (p. 376) are seen cannon-ball marks made during the bombardments of the 18th century.

The S.W. wall of the mosque, in the Rue de la Grande-Mosquée, which we now regain, is most in conformity with the original plan. Most noteworthy here are the first gateway-tower, near the N.W. angle, and the _Bâb es-Sultân_, the last gate, through which led the shortest way from the caliph’s palace to the maksûra (comp. p. 377). The domes, now adorned with the Turkish crescent, still possess their girdle of battlements and have their old cornice of bricks placed crosswise.

The present ENTRANCE GATEWAY (visitors knock) is one of the small middle gates beside the Bâb es-Sultân. We descend a few steps to the court (now below the level of the street), where the irregular plan of the building is most distinctly seen.

The *COURT is bordered on the N.W. side by a single colonnade and on the other sides by double arcades, which on the S.E. side form the porch of the sanctuary. In contrast to the orange-court at Cordova (p. 70), it is much larger than the sanctuary itself. The marble pavement is modern. The perforated stone in the centre of the court conducts the rain-water from the gutters on the flat roofs into a filtering-apparatus and into three _Cisterns_ below. The old _Court of Ablution_ (Ancienne Mida; comp. above), near the W. angle, and the rooms adjoining the minaret are now used as lumber-rooms.

The _Minaret_, 128 ft. high, an extremely massive tower in three stories, rises in the centre of the N.W. wall, and not in the central axis of the building as is usual. The substructures have been built of Roman stones and the doorway framed with antique decorative slabs. The square lowest story and narrower middle story are crowned with peculiar battlements with small embrasures. Above the three metal balls (p. 195) of the present dome is perched the Turkish crescent.

The *ASCENT OF THE MINARET (127 easy steps) should not be omitted. On the lower platform we note the muezzin’s hut (p. 180). The upper platform commands a superb survey of the many-domed town, of the Barber’s Mosque (p. 378), of the large cemeteries to the W., and of the great plain of Kairwan, bounded by Jebel Trozza and other distant hills.

In the centre of the porch of the sanctuary is the square _Bâb el-Behou_ (‘pavilion-gate’) with a great horseshoe archway and pinnacled summit. The drum and dome, formerly resembling the dome of the mihrâb, were rebuilt in 1828. The timber ceiling of the adjoining arcades is now partly replaced by brick-vaulting.

The *_Main Door_ of the sanctuary, in cedar-wood, also was renewed in 1828 by wood-carvers from Sfax (p. 380). The wings are beautifully enriched with network, rosettes, and arabesques (p. 445). Over the door are a frieze with an inscription and another adorned with mashrebîyeh or lattice-work, and above these is a pediment decorated with charming scroll-work. The side-doors, also in cedar-wood, and partly modern, have a simpler geometric ornamentation, resembling that of the maksûra screen (p. 377).

The *INTERIOR of the sanctuary, in the form of a so-called Egyptian cross (=⟙=), with a broad transept at the back, has a nave and sixteen aisles, with eight rows of arcades. In the axis of the Bâb el-Behou, above the intersection of the nave and transept, rises the dome of the mihrâb-chapel, in front of the mihrâb-recess. The timber ceilings of the aisles, dating from different centuries, still retain interesting traces of their old painting. The effect of the nave is marred by the new braces and the clumsy modern stucco-decoration of the upper walls. The candelabra are ancient, but of little artistic value. The old pavement has disappeared and so too have the tapestries once used for festivals. The somewhat colourless aspect of the interior is compensated by the beauty of the columns, which here, as well as in the court, merit careful study. The shafts, as at Cordova, are of surprisingly various materials: white and coloured marble, onyx, granite, porphyry, and variegated breccia. Besides the few Moorish capitals in the more modern parts of the mosque, we note Roman, early-Christian, Byzantine, and even Punic-Ionic forms. Owing to their unequal lengths some of the columns have been raised while others are partly buried in the earth.

The *_Mihrâb Chapel_, unfortunately thickly whitewashed, is specially noteworthy for its sumptuous decoration and the peculiar construction of its dome. The chief enrichment of the wall consists of *Fayence with gold lustre, the oldest mediæval relic of this art-industry, the origin of which seems to be indicated by the name of ‘tchini’ (China tiles) given to it by native writers. The two beautiful Byzantine columns which bear the archivolts of the mihrâb are said to have come from Carthage. Through the marble screen of the niche, now disfigured by painting, we obtain a glimpse at the ancient mihrâb of the time of Sidi Okba (p. 374).

The **_Mimbar_, or Friday pulpit, unfortunately very tastelessly restored in 1907, adjoining the mihrâb-recess on the right, is one of the earliest and most beautiful creations of early-Moorish art. On the model of the Byzantine ivory carving, its rectangular sections are most charmingly enriched with a great variety of scroll-work and arabesques. The material is sycamore-wood.

The present *_Maksûra_ (see p. 71), to the right of the pulpit, seems to be now enclosed with fragments of an older screen of the caliph’s maksûra and parts of the wooden screen of a former maksûra for the ladies of the court (to the left of the pulpit). The central sections, destroyed in part, with their plain geometric decoration, are framed with graceful arabesques. The long Cufic inscription under the pinnacles of the summit records the name of the founder (p. 374) amidst verses from the Koran.

At the back of the Maksûra is a *Door, framed with late-Roman marble ornamentation and tastefully embellished with iron nails and two knockers, leading into a corridor. The side-room on the left, with another fine old door, contains a few relics of the once famous Kairwan _Library_. The small door in the external wall is the _Bâb el-Imâm_ (‘gate of the preacher’).

We now return by the Rue el-Kadraouine (Pl. D, C, 2, 3) to Place Finot (p. 373) and the Souks; or we follow the town-wall, through the Rue Sidi Abd el-Kader (Pl. D, C, 2) and past the zaouïa _Sidi Abd el-Kâder el-Djilâni_ (p. 183) and the _Kasba_ (Pl. B, C, 2; barracks), and so regain the Grande Rue.

At the N. end of the Grande Rue is the new _Porte de Tunis_ (Pl. B, 3; adjoining the fine old gateway, adorned with antique columns), leading into the PLACE DE TUNIS, the outer market-place, a haunt of reciters and jugglers, with a large _Fondouk_ (see p. 281).

From the Place de Tunis we may now walk to the N., past the pretty park of the _Pépinière_ (Pl. B, 1), to the (10 min.) _Bassins des Aglabides_, two round reservoirs, the smaller of which was once used for filtering purposes. Both have been utilized since 1885 for the conduit of Cherichera, 18¾ M. long.

A road, much used by caravans, leads from the Place de Tunis, past the dilapidated _Feskia du Saïd_ (Pl. A, 2; a rain-water basin), of the time of Sijadet Allah I., and between cactus-hedges, to the N.W. to (¼ hr.) the so-called—

*=Mosquée du Barbier= (beyond Pl. A, 2), the finest building of the Turkish period. This mosque, which has long been regarded as the second great sanctuary of Kairwan, lies most picturesquely among low hills and is surrounded with white tombs of saints and Moslem cemeteries. It is dedicated to Abû Zemaâ el-Beloui, the traditional friend (sahâb) and barber of the prophet.

The extensive group of buildings, with several medersas annexed, dates chiefly from the 17–19th centuries. The outer gate leads into a low forecourt. In the corner, between the two main entrances, rises the handsome minaret (*View), in four stories, with blind arcades in the two lower, and crowned with pinnacles and the muezzin’s turret. The large W. portal, adorned like the minaret with Byzantine columns, opens into the first inner court, on whose W. side rises the plain mosque itself with its nave and two aisles. A remarkably beautiful domed chamber leads into the second *Inner Court, a perfect gem, with its slender little marble columns, old wall-tiles, rich stucco-decoration, and modern soffited ceilings. A superb marble portal of Italian workmanship (18th cent.) leads to the alleged tomb of Sidi Sahâb, which is railed in and surrounded with valuable old Kairwan carpets besides much European frippery. From the domed chamber a *Colonnade to the left and another ante-room, also embellished with fine mural tiles, lead us back to the outer court.

The large _Moslem Cemeteries_, which extend round the _Faubourg des Djlass_ (p. 372) from the Barber’s Mosque all the way to the S. suburb, still contain some very old tombstones. They afford a beautiful view of Kairwan, especially by evening light.

The =Djamâa Amor Abeda= (Pl. A, 3, 4; popularly called Mosquée des Sabres), whose five huge domes of mediæval type dominate the poor streets of the Faubourg des Djlass, was built by the saint of that name (d. 1871), formerly a smith, with alms collected for the purpose.

59. From Susa to Sfax.

Till the opening of the new railway (81½ M.) in 1911, which diverges from the line to Mehdia at Ouardenine (p. 369), this excursion must be made by ROAD (79½ M.). Motor-omnibus or the Bône-Guélma Co., starting from the station, in 6½ hrs. (in the reverse direction 7 hrs.), fare 7 fr. 50 c.; at El-Djem, halfway (fare 3 fr. 75 c.), the ½ hr. allowed for visiting the amphitheatre barely suffices. Seats should be secured beforehand; outside (impériale) preferable in fine weather. Diligence at night, in 14 hrs., fare 12 fr. 90 c. (to El-Djem in 6½ hrs., 6 fr.), uncomfortable.—STEAMERS to Sfax, comp. R. 64.

_Susa_, see p. 366. The road leads round the town on the side next the sea. It then ascends through the new industrial and villa quarters, and past the _Jewish_ and the _Christian Cemeteries_ (on the left), to the hill-country of the _Sahel_ (p. 366).

A little to the left lie the thriving villages of _Zaouïet-Sousse_ and _Ksiba_, and to the right _Messadine_. The soil is extremely fertile; the road is bordered with huge olive-trees and tall cactus-hedges.

To the right, also off the road, lies (7½ M.) =M’Saken= (154 ft.; Hôt. de France; pop. 10,000), a station on the Mehdia line (p. 369), whence a road leads to Kairwan (p. 372).

The country beyond M’Saken, one of the most fertile parts of central Tunisia in ancient times, has become a mere desert since the Arab irruptions. In the midst of the dreary steppe, scantily overgrown with alfa, appear a few corn-fields and olive-plantations, the first signs of renewed colonization. Here and there are seen Arabs with their camels, belonging to the _Souassi_ tribe, now partly settled on the land, descendants of the Hilalides (p. 323).

In the distance to the right, beyond _Bourdjine_, the only village before El-Djem, appears the _Sebkha Sidi el-Hani_ (p. 370). 23 M. _Col de Koudiat el-Goulal_ (525 ft.), the highest point on the road.

We are now in sight of the amphitheatre of _El-Djem_, whose enormous pile dominates the landscape for miles around.

40 M. =El-Djem= (361 ft.; Hôt. de l’Amphithéâtre, R. 2–3, B. ¾, déj. 3, D. 3¼ fr., humble, charges should be ascertained), a poor Arab village with a few olive and cactus plantations, is the site of _Thysdrus_, which in the late-Roman age was one of the most thriving towns near the E. coast and the junction of seven roads.

About ¼ M. from the inn and the post-office (halting-place of the motor-omnibus) is the **_Amphitheatre_, the grandest Roman structure in Barbary (first half of the 3rd cent.), noted in history also as a fortress. Here in 689, after the defeat of the united Byzantines and Berbers by Zoheir ibn Kaïs (p. 322), the prophetess (kahina) Damia, the legendary leader of the Berbers, is said to have still defied her enemies. In 1685 the building, still almost intact, where many a rebel had sought refuge, was blown up on the W. side by order of Mohammed Murad Bey (p. 335). Since then it has served the villagers of El-Djem as a quarry. The topmost story, consisting of an attica with Corinthian pilasters, the tiers of seats, and the stone steps have gradually disappeared. The ascent (not without the Arab keeper; ½ fr.) is very toilsome.

The remaining three stories are 108 ft. high; the groundfloor is now buried 10 ft. below the surface. The arches (once 60) of the lower and upper stories are adorned with Corinthian mural columns; the central story has composite capitals. The axes are 164 and 136 yds. respectively; the arena where the gladiators and wild beasts fought, unearthed in 1909, with its huge substructures (comp. p. 348), measures 71 by 57 yds. (This is the fifth in size of Roman amphitheatres: Colosseum 205 by 170, the Capuan 186 by 153, that of Italica near Seville 170 by 147, and that of Verona 167 by 134 yds.).

Recent excavations outside the village, whose dirty streets flank the amphitheatre on two sides, have revealed vestiges of _Thermae_ (about 10 min. to the N.W.), of _Cisterns_, a _Circus_, and a small older _Amphitheatre_. In the forecourt of a kubba, 6 min. to the S.W., are placed several large Roman capitals.

Road from El-Djem to _Mehdia_, see p. 370.

We again traverse a very monotonous region, without a single village. On the left is the _Sebkha m’taa el-Djem_, a salt-lake. Beyond it lies the hill-country of the Arab _Metellit_ tribe, belonging to the _Terres Sialines_ (see below).

Beyond (61½ M.) _Ste. Juliette_ we enter the olive-zone of Sfax. 71½ M. _Kubba Sidi-Salah_, on the _Oued Sidi Salah_, which flows largely underground and now partly supplies Sfax with water. Lastly the road leads between garden-walls built of mud and fringed with Indian figs and through the suburb of _Moulinville_ to—

79½ M. =Sfax.=—The RAILWAY STATION (Pl. C, D, 2), for Metlaoui (R. 60) and for the new line to Susa (see p. 378), is close to the sea, ¼ M. from the hotels or from the quay. Here at present the motor-omnibus from Susa stops.

ARRIVAL BY SEA (comp. R. 64). The steamers of the Comp. Gén. Transatlantique (office, Boul. de France 13), the Società Nazionale (office near Douane), and the Navigation Mixte (office, Rue Emile Loubet) moor at the quay. Harbour-dues 4 or 3 fr.; cabs, see below.

HOTELS (comp. p. 324). _Hôt. de France_ (Pl. a; B, 3), Rue Victor-Hugo 4, R. 3–6, B. 1, déj. or D. 3, pens. 9–10 fr., plain; _Hôt. Moderne_ (Pl. b; B, 3), same street, No. 6, R. 3–5, B. 1, D. 8, pens. 7½–10 fr.—CAFÉS. _Cristal_ and _Glacier_, Boul. de France.

POST & TELEGRAPH OFFICE (Pl. 6; C, 3), Avenue de Paris.

BANKS (comp. p. 174). _Banque de l’Algérie_, Rue Michaud; _Comp. Algérienne_ (No. 32) and _Comptoir d’Escompte de Paris_ (No. 15), Ave. de Paris.—BOOKSELLERS. _Chabert_, Rue de la République 51; _Revol_, same street, No. 17.

BRITISH VICE-CONSUL, _S. Leonardi_.—LLOYD’S AGENT, _E. Carleton_.—ENGLISH PHYSICIAN, _Dr. P. Buckwell_.

CABS (stands near the Marché aux Céréales, p. 381, and in the Rue de Thina, Pl. B, C, 3). Drive within a radius of 2 kilomètres (1¼ M.) from Bâb Diwân, ½ fr.; with two horses, ¾ or 1 fr.; per hr. (one horse) 1 fr. 30, (two horses) 1 fr. 50 or 1 fr. 70 c.; half-day (6 hrs.) 5½, 7, or 9 fr.; day (12 hrs.) 9, 12, or 15 fr.

DILIGENCE OFFICE (p. 173) in the theatre (Pl. C, 3).—MOTOR CARS, for excursions, at _Garage Pasquier_, Rue Lamoricière (100–150 fr. per day); _Central Garage_, Rue Charles-Quint.

The SIGHTS may be visited in 2–3 hrs.