FROM AÏN-GHRASESIA TO METLAOUI, 182 M., railway in 13 hrs. (fares 32
fr. 85, 24 fr. 95, 17 fr. 55 c.; from Susa 38 fr. 35, 29 fr. 10, 20
fr. 50 c.). This new railway, diverging here to the S.W., affords the
easiest access to the ruins of Sbeïtla, Kasserine, Thelepte, and
Feriana in central Tunisia. It runs over a low saddle between the
Sebkha Sidi el-Hani (see p. 370) and the marshy plain of the _Oued
Hathob_, and across the bleak plain of Kairwan, to the S.W. borders of
the Sahara Atlas, which it reaches at the foot of _Jebel Touila_, with
its zinc and lead mines.
47½ M. _Hadjeb el-Aïoun_, the ancient _Masclianae_, on the _Oued
Zourzour_, is the chief market (Tues.) for the _Oulad Sendassen_, a
branch of the Djlass tribe (p. 370), and, like the following stations,
possesses an alfa-depot. Branch-line to _Sbiba_, the ancient _Sufes_,
projected.
Farther on we pass the foot of _Jebel Hadjeb el-Aïoun_ to (58½ M.)
_Djilma_ (1152 ft.), the Roman _Cilma_, on a tributary of the Hathob,
here called _Oued Djilma_, We now enter, to the W., the valley of the
_Oued Menasseur_, at the foot of _Jebel Mrilah_ (4508 ft.) and _Jebel
Sbeïtla_, inhabited by the _Madjeur_ tribe (p. 362).
76 M. =Sbeïtla= (1762 ft.; hotel), near the extensive ruins of
_Sufetula_, on a plateau on the right bank of the _Oued Sbeïtla_, as
the Oued Menasseur is named here. It was a poor castellum in the time
of Augustus, but after the 2nd cent, became one of the most important
junctions of different routes, and in the 5–7th cent. attained its
prime under the Vandals and the Byzantines. In 645 it became the
residence of Gregory, the governor, who had rebelled against
Byzantium; it was soon after attacked by the Arabs under Abdallah ibn
Saâd (p. 322), and in 648 it was entirely destroyed. The chief boast
of Sbeïtla is the *_Capitol_ (comp. p. 288), rising in the midst of
the ruins. The temple-court, once used by the Byzantines as a fortress
and now destroyed save a few fragments of the limestone pavement, was
entered by a three-arched propylæum, bearing an inscription in honour
of Antoninus Pius (138–61). The chief temple was pseudo-peripteral,
with composite columns; there are still traces of the steps up to it
and of the portico. The three cellæ are well preserved, especially at
the back, and have a transverse wall, instead of a semicircular apse,
adjoining the Corinthian smaller temples. We may note also a fine
_Triumphal Arch_ of the time of Constantine, the remains of a
_Byzantine Church_ incorporated with a temple, to the N. of the
capitol, a _Chapel_ built into a smaller temple, to the E., and the
_Aqueduct_ across the Oued Sbeïtla. Higher up is the spring of the new
water-conduit, 103 M. long, which supplies the town of Sfax.
Passing many other ruins we come to the _Plaine du Foussana_ (about
2650 ft.), one of the upper districts of the Oued Hathob, here called
_Foussana_, at the S. foot of _Jebel Semmama_ (4307 ft.; with the
zinc-mines of _Aïn-Khamouda_ on its N. side). Then a descent to (95
M.) =Kasserine= (2382 ft.), the ancient _Cillium_, a flourishing town
from the 2nd cent. A.D. under the name of _Colonia Cillitana_, now a
poor village with a caravanserai on the Thala and Feriana road (see p.
362 and below), not far from the chalky limestone masses of _Jebel
Chambi_ (5217 ft.; p. 320). We may here visit the ruins of the Roman
_Arch_ and of the _Tomb of the Petronii_, and above all the
interesting _Mausoleum of T. Flavius Secundus_, of the time of Trajan.
This is a kind of tower in three stories, in the Phœnician fashion,
terminating in a pyramid; the 110 bombastic lines of the inscription
correspond with the number of years attained by the deceased. A little
to the S., on the _Oued Derb_, are remains of a Roman _Barrage_,—The
landscape farther on, where Roman ruins still abound, assumes more and
more the Sahara character.
116 M. =Thelepte= (hotel) is the station for the ruins of the ancient
town of that name, now called _Medinet el-Khedima_ (‘the old town’),
which in the 2nd–4th cent. A.D. was the chief place on the road
between Tebessa (p. 315) and Gafsa (p. 383). Large thermæ, ruins of
early-Christian basilicas, and a Byzantine fortress with many towers
are to be seen here. The extensive Roman _Quarries_ are interesting.
118½ M. =Feriana= (2628 ft.; Hôt. Hostelier; Restaurant Bernard; pop.
1200), an oasis of corn, fruit, and vegetables on the _Oued Feriana_,
in the midst of a sandy plain, has a new and pretty mosque.—Thence we
cross the _Plateau de Msila_ (2930 ft.), overgrown with alfa, and
descend to (134 M.) _Maâjen Bel-Abbès_, with the ruins of a Roman
town, 28 M. to the N.W. of Gafsa. 141 M. _Sidi Bou-Beker_.
153½ M. _Henchir Souatir_ (about 1640 ft.). A short branch-line
diverges hence to _Aïn-Moularès_ (1806 ft.), a caravanserai near the
great beds of phosphate on the Algerian frontier.
166 M. _Tabeditt_ is connected by railway with (9½ M.) _Redeyef_,
which has rich phosphate deposits.—Beyond Tabeditt the train runs
through the valley of the _Oued Seldja_ (p. 386), here inhabited by
the _Oulad Sidi-Abid_ nomads, to (183 M.) _Metlaoui_ (p. 386).
The KAIRWAN LINE runs to the W. over the bleak steppe, often passing the
tents and the browsing camels and cattle of the Djlass (p. 370). We
cross the Oued Hathob, here called _Zeroud_.
To the right, especially in the afternoon, we have a delightful *View of
the white houses of Kairwan, with its countless domes and towering
minarets. Nearing the station we see extensive fields of cactus and
large alfa-stacks.
36 M. =Kairwan.=—HOTELS (comp. p. 324). _Splendid Hotel_ (Pl. a; C,
5), R. 3, B. 1, déj. or D. 3, omn. ½ fr.; _Hôt. de France_ (Pl. b; C,
5), R. 2½–4, B. ¾, déj. or D. 3, pens. 7½ fr.; both in the Place
Carnot, tolerable.—_Café de France_, Rue Massicault.—POST & TELEGRAPH
OFFICE (Pl. C, D, 4), Rue de la Poste.—PHYSICIAN. _Dr. Santschi_ (a
Swiss), Grande Rue, near the Bâb Djelladin.
In HALF-A-DAY, if pressed for time, we may visit the _Grande Rue_, the
_Souks_, the _Sidi Okba Mosque_, and the _Mosquée du Barbier_. Tickets
for the mosques are obtained at the office of the Contrôle Civil (p.
373) or at the hotels. The overseers of the mosques mostly speak
Arabic only. The guides, who are quite unnecessary, are very
importunate.
Travellers in haste should endeavour to secure a cab (as yet only
one), drive to the Contrôle Civil, the Barber’s Mosque, and back to
the Porte de Tunis (p. 377), and there begin their inspection of the
town.
_Kairwan_ or _Kairouan_ (243 ft.; pop. 22,000, incl. about 800
Europeans), the oldest capital of Ifrikia, is a town of purely Arabian
type, the most curious in Tunisia. The old town is an irregular
rectangle, enclosed by a wall 33 ft. high and 2 M. in length; the large
W. suburb, also purely Oriental, is the _Faubourg des Djlass_, called
after the nomadic tribe of that name (p. 370); to the S. is a new suburb
near the station. The numerous mosques and zaouïas date mostly from the
Turkish period. The town holds market for the extensive plain of
Kairwan, and the souks are still important, though manufactures have
declined. The climate (p. 321) is extremely hot in summer.
Kairwan was founded by Sidi Okba ben-Nâfi (p. 322) in 671, and was
appointed by the caliphs to be the seat of the governors of Ifrikia.
As the capital of the great Aglabide empire (p. 323) and the seat of
the oldest high school in N. Africa, it was hardly less important than
Cordova (p. 68), and the sumptuous mosque of Sidi Okba rapidly became
the favourite goal of pilgrims from E. Barbary. After the Hilalides
(p. 323) had destroyed the greater part of the town in 1048 it was for
centuries almost deserted, notwithstanding the favour shown to it by
Abd el-Mûmen (p. 95), the Hafsides, and the Merinides (p. 95). In the
early 16th cent. several quarters still lay in ruins. It was not till
the Turkish period that the sacred town, ‘one of the four gates of
Paradise’, which neither Christian nor Jew durst enter, again became
the religious centre of the land. To spend one’s last days within its
walls, and to be buried in hallowed earth outside its gates, seemed to
believers the height of bliss. Its sacred character, which however did
not prevent the beys of Tunis from bombarding and partly destroying
the rebellious town, was finally lost when the mosques were desecrated
by the entry of the French troops in 1881.
[Illustration: KAIROUAN]
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.