Things to see and do Sousse

The ribat, on which a large paved square opens, dates back to the 8th century. Designed for military purposes, but also for religious studies, it presents a sober architecture with small cells distributed around an interior courtyard. Dominated by a nador and several towers at each corner, it also includes a prayer room. The whole is in good condition. From the top of the ribat, superb view on the city and on the courtyard of the great mosque! Even if this ribat is smaller than the one of Monastir, it remains charming despite everything!

Built between 838 and 841 by Bou Ftâta, the affranchi of the Amir El Aghlab Abu Iqâl, who gave her his name, is characterized by her simplicity and a great recount. The prayer room is square. Its dimensions are relatively modest, which implies that it was reserved for the Amir. But she does not visit…

Built by the Aghlabid emir, Abu El Abbas, in 850, it owes its massive and severe architecture as well as its eccentric location in relation to the city to its defensive function. In some respects, it is reminiscent of the Okba mosque in Kairouan. One can read a paleochristian influence, especially in the decoration of the mihrab. Divided into 13 naves, the prayer room is elongated. The mosque has the originality to be without minaret. The building stones, often uneven, give an archaic and charming aspect to the building.

The El Kobba museum is known for its zigzag pleated dome, unique in Tunisia. In the nineteenth century, this house housed the caravanserai of the French, before becoming an inn until the 1960s. Its frontage is decorated with niches and sumptuous arcades of times, this monument also has a central atrium. The architectural particularity of the place allows to maintain a pleasant temperature inside. Nowadays, the museum of Arts and Popular Traditions offers from its terrace a nice view on the souks and their maze of alleys.

Listed since 1988 as a Unesco World Heritage Site, the medina of Sousse is considered a typical example of the cities of the first centuries of Islam in the Maghreb. It retains its kasbah and its ramparts but also its Great Mosque, its ribat and the mosque Bou Ftata, a military and religious building. On the tower of Khalef is also a lighthouse since 1890. Without any doubt, you will go up and down its numerous alleys to discover the monuments of great importance which are still there today.

These 240 galleries, which run for 5 kilometers but can only be visited for about 40 meters, were used as tombs for some 25,000 Christians from the 2nd to the 4th century. There are four of them, three of which have been completely excavated, the catacombs of the Good Shepherd, Hermes and Severus. They are very well preserved when they were discovered, but they deteriorate rapidly once the earth is removed. The catacombs of Sousse are certainly less rich, but better preserved than those of Rome. The entrance is by the street of 25-July-57, near the station of hirings.