LARGE MOSQUE

The first mosque in the Western Muslim world, the Great Mosque of Kairouan, or Sidi Okbafut Mosque, was built around 680 by the founder of the city. Rebuilt three times, in 695, 774 and 836, it was then enlarged twice, in 862 and 875, to finally adopt an Aghlabid architecture that evokes more a fortress than a place of worship. A place of learning, the Great Mosque of Kairouan attracted intellectuals from all over the Arab world. With a unique exterior appearance - its ochre brick seems almost lustrous - the mosque has been brilliantly restored since 1962. In the middle of the ramparts, its vast marble-paved courtyard features a sundial that indicates the hours of prayer, as well as a rain collector for the ablutions of the faithful. The floor of the courtyard is marked with a multitude of holes designed to filter rainwater and lead it to the underground cisterns.

Like all primitive mosques, the Sidi Okba mosque consists of a prayer room, called " beit es Salât ", and a courtyard, " sahn" . The prayer room is rectangular, basilica type, and looks very similar to that of the mosque El Aqsâ. Both have naves placed perpendicular to the back wall, according to the order of the Christian basilicas. This superb building offers a beautiful unity despite its construction in several stages. The columns that surround it (there are more than 400 of them!), in pink or black marble, come in part from different ancient ruins of the country, including Carthage. There is also a mihrab, a niche placed against the back wall and indicating the direction of Mecca, decorated with tiles of the ninth century brought from Baghdad. The minbar, the preaching pulpit where the imam stands, is also an admirable piece, made of carved cedar wood from Mesopotamia. The courtyard of the mosque includes three galleries. Paved with stone, it offers the best angle to admire the three-story minaret, square and massive. The upper tower ends in a dome. The door frame of the minaret is made of carved stone, remarkable for the richness and beauty of its motifs. The steps of the staircase inside the minaret are all ancient gravestones from Christian cemeteries. The symphony of the columns and capitals of the prayer hall, the arabesques of the bas-reliefs, the gilding of the mihrab, the purity of the crystal chandeliers: these masterpieces make the Great Mosque one of the most beautiful monuments in the Muslim world.