World Heritage Site in the Eyes of the Germans, Six

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The cradle of Islam

The ancient city of Kairouan

Fairytale columns prop up the domed hall of the Great Mosque.

The Arab commander Oqba ibn Nafi, a student of the Prophet Muhammad, is said to have inspired him to build a barracks and a desert caravan post on the western edge of the Sahel Desert in the 7th century. The original intention of the establishment of Kairouan may have been a strategic consideration, but it objectively contributed to the rise and prosperity of the city of Kairouan and elevated it to the metropolis of Ifrikya, an Arab province. Yet it ceded its political position first to Mahdia and then to Cairo at the same rate. Nevertheless, the spiritual and religious status of Kairouan is hard to shake. To this day, with the exception of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem, Kairouan is still regarded as one of the religious holy places in the Muslim world, and seven pilgrimages to Kairouan are tantamount to one hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. The German writer Reiner Maria Rilke wrote passionately of Clara Rilke on December 21, 1910: "The city in the walls of the circular battlements is flat, white, like a mirage, surrounded by nothing but plains and mausoleums, and the whole city seems to be surrounded by more and more untouched white bones outside the walls." Here, people miraculously feel the simplicity and vitality of this religion, the prophet did not leave, and the city is like an empire. ”

The imposing and imposing walls of the amarand are a sight to behold: the streets of the medina criss-cross the streets of monastic spires that glorify Allah Allah. People can also enjoy the circular mosque domes, souks, West Hill and Ichima Pingchuan. The most beautiful thing in Kairouan is dusk, when the sun sprinkles (19) long shadows on the corners of the city, and the stones exposed by the hot sun flash red in the sunset.

Almost all of Islam's important religious and secular buildings still adorn Kairouan today, are from the heyday of the economic and cultural development of the Aghlabiden dynasty, which was capitalized in the 9th century. The first Islamic church in tunisia's fertile land, Sidi-Oqba, known as the "Grand Mosque," is also due to the Agrabidens, which has since been the blueprint for Moorish church architecture. The French writer I Maupassant praised this most sacred building in Tunisia: "The Sidi-Okuma Mosque is a magnificent building, white, heavy, majestic, supported by a strong buttress, exuding an indescribable wild beauty. Entering the mosque, the first thing that catches your eye is the palatial courtyard, surrounded by two cloisters, supported by two rows of elegant Roman columns. In the face of this scene, people seem to be in the beautiful and charming courtyard of the Italian monastery. Unfortunately, non-Muslims are only allowed to enter the inner courtyard, but it is not worth the trip. If you're lucky, you can at least take a few glimpses of the beautiful prayer hall, built in the traditional Omaya tradition, with its artistic treasures such as prayer niches and precious Baghdad gilded glazed tiles. Guy Maupassant also describes this: "Suddenly a majestic temple appeared in front of us, which was like a sacred 'forest', because there were 180 pillars supporting the 17-hall church vault, all made of agate, porphyry or marble. ”

The second most important holy site in Kairouan is the "Three Doors Mosque" in Medina, which was also a gift to their city by the Agrabiden people of the art cell. The most intoxicating view is the façade with its three arches, with intricate stripe ornamentation, engraved in Kufa script and surrounded by inlaid straps chiseled with plant patterns. "The mosque is the most elegant, colorful and stylish. The architecture I saw was the most perfect masterpiece of Arabic decorative art. This is what Guy Maupassant said after visiting the Balbier Mosque, decorated with fine glazed porcelain. The mosque is magical and, as always, attracts pilgrims to Birbarrotta, because according to legend, the spring here leads underground to the holy well zem-Zem in Mecca.

The bustling alleys of the Medina souks lead visitors into a completely different secular atmosphere, where the sounds of bargaining and shouting are endless. Because Kairouan is not only a sacred pilgrimage site, but also a distribution center for the carpet trade, in this modern and vibrant city, both handicrafts and mass-produced goods collide with each other.

Daniela Shetta, (1955-), M.A., ethnographer, freelance travel journalist, contributor to Polyglott, Dumont and Bruckmann publishing houses and Time, covering the Maghreb region and southern Africa.

Overview

The ancient city of Kairouan

Cultural heritage: The old city, surrounded by amethysted walls, has gates such as the Khoukha Gate; The great mosque with 17 halls, the "Three Doors Mosque", which is decorated in the Spanish Moorish style and has a wide variety of ornaments; The so-called "Babier Mosque"

Continent: Africa

Country: Tunisia

Location: Kairouan, southern Tunisia, on the edge of the central steppe

Year inscribed on the list: 1988

Significance: The first holy city of the Maghreb, the "Pearl of the Agrabidon Dynasty"

Memorabilia:

670: The ancient city of Kairouan is rumored to be founded

672: Construction of the Grand Mosque (Sidi-Okurba Mosque) begins

774: Expansion of the Great Mosque

Around 800: Occupied by Ibrahim Ibn al-Aghlab, the magistrate of Harun-ar-Raschid

836: The Great Mosque is rebuilt, and the prayer hall is 72 meters wide

1052: Construction of the city wall

1618: After reconstruction, the Grand Mosque is expanded and rebuilt for the fifth time

1860: Construction of the "Sabre Mosque"

World Heritage Name: Kairouan Ancient City