Part 51

The Rue de l’Eglise ends at the Rue de Djamâa ez-Zitouna, on the E. side of the chief mosque, the =Djamâa ez-Zitouna= (Pl. C, 5), which is said to trace its origin to the tomb of St. Oliva of Palermo, a Christian saint revered even by many Mohammedans. The mosque was founded in 732 by Obeïd Allah ibn el-Habbab, enlarged by the Aglabide Sijadet Allah I. (p. 374), and repeatedly altered under the Hafsides. When Tunis was plundered by the troops of Emp. Charles V. the mosque was used as a stable. Since then the edifice has been much modernized, and is lavishly adorned with spoils from Carthage. The chief portal, behind the colonnade in the Rue de Djamâa ez-Zitouna, where on Fridays the clergy receive the Sheikh ul-Islam, or supreme pontiff, and the side-portal in the Souk des Etoffes (p. 335) have each an ornamental ancient pillar as a lintel. The many-aisled interior, with its 161 columns and two domes over the nave, is similar in plan to the Sidi Okba Mosque at Kairwan (p. 374). The new minaret, 145 ft. high, erected in the Andalusian style by _Si Slîmân Ennigro_ in 1894, is a free copy of the old tower. The pile of buildings is best surveyed from the roof of the Dâr el-Bey (p. 336).

The mosque serves also as a lecture-room for the Mohammedan _University_. The instruction is under the direction of the Sheikh ul-Islam; there are about a hundred teachers and 400 students. Admittance to the twenty-two medersas, or colleges, for students from other parts of the country, and to the library famed for 7000 Oriental MSS. is granted to none but Mohammedans.

The Zitouna Mosque lies in the region of the *=Souks= (Pl. C, 5; Arabic _sûk_, market), the market quarter of the Medina, dating from the Hafside period (13th cent.). As usual in the East the lanes are roofed over. The small narrow shops are shut in by a counter, over which the trader swings himself into his seat with the aid of a rope. Most trades have their own streets. It is interesting to watch the people at work in those souks where the wares are made on the spot. The larger bazaars in some of the streets are designed solely to attract foreigners. The busiest time is the early morning. Friday is the Mohammedan, and Saturday the Jewish day of rest. As to purchases, see p. 331. In and near the Souks are many small Arab coffee-houses and barbers’ shops.

From the Rue de Djamâa ez-Zitouna we turn to the right to visit the =Souk el-Attârîn=, the spice-market, founded in 1249. Besides the spices and perfumes sold here (such as essence of jasmine and rose-geranium, sometimes palmed off on strangers as attar of roses), we observe amber, dried henna-leaves, henna-powder (p. 108), and the big candles, often branched, which are used at weddings and for the tombs of saints.—The side-street to the right, opposite the N. side of the mosque, is the _Souk el-Blagdjia_, for leather-wares.

At the W. end of the spice-market, to the left, opposite the Rue Sidi Ben-Arous (see below), is the =Souk des Etoffes=, on the W. side of the mosque, with its display of silk and woollen stuffs, carpets from Kairwan, and rugs from the Djerid (p. 386) and from Djerba (p. 393).

Adjoining the Souk des Etoffes is the busy _Souk des Femmes_, the only one frequented by Mohammedan women, where female apparel, trinkets, and slippers of Saffian leather (p. 109) are sold.

Between these two souks the _Souk el-Leffa_ (Pl. C, 5), off which, on the right, is the _Souk el-Kebabdjia_ (lace), leads to the *=Souk Sekajine=, the saddle-market, where, among gorgeous caparisons embroidered in gold and silver, we are specially struck with the ornaments worn by horses at the fantasias (p. 99).

We return to the Souk el-Leffa. Thence, to the left, we follow the short _Souk ed-Dziria_, past the _Hôpital Sadiki_ (Pl. B, C, 5), destined for natives, to the—

Rue Sidi Ben-Ziad, on the S. side of the Dâr el-Bey (p. 336). The small _Sidi Youssef Mosque_ (‘Mosquée’; Pl. C, 5), belonging to the Hanefites (p. 445), with the handsome tomb of the founder and an octagonal minaret, dates from 1610–37.—At the lower end of the street, where the Souk el-Bey branches off to the left to the Place de la Kasba, we turn to the right into the—

=Souk el-Berka=, the slave-market, which was abolished only in 1842. Down to 1816 Christians captured by the pirates were sold here by auction. This is now the seat of the silversmiths, goldsmiths, and dealers in antiquities, mostly Jews. The best of their gold trinkets are from Paris; the fine silver filigree is Genoese or Maltese; the ancient coins are often spurious.

From the Souk el-Berka the _Souk el-Trouk_, the street of the tailors, almost all Jews, who make the rich costumes of the Moslems, leads back to the Souk el-Attârîn.

From the N.W. angle of the Zitouna Mosque the Rue Sidi Ben-Arous leads into the Rue de la Kasba (p. 334). At the junction of these streets, adjoining the burial-chapel of _Mohammed Murad Bey_ (d. 1705), is the Hanefite _Mosque of Sidi ben-Arous_ (Pl. C, 5), of 1654, similar in plan to that of Sidi Youssef (p. 335), with an elegant minaret.

The Rue de la Kasba ends at the PLACE DE LA KASBA (Pl. B, C, 5), with its charming grounds.

On the S. side of this square rises the =Dâr el-Bey= (Pl. B, C, 5), the largest pile of buildings in the Medina, erected in 1810 on the foundations of a Roman theatre(?) by Moroccan architects under Hamuda Bey as his town-palace. It is now the seat of the French secretary-general and other authorities. The Bey usually comes hither on Monday mornings from La Marsa (p. 351) for the transaction of business. Admittance, see p. 331. The entrance is by the portal where a sentry is posted.

The covered quadrangle (patio) on the first floor forms the centre of the palace. The fine timber ceiling in the dining-room is the only object of interest in the state apartments. The council-chamber of the ministers has a dome with remarkably fine stucco-work. Here, as in the Bardo and at Kassar-Saïd, the effect is marred by European gewgaws.

Fine *View from the flat roof over the white houses of the town, the Zitouna and many smaller mosques. Best light at and after noon.

To the W. of the Place de la Kasba, at the junction of the two upper boulevards Bab-Benat (Pl. B, 4; p. 337) and Bab-Menara (Pl. B, C, 5, 6), the old town culminates in the =Kasba= (Pl. B, 5), an extensive group of barracks on the site of the palace of the Hafsides and the Turkish citadel. The _Kasba Mosque_, with its fine minaret, well restored in 1904, dates from 1231–5.

Near the old Bab-Menara, where the Souk des Sacs diverges to the reservoir of the waterworks (p. 339), is the small _Mosquée el-Ksar_ (Pl. C, 5), the oldest in Tunis, said to have been founded by Hassan ibn en-Nôman (p. 322). The handsome minaret (1545) is an addition of the Turkish period.

On the N. side of the mosque runs the Rue du Château. No. 3 is the DIVISION D’OCCUPATION (Pl. C, 5), the seat of the French commandant, formerly the *_Dâr-Hussein_ (18th cent.; well restored in 1876), one of the finest Mauro-Turkish palaces in Tunis. (Adm. by special introduction only.)

The _Rue des Andalous_ (Pl. C, 5), which begins here, and its side-street Rue du Riche are the aristocratic streets of the Medina. Many of the houses have elegant marble portals and artistically grated windows. Parallel, on the E., leading to the Avenue de Bab-Djedid, runs the long Rue Tourbet el-Bey, in which at No. 62, at the corner of the Rue Sidi-Zamouhl, rises the _Tourbet el-Bey_ (Pl. C, 6), the domed tomb of the Husseinites (p. 323; ladies sometimes admitted).

The Rue Sidi Kassem, the next side-street on the left, leads to the _Djamâa Djedid_ (‘new mosque’), or _Mosquée des Teinturiers_ (Pl. C, 5, 6), founded by Hussein Ali ben-Turki (p. 323). The modern minaret is by Si Slîmân Ennigro (p. 334).

The open space near the dilapidated _Bab Djedid_ (Pl. C, 6), dating from 1277, is an afternoon haunt of snake-charmers and story-tellers (5–10 c. to the boy soliciting money).

Between the Bab Djedid and the Place aux Chevaux (Pl. B, 6; p. 339) is the =Market Quarter= of _Rebat Bab-Djazira_ (p. 332), containing the _Souk el-Aâssar_, the _Souk des Armes_, and the _Marché-au-Blé_.

From the Bab Djedid we return to the Place de la Kasba (p. 336; tramway No. 2, see p. 330).

In the BOULEVARD BAB-BENAT, in an old Moslem cemetery on the right, is the _Tekia_ (Pl. B, 4, 5), a home for the aged (1905). On the left, founded in 1876, is the _Collège Sadiki_ (Pl. B, 4), a high school for Moslems. Farther on rises the handsome _Palais de Justice_ (Pl. B, 4; 1901). These two buildings are in the neo-Moorish style.

We may now proceed direct to the Place Bab-Souika (see below; tramway No. 3, p. 330); but it is better to take the less direct route through the N.W. part of the Medina, by the Rue du Lutteur (diverging to the right from Boul. Bab-Benat, a little before the Palais de Justice), Rue du Pacha (Pl. B, 4), Rue de la Hafsia (Pl. B, C, 4), Rue Achour (Pl. C, B, 4, 3; with the Hanefite _Mosque of Sidi Mohammed Bey_ on the left), Rue el-Monastiri, and Rue Sidi-Mahrez.

On the left, in the last-named street, rises the *=Mosque of Sidi Mahrez= (Pl. B, 3), with several domes in the Turkish style, built in the latter half of the 17th cent., resembling in the interior the Ahmed Mosque of Constantinople (p. 550). The square minaret was added early in the 19th century.—On the right is the school or _Zaouïa Sidi Mahrez_.

The picturesque PLACE BAB-SOUIKA (Pl. B, C, 3) lies between the Medina and the poor _Rebat Bab-Souika_ (p. 332). Executions took place here in the Turkish period. The Rue el-Halfaouine (‘alfa street’), partly vaulted over, and lined with butchers’ shops, leads hence to the lively and industrious—

PLACE EL-HALFAOUINE (Pl. B, 2), with its numerous Arab cafés, where on Mohammedan festivals, such as Ramadan (p. 447) and Bairam, the evenings and nights are spent in mirth and frolic. On the W. side is the _Djamâa Sahab et-Taba_ (Pl. B, 2), one of the largest mosques in Tunis, founded on blocks of stone from Carthage. The _Souk el-Djedid_ on the N. side is for silk wares.

Time permitting, we may glance at the _Rue des Potiers_ (Pl. C, 3), seat of the once noted pottery of Tunis, or at the =Jewish Quarter= (_Hara_; Pl. C, 3, 4), in the N.E. part of the Medina. The chief _Synagogues_ (visitors admitted) are in the Impasse es-Snadli, at the corner of Rue Sidi-Mardoun, in Rue Zarkoun (Pl. C, D, 4), etc.

The interesting _Old Jewish Cemetery_ (Pl. D, E, 3), just outside the old town, is entered from the Rue du Cimetière-Israélite.

c. Environs.

=1.= About 1¼ M. to the N. of Tunis lies the *=Jardin du Belvédère=, laid out in 1892, the most popular promenade in the environs, well shaded with palm-trees, but still unfinished. The grounds cover 250 acres on the slope of _Belvedere Hill_ (269 ft.), which was fortified in the Turkish period. The chief entrance is at the Rond Point at the end of the Ave. de Paris (p. 333; tramway No. 7, p. 330), and there is a side-entrance (tramway No. 6) in the Ave. Carnot, near the _Pépinière Municipale_ (nursery-ground) and the _Cimetière Municipal_ (opened in 1883).

Halfway up, above the main entrance, rises the _Pavillon du Belvédère_ (café; fine view from the terrace). On the S. slope of the hill, ¼ M. from the Avenue Carnot and concealed amid the thick vegetation, is the _Mida_, the ruin of a mosque-court brought from the souks of the Medina. Farther up is the *_Pavillon de la Manouba_, a freely restored Moorish garden-pavilion from the Palais de la Manouba (pp. 342, 343), with fine ornamentation in stucco and a charming view. The top of the hill affords a splendid *Panorama, especially towards evening. To the S. is the old town with the Kasba, the Manoubia Hill, and Fort Sidi Bel-Hassen; more to the right, beyond the Sebkha es-Sedjoumi, rise the distant hills of Zaghouan; to the E. lies Lake Bahira with the island of Chikly, the Ship Canal, and the little towns of Goletta and Rades, backed by the Gulf of Tunis and Cape Bon; then, more to the N.E., rise the hills of Carthage, with the cathedral and Sidi Bou-Saïd; a little to the left, in the plain, lie La Marsa and the Sebkha er-Riana; to the W. are seen the Bardo and the two aqueducts.

Adjoining the _Institut Pasteur_ (1904), on the N. side of the Rond-Point, is the entrance to the =Jardin d’Essais= (adm., see p. 331), opened in 1892, with many tropical and subtropical plants. Connected with it is the _Ecole Coloniale d’Agriculture_, founded in 1898.

The tramway (No. 7) runs on through olive-groves to (3 M.) the village of _El-Ariana_, once famed for its Hafside palace of _Abu Fehr_, and now noteworthy for its beautiful roses. It is a favourite resort of the Jews of Tunis, especially on Saturday afternoons, when Jewish musicians and dancers perform at the cafés.

=2.= A less extensive but more picturesque *View than that from the Belvedere is obtained from the hill, to the W. of the old town, on which lie the decayed Turkish forts of =Bordj Flifel= and =Bordj Rabta= (193 ft.). The shortest way to the hill is by the Rue Bab el-Allouch (Pl. B, 3; see tramway No. 3, p. 330) and through the gate of that name. We then follow the Bardo road (comp. p. 339), straight on, between the garden of the _Hôpital Civil_ (Pl. A, 3, 4), on the right, and the _Ecole Professionnelle Loubet_ (Pl. A, 4), a technical school, on the left. About 6 min. from the gate we diverge to the right by a field-road, and we reach the top in 6 min. more. Near the forts are numerous dilapidated _Silos_ (rabta), once the bey’s granaries.

[Illustration: TUNIS et ses environs]

The Bardo is about 1 M. farther on, but we now return to the crossroads (see above) and follow another road to the S., leaving the village of _Mélassine_ on the right, to the _Bab Sidi Abdallah_ (Pl. A, 5). Close to this gate is the _Château d’Eau_ or _Reservoir_ (Pl. A, B, 5; visitors admitted) of the waterworks of Tunis, which was substituted in 1859–62 for the Roman aqueduct of Carthage (p. 348). It is supplied by the main conduit from Zaghouan (p. 359), 58½ M. long, by an auxiliary branch from the Aïn Djouggar (1276 ft.), 23 M. distant, and (since 1905) by a new branch, 50 M. long, from Djebel Bargou, which flows partly through a tunnel 4 M. in length.

=3.= The =Manoubia Hill= (240 ft.) may be reached in ¼ hr. by a road to the S. from the _Bab Sidi Kassem_ (Pl. A, 6), a town-gate 3 min. to the S. of the reservoir. Or we may start from the Place aux Chevaux (Pl. B, 6; p. 337), whence, near the _Collège Alaoui_ (seminary for teachers), we have a good view of the city and of Lake Bahira, and then follow the Rue Bab el-Gorjani (Pl. B, C, 7). The hill offers a fine view, especially in the morning, of the city, Lake Bahira, the hills of Carthage and Cape Bon; at our feet lies the Sebkha es-Sedjoumi; to the S. rise the hills of La Mohamédia and Oudna, backed by the jagged mountains of Zaghouan.

=4.= From the _Bab Alleoua_ (Pl. E, 7; station of tramway No. 8, p. 330) diverge the roads to Rades (p. 363), Hammam-Lif (p. 363), and the Mornag (p. 358). We ascend across the _Cimetière Sidi Bel-Hassen_ (Pl. E, 7), the largest Mohammedan cemetery of Tunis, now desecrated and therefore open to ‘unbelievers’, to the (12 min.) _Zaouïa Sidi Bel-Hassen_, where we enjoy a charming view of the city and Lake Bahira. The mosque, where many of the former beys’ wives are buried, stands on the site of a cavern which was for many years inhabited by the Moroccan saint Sidi Bel-Hassen ech-Chadly, the founder of the Chadlya brotherhood. The beautiful view from the top of the hill (240 ft.), a little apart from the small _Fort Sidi Bel-Hassen_, resembles that from the Manoubia Hill.

=5.= The =Bardo=, the former winter-residence of the beys, lies in the fertile plain to the W. of Tunis, 1¼ M. from Bab Bou-Saâdoun (Pl. A, 2), and 2 M. from Bab el-Allouch (Pl. A, B, 3, 4; see p. 338) or from Bab Sidi Abdallah (Pl. A, 5). Starting from the Porte de France, we may go by tramway No. 3 (p. 330; 5 c.) to Place Bab-Souika, and thence by tramway No. 5 (15 c.) to the Bardo. About halfway we cross the _Aqueduc du Bardo_, originally Roman, a branch of the Carthage aqueduct (p. 348), restored by Andalusian Moors in the 16th century.—Those who prefer to go by carriage should drive out past the Reservoir (see above), and return round the N. side of the old town, past the _Feskia_ or _Ancien Réservoir_ (Pl. A, 1, 2; for rain-water) and the Mohammedan _Cimetière el-Bsili_ (Pl. B, C, 1, 2), to _Bab el-Khadra_ (Pl. C, 2).

During the Turkish period the Bardo, like the Moroccan palaces of the present day, formed a little town by itself. It included several palaces of the beys and of the widows of deceased princes, a treasury, dwellings of the court officials, a mosque, baths, barracks, and a prison (zendala), and the whole group was enclosed by a massive rectangular wall. Most of the sadly ruined buildings have been utilized since 1900 as material for the new harbour-works. At the S. end the outer wall has disappeared. From the tramway station we enter the pretty grounds (1903) to the right. Immediately to the left is the way to the remains of the chief palace of the beys, and beyond it, on the left, to the Museum. Straight ahead rises the ruin of a domed building; beyond it are the mosque and the prison (now a reformatory for natives).

The =Palace of the Beys=, erected after 1782 by Hamuda Bey (p. 336), contains several objects of interest, apart from its tasteless European furniture and poor pictures. Adm., see p. 331.

We enter by a flight of steps, adorned with marble lions of mediocre Italian workmanship, and through a vestibule with delicate decoration in stucco. The anterior colonnaded court is adjoined on the right by the hall of justice, where the beys used to pronounce sentences of death which were immediately carried out close by; opposite to it is the reception-room. A passage to the left brings us to a second colonnaded court. A tasteful marble portal (Italian) leads thence into the Salle des Glaces, which has a fine ceiling and a valuable Kairwan carpet. We then mount the staircase to the First Floor, where the large festal hall is on the right.

The old _Palace of the Harem_, a creation of the extravagant bey Sidi Mohammed (1855–9), rivalling the Alcázar of Seville (p. 61) in its wealth of decoration, was carefully restored in 1885–1888 and converted into a national museum.

The *=Musée du Bardo=, or _Musée Alaoui_, named after Bey Ali Pasha (1882–1902), containing the rich yield of excavations in every part of Tunisia, is now the finest collection in Barbary. The Moorish and Turkish antiquities were arranged in 1900 in a pretty little adjoining palace under the name of _Musée Arabe_. Adm., see p. 331; catalogue (1897) 10 fr., supplement (1906–10) 27 fr.; director, M. Merlin.

=Ground Floor.= The ENTRANCE ROOM contains Roman mosaics from Henchir Sidi Djedidi, etc.; family tombstone of the imperial slave Optatus, from the burial-ground of the Officiales (p. 348). Also, on the right, votive stones from the temples of Saturn at Aïn-Tounga and on Jebel Bou-Kornin (p. 363), Roman milestones from the Tebessa road, etc.; on the left, Roman tomb-cippi and inscriptions. Then two altars bearing regulations in favour of farmers on the imperial estates: D441. from Henchir-Mettich near Testour (time of Trajan), and D 442. from Aïn-Ouassel (time of Septimius Severus); C 1030. Statue of Concordia from Djorf Bou-Grara (p. 392). At the end of the room, a much damaged Roman sarcophagus with the Muses.—On the right is—

ROOM I (Pre-Roman Room). Along the walls are Punic and neo-Punic votive stones dedicated to Baal, Tanit (p. 356), and other deities; then tomb-stelæ, catapult-balls from an arsenal at Carthage, etc.—At the back-wall of the side-room is a stela from Maktar, nearly 7 ft. high, with a Libyan and neo-Punic inscription.—On the left of the Entrance Room is—

ROOM III (Early-Christian Room). In the centre, B 53. Font from El-Kantara (p. 394). Along the walls are mosaics from Tabarca and other places, and sarcophagi. In the show-case, lamps and vessels in clay from Oudna (5–6th cent.).—In the passage to R. IV, terracotta slabs with reliefs, once the mural decoration of churches.

ROOM IV (Bulla Regia Room), containing finds from Hammam-Darradji (p. 326): Roman sculptures of the time of Antoninus Pius (138–161), incl. C 1017. A Minerva Polias in the style of a Parthenos with the cornucopia of Bonus Eventus and a mural crown; *C 1018. Torso of Athena; C 1014. Æsculapius, after a Greek original of the 4th cent.; C 1013. Colossal statue of Apollo, after the school of Scopas; C 1015. Ceres; Roman inscriptions.—In the adjoining Room V, terracotta figures from the temples of Baal and Tanit at Bir Bou-Rekba.

On the STAIRCASE, C 1033. Head of Hercules, Roman mosaics, etc.; on the upper landing, C 939. Statue of Apollo from the theatre at Carthage.

=First Floor.= ROOM VI, the old inner court (patio) of the palace. In the centre are two large Roman mosaics from Oudna (2nd cent. A. D.): A 103. Bacchus presenting the vine to the Attic king Icarius (A 104. Hare and fox hunt, in front); A 105. Representation of a country estate, with hunting scenes. Between the columns of the portico are Roman statues in marble from Carthage (C 944. Ganymede; C 979. Bacchus; C 924. Juno; C 982. Isis; and others). Along the walls are marble busts and heads, most of them from Carthage.—Adjoining this room on the N. is—

ROOM VII, formerly the banqueting-room, with superb *Dome carved in wood. In the centre, A 1 Mosaic pavement, about 150 sq. yds., from a Roman villa near Susa (‘Cortège de Neptune’). By the end-walls, A 25–27. Three semicircular mosaics from Tabarca (beginning of the 4th cent. A.D.) representing a country seat with park, stable, granary, sheds, and cellar. By the left side-wall are two Roman mosaics (A 7. Fishing; A 12. Head of Oceanus); A 19. Early-Christian relief with circus-scenes; old Christian *Sarcophagus Mosaics from Tabarca, mostly representing the deceased in the attitude of prayer, between two candles. The wall-presses contain Punic, Rhodian, Roman, and early-Christian lamps. By the back-wall are Roman pottery, and implements in bronze, ivory, and bone. Also a fine bust of Athena from Carthage.—Next comes—