Part 57

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.

59. From Susa to Sfax.

Till the opening of the new railway (81½ M.) in 1911, which diverges from the line to Mehdia at Ouardenine (p. 369), this excursion must be made by ROAD (79½ M.). Motor-omnibus or the Bône-Guélma Co., starting from the station, in 6½ hrs. (in the reverse direction 7 hrs.), fare 7 fr. 50 c.; at El-Djem, halfway (fare 3 fr. 75 c.), the ½ hr. allowed for visiting the amphitheatre barely suffices. Seats should be secured beforehand; outside (impériale) preferable in fine weather. Diligence at night, in 14 hrs., fare 12 fr. 90 c. (to El-Djem in 6½ hrs., 6 fr.), uncomfortable.—STEAMERS to Sfax, comp. R. 64.

_Susa_, see p. 366. The road leads round the town on the side next the sea. It then ascends through the new industrial and villa quarters, and past the _Jewish_ and the _Christian Cemeteries_ (on the left), to the hill-country of the _Sahel_ (p. 366).

A little to the left lie the thriving villages of _Zaouïet-Sousse_ and _Ksiba_, and to the right _Messadine_. The soil is extremely fertile; the road is bordered with huge olive-trees and tall cactus-hedges.

To the right, also off the road, lies (7½ M.) =M’Saken= (154 ft.; Hôt. de France; pop. 10,000), a station on the Mehdia line (p. 369), whence a road leads to Kairwan (p. 372).

The country beyond M’Saken, one of the most fertile parts of central Tunisia in ancient times, has become a mere desert since the Arab irruptions. In the midst of the dreary steppe, scantily overgrown with alfa, appear a few corn-fields and olive-plantations, the first signs of renewed colonization. Here and there are seen Arabs with their camels, belonging to the _Souassi_ tribe, now partly settled on the land, descendants of the Hilalides (p. 323).

In the distance to the right, beyond _Bourdjine_, the only village before El-Djem, appears the _Sebkha Sidi el-Hani_ (p. 370). 23 M. _Col de Koudiat el-Goulal_ (525 ft.), the highest point on the road.

We are now in sight of the amphitheatre of _El-Djem_, whose enormous pile dominates the landscape for miles around.

40 M. =El-Djem= (361 ft.; Hôt. de l’Amphithéâtre, R. 2–3, B. ¾, déj. 3, D. 3¼ fr., humble, charges should be ascertained), a poor Arab village with a few olive and cactus plantations, is the site of _Thysdrus_, which in the late-Roman age was one of the most thriving towns near the E. coast and the junction of seven roads.

About ¼ M. from the inn and the post-office (halting-place of the motor-omnibus) is the **_Amphitheatre_, the grandest Roman structure in Barbary (first half of the 3rd cent.), noted in history also as a fortress. Here in 689, after the defeat of the united Byzantines and Berbers by Zoheir ibn Kaïs (p. 322), the prophetess (kahina) Damia, the legendary leader of the Berbers, is said to have still defied her enemies. In 1685 the building, still almost intact, where many a rebel had sought refuge, was blown up on the W. side by order of Mohammed Murad Bey (p. 335). Since then it has served the villagers of El-Djem as a quarry. The topmost story, consisting of an attica with Corinthian pilasters, the tiers of seats, and the stone steps have gradually disappeared. The ascent (not without the Arab keeper; ½ fr.) is very toilsome.

The remaining three stories are 108 ft. high; the groundfloor is now buried 10 ft. below the surface. The arches (once 60) of the lower and upper stories are adorned with Corinthian mural columns; the central story has composite capitals. The axes are 164 and 136 yds. respectively; the arena where the gladiators and wild beasts fought, unearthed in 1909, with its huge substructures (comp. p. 348), measures 71 by 57 yds. (This is the fifth in size of Roman amphitheatres: Colosseum 205 by 170, the Capuan 186 by 153, that of Italica near Seville 170 by 147, and that of Verona 167 by 134 yds.).

Recent excavations outside the village, whose dirty streets flank the amphitheatre on two sides, have revealed vestiges of _Thermae_ (about 10 min. to the N.W.), of _Cisterns_, a _Circus_, and a small older _Amphitheatre_. In the forecourt of a kubba, 6 min. to the S.W., are placed several large Roman capitals.

Road from El-Djem to _Mehdia_, see p. 370.

We again traverse a very monotonous region, without a single village. On the left is the _Sebkha m’taa el-Djem_, a salt-lake. Beyond it lies the hill-country of the Arab _Metellit_ tribe, belonging to the _Terres Sialines_ (see below).

Beyond (61½ M.) _Ste. Juliette_ we enter the olive-zone of Sfax. 71½ M. _Kubba Sidi-Salah_, on the _Oued Sidi Salah_, which flows largely underground and now partly supplies Sfax with water. Lastly the road leads between garden-walls built of mud and fringed with Indian figs and through the suburb of _Moulinville_ to—

79½ M. =Sfax.=—The RAILWAY STATION (Pl. C, D, 2), for Metlaoui (R. 60) and for the new line to Susa (see p. 378), is close to the sea, ¼ M. from the hotels or from the quay. Here at present the motor-omnibus from Susa stops.

ARRIVAL BY SEA (comp. R. 64). The steamers of the Comp. Gén. Transatlantique (office, Boul. de France 13), the Società Nazionale (office near Douane), and the Navigation Mixte (office, Rue Emile Loubet) moor at the quay. Harbour-dues 4 or 3 fr.; cabs, see below.

HOTELS (comp. p. 324). _Hôt. de France_ (Pl. a; B, 3), Rue Victor-Hugo 4, R. 3–6, B. 1, déj. or D. 3, pens. 9–10 fr., plain; _Hôt. Moderne_ (Pl. b; B, 3), same street, No. 6, R. 3–5, B. 1, D. 8, pens. 7½–10 fr.—CAFÉS. _Cristal_ and _Glacier_, Boul. de France.

POST & TELEGRAPH OFFICE (Pl. 6; C, 3), Avenue de Paris.

BANKS (comp. p. 174). _Banque de l’Algérie_, Rue Michaud; _Comp. Algérienne_ (No. 32) and _Comptoir d’Escompte de Paris_ (No. 15), Ave. de Paris.—BOOKSELLERS. _Chabert_, Rue de la République 51; _Revol_, same street, No. 17.

BRITISH VICE-CONSUL, _S. Leonardi_.—LLOYD’S AGENT, _E. Carleton_.—ENGLISH PHYSICIAN, _Dr. P. Buckwell_.

CABS (stands near the Marché aux Céréales, p. 381, and in the Rue de Thina, Pl. B, C, 3). Drive within a radius of 2 kilomètres (1¼ M.) from Bâb Diwân, ½ fr.; with two horses, ¾ or 1 fr.; per hr. (one horse) 1 fr. 30, (two horses) 1 fr. 50 or 1 fr. 70 c.; half-day (6 hrs.) 5½, 7, or 9 fr.; day (12 hrs.) 9, 12, or 15 fr.

DILIGENCE OFFICE (p. 173) in the theatre (Pl. C, 3).—MOTOR CARS, for excursions, at _Garage Pasquier_, Rue Lamoricière (100–150 fr. per day); _Central Garage_, Rue Charles-Quint.

The SIGHTS may be visited in 2–3 hrs.

_Sfax_, Arabic _Sfakês_ (pop. 70,000, incl. 6400 Europeans, of whom 3100 are Italians and 1300 Maltese), the second-largest town in Tunisia, is also its chief seaport next to Tunis. It lies on the shallow N. shore of the _Gulf of Gabes_, adjacent to the _Kerkenna Banks_ and opposite the _Kerkenna Islands_ (p. 405). Many of the natives live in small houses outside the town, amidst the beautiful orchards which girdle Sfax for nearly 10 M. around. Beyond the gardens lies the olive-zone, like them artificially irrigated, covering some 500 acres, and numbering three million trees. It lies chiefly in the _Terres Sialines_, a region named after the Siala family, but now owned by the state. After the Arab incursions it became a mere desert, but modern cultivation has restored its ancient prosperity. Sfax owes its rapid rise to the export of olive-oil, almonds, figs, and vegetables from the interior, dates from the Djerid (p. 386), alfa from the steppes, of which cables are made in the Kerkenna Islands, and above all to its trade in the phosphates of Metlaoui (p. 386) and Redeyef (p. 372). It is important also as a fish-market and as a mart for the sponges of the bay, especially from the Kerkenna banks. In the sponge-fishery Greeks, Maltese, and Sicilians vie with the Kerkenna islanders.

[Illustration: SFAX]

Sfax, the ancient _Taparura_, which was one of the smallest seaports on the bay of Gabes, is of little historical note. In the first half of the 12th cent. it fell, along with Mehdia (p. 369), into the hands of the Normans (p. 323), and in 1539 it was occupied for a time by the Spaniards, who possessed also the Kerkenna Islands. Its harbour was much benefited by the French occupation of Algeria, as the caravans from the Sudan thereafter went to Sfax, Gabes, and Tripoli (p. 406). It was not till 1832 that Christian merchants were allowed to settle outside the Bâb Diwân, the sea-gate. When the French arrived in 1881 Sfax, like Kairwan, was a camp of the warlike nomads of central and S. Tunisia, owing to whose resistance the town had to suffer a bombardment and to pay a war-indemnity of 15 million francs. For that disaster and for the decline of its trade with inland Africa the colonization of the environs and the improvement of the harbour (1895–7) have since made amends.

From the open roads at the end of the Kerkenna inlet, where larger vessels formerly had to anchor, a _Harbour Canal_, 2952 yds. in length and 44 in breadth, now leads into the =Bassin= (Pl. D, E, 4) of 25 acres, adjoining which is the _Bassin des Torpilleurs_ (Pl. C, D, 4). On the quay bordering the town, 492 yds. long, are the _Douane_ and two large warehouses. On the N.E. quay are the stores of the phosphate railway, whence ships are loaded by means of a long shoot. The _Chenal pour petits Bateaux_ connects the main harbour with the small _Darse_ (Pl. B, 4), the harbour for fishing-boats.

The mud-banks between the new harbour and the old quay (now Boul. de France) have been artificially raised and converted into an area of 50 acres for building. The projected new quarter, with its straight and shadeless streets, has made little progress as yet. Between it and the older suburb, built since 1832, are the Avenue de Paris and the palm-avenue of the BOULEVARD DE FRANCE (Pl. B, C, 3), where most of the public buildings are situated.

In the Ave. de Paris are the Contrôle Civil (Pl. 1; C, 3), the Post Office (Pl. 6; C, 3), and the _Hôtel de Ville_ (Pl. C, 3). The last has a small museum (open daily except Sun.) containing Roman antiquities, mostly from Thænæ (p. 383). Among the mosaics are fishing scenes, Arion on the dolphin, and Pugilists.

Beyond the E. end of the Boul. de France and the Place Carnot (Pl. C, 2) lies the _Jewish Quarter_. The Boul. de France leads to the W., past the Rue de la République, the chief business street of the new quarters, to the _Marché aux Céréales_ (Pl. B, 3), which may be reached also by the Rue Victor-Hugo. Near this, adjoining the harbour of the fishing-boats, is the _Marché_ (Pl. B, 3, 4) for pottery, where the large ‘jarres d’huile’, made chiefly by the Metellits (p. 380), resemble the ancient amphoræ.

The picturesque but not over-clean old town is still enclosed by its battlemented *=Town Walls=, with their numerous towers and bastions. The fortifications next the sea, the _Kasba_ (Pl. A, 3; barracks, no admittance) and the _Bordj en-Nar_ (Pl. C, 2), were the chief objects of attack by the French ships and troops in 1881.

The old town is entered by the _Bâb Djedid_ (Pl. A, 3), the _Bâb Diwân_ (Pl. B, 2), at the end of the Rue de la République, and the new _Porte Delcassé_ (Pl. B, 2; 1903). Its main streets are the Rue de la Grande-Mosquée, the shortest way to the Souks (see below), and the RUE DU BEY (Pl. B, 2, 1).

In the Rue des Aïssaouas (No. 12), a few paces to the right of the Rue du Bey, is the _Zaouïa Sidi ben-Aïssa_ (p. 373), with its fine portal. The castigations practised by the sect may be seen here on Fridays, from 2.30 to 5 p.m.

In the Rue de la Driba, the third street to the right off the Rue du Bey, No. 4, on the left, is the _Driba_ (Pl. 2; B, 2), a fine type of an aristocratic mansion, with a picturesque colonnaded court on the first floor (fee ½ fr.). Opposite, at No. 5 Rue Régulus, one of the _Portals_ has the geometric ornamentation so common in every part of the town.

At the end of the RUE DE LA GRANDE-MOSQUÉE rises the venerable _Chief Mosque_ (Pl. B, 2), with its square whitewashed minaret, whose upper half is of the 13th century. The main façade recalls Syrian types (Kalat Simân), and the ten arcades of the interior are like those of the Sidi Okba mosque (p. 374).

Just beyond the mosque are the =Souks=, or markets. Their centre is the vaulted _Souk des Etoffes_ (Pl. B, 2), with a large assortment of ‘gadrouns’, the chief garment of the people of Sfax, blankets from Gafsa, etc. Its continuation, the Rue des Teinturiers, leads to the _Bâb Djebli_ (Pl. A, 1), the picturesque N.W. gate.

To the right the town-wall is skirted by the Rue des Forgerons (Pl. B, 1), with its balconies. To the left, Rue Abd el-Kader 62, is the law-court of the _Ouzara_ (Pl. A, 1; sits Wednesday and Saturday forenoons), with a pretty court.

Outside Bâb Djebli is the bustling cattle-market, enclosed by fondouks or caravanserais, where we have a pretty view of several saints’ tombs and palm-shaded gardens.

A pleasant glimpse of the country and its inhabitants is afforded by a drive to the Toual el-Chridi (tariff, see p. 380; but bargain advisable). Beyond the Bâb Djebli we pass the large _Feskias_, or rain-water reservoirs, and then numerous _Nasrias_ or small cisterns. The *Orchard Zone extends about 5 M. inland. Passing through olive-groves and flanked with straight rows of trees the road ascends to the (13½ M.) =Toual el-Chridi= (433 ft.), a hill with a geometric signal, a kind of pyramid in steps, where we have an extensive view stretching to the sea.

On the road to Gabes (p. 389), beyond the S.W. suburb of _Picville_ and the Rond-Point, is the _Jardin Public_, watered by large basins, with the Jardin d’Essai, or botanic garden.

In the sea, nearly 1 M. outside the harbour, is a _Biological Station_ for the promotion of the sponge-culture (comp. p. 381).

From Sfax to _Gafsa_ and _Metlaoui_, see R. 60; to _Djerba_, see R. 62; to _Tunis_ by sea, see R. 64; to _Tripoli_ and _Malta_, see R. 64.

60. From Sfax to Metlaoui viâ Gafsa.

151 M. NARROW GAUGE RAILWAY (Comp. des Phosphates et du Chemin de Fer de Gafsa), in 9¾–10¼ hrs. (27 fr. 20, 20 fr. 65, 14 fr. 60 c.); to Gafsa, 127 M., in 8–9 hrs. (22 fr. 95, 17 fr. 45, 12 fr. 30 c.; return-ticket, valid for 5 days, 32 fr. 15, 24 fr. 40, 17 fr. 20 c.). Railway Restaurant at Graïba only; it is advisable to take provisions.

_Sfax_, see p. 380. The train skirts the inland side of the town and then runs to the S.W., near the coast. To the left rises the lighthouse of _Râs Tina_ (p. 405), near the ruins of _Thaenae_, once the chief harbour for the export of olive-oil from the interior.