KAIROUAN – EL JEM – SOUSSE

From the Arab architecture of the first days, to Kairouan…

The city of Kairouan was founded around 670 by the Muslim Arabs in their conquest of North Africa. To get there, we leave at 07:30 from your hotel in Hammamet or Tunis.
The city of Kairouan has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988. The Great Mosque remains the emblem of the city and continues to attract the faithful to this oldest place of pilgrimage in the country. It is the oldest Islamic monument in Tunisia and the Maghreb.
The Three Gates Mosque owes its decorative façade to being considered one of the finest examples of Islamic architecture.
The zaouia or mausoleum of Sidi Sahbi, is generally called the Barber’s Mosque. The population there venerates a local saint, a companion of Muhammad. According to legend, it would have kept three hairs from the prophet’s beard, hence the name given to the building.
The walk in the old medina will lead you to discover the craftsmanship which has also contributed to the fame of the city, because the city is also famous for its handmade wool carpets such as zarbia or alloucha, a type of knotted carpet. by hand, as well as for its pastries including makrouds.
Your visit of the city will continue to the Aghlabid basins, large open-air cisterns, built to collect the waters of the Merguellil wadi and supply the city with water. Lunch in Kairouan, in a hotel.

…at the peak of Roman architecture in North Africa, in El Jem

The amphitheater of El Jem is, by its size, the 3rd largest in the Roman Empire, after the Colosseum in Rome and the from Capua in southern Italy. It could accommodate between 27,000 and 30,000 spectators.
The amphitheater is a vast building arranged around an elliptical shaped arena. The bleachers distributed around the arena allowed a large audience to watch gladiator fights or wild animal hunts (animals against animals or men against animals). After visiting the amphitheater, head to the archaeological museum which presents many mosaics discovered during excavations in the Roman villas of Thysdrus, an ancient city on the ruins of which El Jem was founded.