Sidi Oqba Mosque - Minaret

The 35m/115ft high minaret of the Sidi Oqba Mosque in Kairouan was built in 724-728, and is thus not only the oldest part of the building but the oldest minaret in North Africa. Its three successively smaller sections are decorated with crenellations, blind arcades and open arches. The third section carries the ribbed dome added in the 13th century, which to mark the importance of the mosque is topped by three copper spheres. A staircase of 128 steps leads up to the top; some of the steps are formed of early Christian gravestones, symbolizing the triumph of Islam over Christianity.