Chief town of the governorate of Kairouan
Situation and characteristics
Kairouan, the fourth holy city of Islam (after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem), situated in desolate steppe country on the western edge of the Sahel, has preserved its purely Arab and Muslim aspect intact into modern times, and the
walled Medina with its great mosques and other sacred buildings is one of the finest and most visited sights in the whole of the Maghreb. There is a busy market on Mondays.
Economy
As the chief Islamic center in North Africa Kairouan draws millions of pilgrims and is one of Tunisia's leading tourist centers. The fifth largest town in Tunisia, it is famed for the woven and knotted carpets made here, mainly by women and children and for a variety of other crafts (wood articles, brass and copperware, leather goods). Visitors can see and purchase a wide range of craft products in the showrooms of the government handicrafts Organization ONAT (Organization Nationale de l'Artisanat Tunisien).
Kairouan itself has little water, and since its foundation supplies have had to be brought to the town from great distances. The surrounding plain, on the other hand, has a very high rainfall, mainly in winter. Dams have been built to the southwest of the town and on the Oued Zeroud, near Sidi Saad, and the water thus stored is used to irrigate the steppe country and meet the needs of agriculture, which takes the form of sheep-farming (there is a daily livestock market in Kairouan) and the growing of grain and fruit. The agricultural produce of the area is processed in a number of small factories.
Fantasia
A Fantasia (equestrian festival) is held annually in September at Sidi Ali ben Nasrallah.
History
In A.D. 671 Oqba ibn Nafi, commander of the Arab army which was thrusting into North Africa and since 670 governor of Ifriqiya, established his headquarters here in the middle of the steppe country. The site was chosen on strategic grounds, for there was neither a Roman nor any earlier settlement in this waterless area. It lay half way between Cap Bon and the Chott; the hills to the west provided protection from Berber raids, and the wide plain to the east offered security against surprise attacks by the Byzantines, who still controlled the coastal region.
Kairouan then became the base from which the victorious Islamic forces advanced westward through North Africa and into Spain. Its great days were in the ninth century, when the Aghlabids made it their capital; but this heyday did not last long, for the leading role in North Africa passed to Mahdia after its foundation in 916 and to Cairo after its conquest by the Fatimids in 973. Its final decline began with a raid by the Beni Hilal nomads, who sacked and destroyed Kairouan in 1057, though sparing the religious buildings.
In the 14th century the town was rebuilt by the Hafsids, and in the early 18th century it was extended by the Husseinites. Although Tunis was now the uncontested political capital of Tunisia, Kairouan retained its religious importance for the Muslims of North Africa; and seven pilgrimages to Kairouan are regarded as equivalent to the prescribed pilgrimage to Mecca.
Access
Kairouan lies at the intersection of a number of main roads, 155km/96mi southwest of Tunis (GP 3, Tunis-Kairouan), 97km/60mi southwest of Hammamet (GP 1, Hammamet-Sousse; at Enfidaville GP 2 to Kairouan), 53km/33mi west of Sousse (GP 12, Sousse-Kairouan) and 159km/99mi north of Gabès (42km/26mi on GP 1, Gabès-Sfax, then at La Skhira GP 2 to Kairouan).
No rail connections (goods station only). Bus services to and from Tunis, Sousse, Maktar, Sbeitla, Gafsa, Gabès, Tozeur/Nefta and Le Kef; bus station (Gare Routière) on Sousse road.
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