Kairouan
City in Tunisia
Kairouan is a city in northern Tunisia’s inland desert. It became a powerful trading hub and center of Islamic scholarship in the 9th century, when Aghlabid emirs ruled Kairouan and built many of its monuments. The Great Mosque, on the edge of the...
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Why is Kairouan famous?
Kairouan bears unique witness to the first centuries of this civilisation and its architectural and urban development. The inscribed site is a serial property that includes the medina and its suburbs, the Basins of the Aghlabids and the Zawiya of Sidi Sahib.
What does the name Kairouan mean?
The original name of the city was derived from the Arabic word kairuwân, meaning "camp," "caravan," or "resting place." Kairouan is located on the Low Steppes area of Tunisia, a semi-arid alluvial plain southeast of the Central Tell, about 100 miles (160km) south of Tunis, at an elevation of 223 feet (68 meters).
Why is Kairouan important to Islam?
Local tradition holds that seven pilgrimages to the Great Mosque equals one pilgrimage to Mecca. According to some, this makes Kairouan the fourth holiest city in Islam after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. As of 2004, the city contained 89 mosques. Sufi festivals are held in the city in memory of saints.
Who is buried in Kairouan?
Abu Zamaa was buried at the site of Kairouan before its foundation. It is reported that this companion was carrying a few hair of the Messenger of God, which was buried with him in the same tomb. It seems that the construction of the sanctuary dates back to the Hafsid period.
KAIROUAN (Qairuwān) Tunisian town situated 77 mi. (125 km.) S. of *Tunis. Kairouan was founded in 670 by ʿUqbaibn Nāfiʿ, the Arab conqueror of North Africa.