This famous place of worship has two main elements, including the pillared prayer hall and the courtyard. The portico on the south side of the courtyard, near the prayer hall, includes in its middle a large dressed stone pointed horseshoe arch which rests on ancient columns of white veined marble with Corinthian capitals. study 45, n°1, pages 103 and 105, 2007, Okba Ibn Nafaa Mosque in Kairouan (Mosque of Uqba) website, Panoramic visit of the Great Mosque of Kairouan, Sacred Destinations : Great Mosque of Kairouan, Great Mosque of Kairouan (Qantara Mediterranean Heritage), Video of the mihrab of the Great Mosque of Kairouan, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Great_Mosque_of_Kairouan&oldid=995123092, 7th-century establishments in the Umayyad Caliphate, Articles with dead external links from June 2020, Articles with dead external links from September 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles with French-language sources (fr), Articles with dead external links from October 2017, Articles with dead external links from April 2019, Articles with dead external links from January 2020, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Enclosure and gates of the Mosque of Uqba, This page was last edited on 19 December 2020, at 10:21. [48] It is located inside the enclosure and does not have direct access from the outside. The first mosque constructed on this site in Kairouan, Tunisia was commissioned by Uqba Ibn Nafi in 670. All rights reserved. Mahmoud Bouali, « Il y a près de trois siècles, un tourisme éminemment éclairé Â», Courte biographie sur Thomas Shaw (Société des anglicistes de l’enseignement supérieur), Kairouan n’était pas une ville interdite (Capitale de la culture islamique 2009), The influence of Kairouan on art and literature (Capital of Islamic culture 2009), Fragment de bois à décor d’arcatures d’époque hafside (Qantara), Coupole du Bahou de la Grande Mosquée de Kairouan, Cour et minaret de la Grande Mosquée de Kairouan, Minaret de la Grande Mosquée de Kairouan (Qantara). Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. Log in or sign up to add this lesson to a Custom Course. Trudy Ring, Robert M. Salkin and Sharon La Boda, « Kairouan (Tunisia) Â», Présentation de la Grande Mosquée de Kairouan (ArchNet), Plafonds de la salle de prière de la Grande Mosquée de Kairouan, Mihrab of the Great Mosque of Kairouan (Qantara), Minbar of the Great Mosque of Kairouan (Qantara), "Maqsura of the Great Mosque of Kairouan (Qantara)", Circular chandelier (Discover Islamic Art), Nurdin Laugu, « The Roles of Mosque Libraries through History Â», Al-Jami‘ah, vol. Over the next 30 years, several additions and partial reconstructions were made. Oxford, 1977, This valuable collection, observed from the late nineteenth century by the French orientalists Octave Houdas and René Basset who mention in their report on their scientific mission in Tunisia published in the Journal of African correspondence in 1882, comprises according to the inventory established at the time of the Hafsids (circa 1293–1294) several Qur'ans and books of fiqh that concern mainly the Maliki fiqh and its sources. [61] They cross with right angle in front of the mihrab, this device, named "T shape", which is also found in two Iraqi mosques in Samarra (around 847) has been adopted in many North African and Andalusian mosques where it became a feature. [12] The front façade of the porch has a large horseshoe arch relied on two marble columns and surmounted by a frieze adorned with a blind arcade, all crowned by serrated merlons (in a sawtooth arrangement). [42] The great central arch of the south portico, is flanked on each side by six rhythmically arranged horseshoe arches, which fall on twin columns backed by pillars. [60] The wooden rods, which usually sink to the base of the transom, connect the columns together and maintain the spacing of the arches, thus enhancing the stability of all structures which support the ceiling of the prayer hall.[74]. The foundation of Kairouan dates to about the year 670 when the Arab general Uqba ibn Nafi of Caliph Mu'awiya selected a site in the middle of a dense forest, then infested with wild beasts and reptiles, as the location of a military post for the conquest of the West. There are large rents for the maintenance of teachers. One may enter the prayer hall either from the courtyard or from two side doorways. [2] Its perimeter, of about 405 metres (1,329 ft), contains a hypostyle prayer hall, a marble-paved courtyard and a square minaret. Kairouan’s rampart-enclosed medina (75 acres [30 hectares]) contains the Great Mosque, with a 115-foot- (35-metre-) high minaret. {{courseNav.course.mDynamicIntFields.lessonCount}} lessons [85] Its main adornment is a frieze that crowns calligraphy, the latter surmounted by a line of pointed openwork merlons, features an inscription in flowery kufic character carved on the background of interlacing plants. Dating back to 670 CE, The Great Mosque of Kairouan represents one of the oldest and most influential places of worship in the Muslim world. [89], In addition to studies on the deepening of religious thought and Maliki jurisprudence, the mosque also hosted various courses in secular subjects such as mathematics, astronomy, medicine and botany. The Great Mosque of Kairouan has become one of the most prominent places of worship in the Muslim world due to its historical significance and architectural influence. The mosque is about 70 by 125 meters and is an irregular rectangle in plan. In the history of Art, its three-storey minaret is considered such a masterpiece and a model among the most prestigious monuments of Muslim architecture. The Great Mosque of Kairouan: Full of history - See 528 traveller reviews, 796 candid photos, and great deals for Kairouan, Tunisia, at Tripadvisor. It has served as a model for others, such as the Zaytuna Mosque located in Tunis. This was the same time as the reign of Charlemagne. From the outside, the Great Mosque of Kairouan is a fortress-like building with its 1.90 metres thick massive ocher walls, a composite of well-worked stones with intervening courses of rubble stone and baked bricks. It was destroyed and rebuilt in 703 by Hassan Ibn Numan. The beginning of each surah is indicated by a band consisting of a golden stylised leafy foliage, dotted with red and blue, while the verses are separated by silver rosettes. The Great Mosque of Kairouan, also called the Mosque of Uqba, is one of the most important mosques in Tunisia, it is spread over a surface area of 9,000 square meters and it is one of the oldest places of worship in the … At the foundation of Kairouan in 670, the Arab general and conqueror Uqba ibn Nafi (himself the founder of the city) chose the site of his mosque in the center of the city, near the headquarters of the governor. [58] From the outside, the dome of the mihrab is based on an octagonal drum with slightly concave sides, raised on a square base, decorated on each of its three southern, Easter and western faces with five flat-bottomed niches surmounted by five semi-circular arches,[24][58] the niche in the middle is cut by a lobed oculus enrolled in a circular frame. [66] This sumptuous door, which has four leaves richly carved with geometric motifs embossed on the bottom of foliages and interlacing stars, is decorated at the typanum by a stylised vase from which emerge winding stems and leaves. The latest, dated the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (mostly dating from the time of the Muradid Beys), are distinguished by an epigraphic decoration consists of long black and red texts on olive green background to those painted from 1618 to 1619, under the reign of Murad I Bey (1613–1631), while those back to the eighteenth century have inscriptions in white naskhi script on an orange background. Around 690, shortly after its construction, the mosque was destroyed during the occupation of Kairouan by the Berbers, originally conducted by Kusaila. However given the natural lay of the land crossed by several tributaries of the wadis, the urban development of the city spread southwards. [40][41] It is surrounded on all its four sides by a portico with double rows of arches, opened by slightly horseshoe arches supported by columns in various marbles, in granite or in porphyry, reused from Roman, Early Christian or Byzantine monuments particularly from Carthage. Established by the Arab general Uqba ibn Nafi in the year 50 AH (670AD/CE) at the founding of the city of Kairouan, the mosque occupies an area of over 9,000 square metres (97,000 sq ft). Des mots aux modes de spatialisation Â», Enceinte et porches de la Grande Mosquée de Kairouan, Hichem Djaït, « L’Afrique arabe au VIII, Fondation de la Grande Mosquée de Kairouan. Kairouan (from UNESCO) Next lesson. It had housed a Byzantine garrison before the Arab conquest, and stood far from the sea … [60] Although the shafts are of varying heights, the columns are ingeniously arranged to support fallen arches harmoniously. [45] The northern part of the courtyard is paved with flagstones while the rest of the floor is almost entirely composed of white marble slabs. Their use probably dates to the work done under the Umayyad governor Bishr ibn Safwan in about 725 AD, and they have been reused at the base of the tower. It is longer (127.60 metres) on the east side than the west (125.20 metres), and shorter on the north side (72.70 metres) than the south (78 metres). Create your account, Already registered? The building is a vast slightly irregular quadrilateral covering some 9,000 m2. He then made the mihrab. In 836, Emir Ziyadat Allah I reconstructed the mosque once more:[21] this is when the building acquired, at least in its entirety, its current appearance. The history of the Great Mosque of Kairouan: In 670 in Kairouan was built the first mosque, to North Africa of Muslim Arabs shortly after the arrival. The sanctuary is 137 by 37 meters and there are 17 naves and 8 bays. Took a trip to Kairouan in Tunisia to see the celebration of the Mawlid – Birthday of the Prophet (peace be on to him). For the Love of Physics - Walter Lewin - May 16, 2011 - Duration: 1:01:26. Located in the north-east of the medina of Kairouan, the mosque is in the intramural district of Houmat al-Jami (literally "area of the Great Mosque"). [35] Early in the twentieth century, the Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke describes his admiration for the impressive minaret: « Is there a more beautiful than this still preserved old tower, the minaret, in Islamic architecture? [22][23] At the same time, the mihrab's ribbed dome was raised on squinches. [60], View of the gallery which precedes the prayer hall, One of the seventeen carved-wood doors of the prayer hall, Close view of the upper part of the main door of the prayer hall, View of the central nave of the prayer hall, View of two of the secondary naves of the prayer hall, View of the mihrab located in the middle of the qibla wall of the prayer hall, In the prayer hall, the 414 columns of marble, granite or porphyry[69] (among more than 500 columns in the whole mosque),[70] taken from ancient sites in the country such as Sbeitla, Carthage, Hadrumetum and Chemtou,[60] support the horseshoe arches. The courtyard is a vast trapezoidal area whose interior dimensions are approximately 67 by 52 metres. The combination formed by the courtyard and the galleries that surround it covers an immense area whose dimensions are about 90 metres long and 72 metres in width. Stephen has master's degrees in both architecture and city planning and has taught architecture design studios. Considered one of the most im­portant Islamic monuments in the Maghreb, the great mosque is an architectural masterpiece that was founded by Uqba ibn Nafi cover­ing a perimeter of 405 metres. Their edges, obtained from the lower parts of ancient cored columns,[47] support the string grooves back the buckets. It was built by the founder of Kairouan, Sidi Oqba (the mosque is also known as the Sidi Oqba Mosque). Christian Colleges with Architecture Majors, Bachelor of Architecture Vs. BS in Architecture: How to Choose. The first mosque constructed on this site in Kairouan, Tunisia was commissioned by Uqba Ibn Nafi in 670. Learn about its unique plan and influential design that was the model for later mosques in the region. As such, it assumed the important function of representing a cosmopolitan and urbane Kairouan, one of the first cities organized under Muslim rule in North Africa. 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