For most American travelers, sights associated with early Christianity are fairly common, and much is known. But for non-Muslims, sights associated with early Islam are a bit less part of the beaten path of tourism. Some of this is practical; the major cities associated with the prophet Muhammad, founder of Islam, in Saudi Arabia aren’t really open to those not of the Muslim faith. And part of it is due to some major knowledge gaps that most of us – myself included – possess, knowing almost nothing of these times of Arab conquest of the 7th and 8th centuries. 

Well, a visit to Tunisia is a good step in plugging this gap, and a chance both to learn and to personally experience some of these early Muslim periods. But as seems to always be the case when it comes to topics that might be new to many of us (again, myself included up until having these experiences and then researching this article), I’d like to start with some background.

In the year 622 (the first year of the Muslim calendar) Muhammad and his followers moved to Medina in what is now Saudi Arabia after being chased from Mecca. After several years of intensive conversion of the city, in 629, Muhammad and his now many followers marched back on Mecca, which surrendered peacefully and converted. By 632, at the time of Muhammad’s death, the majority of the Arabian Peninsula had adopted Islam.

Over the next 30 years, the now-Muslim Arabs conquered territories ranging from Egypt and Libya in the west to Iran in the east, converting those living there in the process. It is a pace of territorial expansion only really rivaled by those of the Mongols at their height, or by Alexander the Great. In 665, shortly after the assassination of Ali, the son-in-law of Muhammad and the fourth caliph (Muslim ruler), in 661, the Arab armies continued west, launching an invasion into what is now Tunisia.

Tunisia of the time was mainly ruled by two groups: the Byzantines, who clustered along the coastlines, and the Berbers, semi-nomadic tribes of the inland areas. The Arabs established a permanent camp in the central portion of Tunisia, called Kairouan, in 670. In 695, the Muslim armies took Carthage (click here to read about Carthage and Roman Tunisia), but a fear of their political head being on the coast due to a lack of naval power at the time led them to choose Kairouan, rather than the new city of Tunis built in the shadow of Carthage, as the regional capital.

When it was first established in 670, Kairouan was equipped with a mosque, but given that the “city” was mainly a military camp, it was far from ornate, or even permanent. After some early buildings, the now-entrenched Arab capital needed a truly magnificent mosque, and in 774, what we now know as the Great Mosque of Kairouan was built. (This early date and the scale of the mosque, which we will talk about in a moment, make Kairouan the fourth most important holy city for Muslims today, after Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem.)

Entrance to the Great Mosque of Kairouan is via one of nine gates. Upon entry, one finds oneself in the courtyard, which I am told is roughly 67 meters by 52 meters, and surrounded on all sides by columned porticos. If you look closely, each of these columns is a bit different, including their Corinthian capitals. The reason for this is simple; they were all taken here from Roman and Byzantine sites, with many coming from Carthage itself. 

On one side of the courtyard lies the prayer room, which non-Muslim visitors can only look into. While it doesn’t seem like it from the outside, it is apparently even larger than the courtyard, and again includes columns taken from other places. When I visit it is also covered with beautifully patterned prayer rugs, done in a purely local style.

Across from the prayer room is the Great Mosque of Kairouan’s minaret, just over 10 meters to a side (square), and about 30 meters tall. Unlike more modern minarets, battlements on its upper levels tell of its defensive purposes, which are in turn echoed by the thick walls of the complex. (The early Arabs expected resistance to come to Kairouan in the form of Berber raids.)

The city emerged from one side of the mosque, first as the aforementioned military camp and then as a true permanent capital. The Medina (old city) provides the same basic maze of alleys and dead ends that one finds all over the Arab world, but with the addition of a TON of mausoleums of local Sidis (the Muslim equivalent of a saint), whose tombs are sites of pilgrimage for Sufi Muslims, those who participate in a more spiritual and ascetic form of Islam than Sunni or Shia.  

Nearby, huge water tanks, the Aghlabid Basins, date to the 9th century and show the importance of water in this semi-arid part of Tunisia.

Of course, defending this huge territory required more than just a fortified capital. And especially for the early Arabs, who did not have much of a navy to speak of, coastal defenses would be mandatory. In the late 8th century, a series of forts were built, known as ribats. Of these, the Ribat of Monastir is considered one of the best kept-up, a fact attested to by its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This mighty fortress overlooks the Mediterranean, and was first constructed in the year 796. The fortress was enlarged in phases over the next several centuries, and updated to hold artillery as warfare modernized. 

The name Monastir itself comes from the slightly later defenders here. While it was originally part of a system of defensive coastal fortresses (roughly one every 20-30 kilometers or so in order to be close enough to communicate via smoke signals), it adapted to become a self-sustained community of religious warriors, reminiscent of the Knights Templar. So it is no coincidence that the name is so similar to a monastery.

The visitor experience is a good one at the Ribat of Monastir, with virtually every bit able to be explored. The central watchtower can be climbed, although it is narrow, dark, and steep, with the view from the top being spectacular in basically every direction. 

It is a long day trip from Tunis to see Kairouan and Monastir, but a good one. I am lucky enough to have Ahmed Bensaid of Didon Tours as my guide. (He was also my guide for Carthage the prior day.) His excitement at showing me a lesser-known side to Tunisian history is infectious, but even if you aren’t so blessed as to be randomly matched with him, you will feel that same sense of awe.

It is perhaps my favorite part of travel to learn about history of which I had no knowledge base prior. My visit to Kairouan and Monastir helped to fill in a tiny portion of that gap. And I know that for me, this will be only the beginning of my physical and educational exploration of early Muslim history. I hope this brief glimpse inspires you to take that journey yourself.

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