Kairouan

Kairouan*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Tunisia
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, ii, iii, v, vi
Reference	499
Region**	Arab States
Inscription history
Inscription	1988  (12th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO.

Kairouan (Arabic القيروان) (also known as Kirwan, Al Qayrawan) is a Muslim holy city which ranks after Mecca and Medina as a place of pilgrimage, particularly for sufis.^{[citation needed]} Located in Tunisia, about 160 kilometres south of Tunis, Kairouan was founded by the Arabs in around 670. In 2003 the city had about 150,000 inhabitants.

Geography

The original name was derived from Arabic 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, at an elevation of 223 feet (68 meters).

Kairouan has a semi-arid Mediterranean climate, with hot summers and mild winters, when there is more rainfall. Best periods are spring and autumn. The average maximum daytime temperature in January is 63.5°F (17.5°C), rising to an average maximum of around 99.5°F (37.5°C) in July. Mean annual precipitation is 12.1 inches (309mm).

Environmental issues include health risks posed by ineffective toxic and hazardous waste disposal, water pollution from raw sewage, and limited natural fresh water resources.

To protect Kairouan city against flooding from Wadi Merguellil, the El Haouareb dam was constructed in 1989.

Districts

Kairouan panorama.

History

Kairouan was founded in about the year 670 when the Arab Umayyad general Uqba ibn Nafi (622–683) selected a site in the middle of a dense forest, then infested with wild beasts and reptiles, as a base for military operations, and far enough from the sea where it was safe from continued attacks of the Berbers who had fiercely resisted the Arab invasion.

In 745 Kharijite Berbers captured Kairouan, which was by that time a developed city with luxuriant gardens and olive groves.

Power struggles continued until Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab (756-812) recaptured Kairouan at the end of the eighth century. In 800, Ibrahim was confirmed Emir and hereditary ruler of Ifriqiya, the area comprising the coastal regions of what are today western Libya, Tunisia, and eastern Algeria, by Caliph Harun ar-Rashid in Baghdad. His Aghlabite dynasty ruled Ifriqiya between 800 and 909. The new emirs made Kairouan famous for levels of prosperity reaching those of Basra and Kufa and giving Tunisia one of its golden ages.

The Aghlabites built the great mosque and established in it a university that was a centre of education both in Islamic thought and in the secular sciences. In the ninth century, the city attracting scholars from all over the Islamic World. In that period Imam Sahnun (776–854) and Asad ibn al-Furat (759-828) made Kairouan a temple of knowledge. The Aghlabites built palaces, fortifications and fine waterworks of which only the pools remain. The Aghlabites conquered Sicily in 827.

The Maliki school, which is is one of the four schools of religious law within Sunni Islam, emerged at Kairouan, as clerics challenged the personal and political excesses of the Aghlabid emirs.

In 893, Kutama Berbers from the west of the country started the Shiite Fatimid movement, which in 909 overthrew the Sunni Aghlabites that ruled Ifriqiya, creating the Shiite Fatimid dynasty. During the reign of the Fatimids, Kairouan was neglected and lost its importance as the new rulers resided first in Raqqada but soon moved their capital to the newly built Al Mahdiyah on the coast of modern Tunisia.

After succeeding in extending their rule over all of central Maghreb, an area consisting of the modern countries of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, they eventually moved west to Egypt to found Cairo making it the capital of their vast Califate and leaving the Zirids, a Kutama Berber dynasty, as their vassals in Ifriqiya.

Governing again from Kairouan, the Zirids led the country through another artistic, commercial and agricultural heyday. Schools and universities flourished, overseas trade in local manufactures and farm produce ran high and the courts of the Zirids rulers were centers of refinement that eclipsed those of their European contemporaries.

When the Zirids declared their independence from Cairo and their conversion to Sunni Islam in 1045 by giving allegiance to Baghdad, the Fatimid Caliph Ma'ad al-Mustansir Billah (1029–1094) sent as punishment hordes of troublesome Arab tribes (Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym) to invade Ifriqiya.

Kairouan was destroyed in 1057. Nomadism spread in areas where agriculture had been dominant. With the rise of Tunis as capital, Kairouan declined into an isolated market town for nomads.

In 1881, Kairouan was taken by the French, after which non-Muslims were allowed access to the city.

Kairouan was proclaimed as Capital of Islamic Culture for 2009.

Government

Tunisia is a republic in which the president, who is chief of state, is elected by popular vote for a five-year term, and has no term limits. The prime minister, who is head of government, is appointed by the president. There is Chamber of Deputies, or Majlis al-Nuwaab, comprising 189 members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms, and the Chamber of Advisors, comprising 126 seats of which 85 members are elected by municipal counselors, deputies, mayors, professional associations and trade unions, and 41 members are presidential appointees.

Kairouan is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate, which is one of Tunisia's 24 governorates, and which are divided into 262 districts (mutamadiyat), and further subdivided into delegations. There are 11 delegations in Kairouan, which are further divided into municipalities.

Economy

Tunisia has a diverse economy, with important agricultural, mining, tourism, and manufacturing sectors. Governmental control of economic affairs while still heavy has gradually lessened over the past decade with increasing privatization, simplification of the tax structure, and a prudent approach to debt. Progressive social policies also have helped raise living conditions in Tunisia relative to the region.

Per capita GDP was estimated at $7400 in 2007.

Financial and business services sector Tourism Manufacturing Transport: Road, rail, air, sea The city is a hub for Germany’s and Europe’s high-speed passenger rail network. Autobahns radiate from Cologne's ring road. Cologne's international airport is Cologne Bonn Airport, also called Konrad Adenauer Airport. The Rhine harbor is one of the larger inland ports in Germany. Public transport within the city includes buses, a subway system, and the Rheinseilbahn aerial tramway crossing the Rhine. Cologne has pavement-edge cycle lanes linked by cycle priority crossings.

Demographics

Population, population rank Race/ethnicity - historical background of ethnic groups Language Religion Colleges and universities

There are many mosques in the city, among which the great mosque. After its establishment, Kairouan became an Islamic and Qur'anic learning center in North Africa. An article titled Towards a Strategic Geopolitic Vision of Afro-Arab Relations by Professor Kwesi Prah states "By 670, the Arabs had taken Tunisia, and by 675, they had completed construction of Kairouan, the city that would become the premier Arab base in North Africa. Kairouan was later to become the third holiest city in Islam in the medieval period, after Mecca and Medina, because of its importance as the centre of the Islamic faith in the Maghrib".

Judaism, no longer prevalent in the city, has an illustrious history in Kairouan, particularly in the early Middle Ages. Rabbeinu Chananel was from Kairouan and many other important rabbis, including Rabbi Isaac Alfasi studied there with him.

Of interest

The souk (market place) of Kairouan is in the Medina quarter, which is surrounded by walls, from which the entrance gates can be seen in the distance. Products that are sold in the souk include carpets, vases and goods made of leather. As with merchants in most major Tunisian cities, Kairouan merchants rely on tourism for much of their income.

The city's other main site is the Great Mosque of Sidi-Uqba, which is said to largely consist of its original building materials. In fact most of the column stems and capitals were taken from ruins of earlier-period buildings, while others were produced locally. There are 414 columns in the mosque. Almost all were taken from the ruins of Carthage. Previously, it was forbidden to count them, on pain of blinding.

Among Tunisians, Kairouan is known for its pastries (e.g., zlebia and makroudh).

In Raiders of the Lost Ark, the street scenes in "Cairo" were filmed in Kairouan.

• 
• 
• 
• 

External links

• World Fact Book 2008 Tunisia Retrieved December 4, 2008.
• LookLex Tunisia: Kairouan Retrieved December 7, 2008.
• Official website
• Kairouan, tourismtunisia.com
• Kairouan World heritage Site, whc.unesco.org
• Kairouan University
• Kairouan travel guide
• Al-Qayrawan, muslimheritage.com
• Kairwan, jewishencyclopedia.com
• WorldStatesmen-Tunisia

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Kairouan  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Kairouan"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.