104
105
A millennial history
you should meddle with the population among
whom you will find a pleasant, courteous interlocutor, speaking your language and prompt
to share and exchange views. Let yourself be
carried away by the charm of this ancient city
which - it is up to you- will welcome you to
reveal its secrets.
The medina, one of the most beautiful of Islam,
has retained its plan, its size, its light, and its
specific neighborhoods. Its authenticity and
integrity have earned it the consecration of
UNESCO and is listed, since October 1978,
on the World Heritage List as heritage of Humanity.
To capture the soul of a city, we must go back
to its origins and its history constants. Tunis
whose real name is Libyc (Berber) - Thynes
- existed long before Carthage. This name
whose root ENS “be sleeping” refers, by extension, to a place where we bivouack. It could
have remained as a relay on a north-south
trade route, entrenched behind the
Lake, if not for the pact it had sealed with the
Mediterranean Sea, and here are the circumstances. In 698, Carthage fell into the hands of
Arab conquerors that put an end to the Byzantine domination in Africa - current Tunisia.
Fearing a counter-offensive of the Byzantine At the center the great mosque and the souks
fleet, the new Arab Muslim masters settled in
Thynes, which became Tounis (Tunis).
The great mosque or zeytuna Mosque i.e. the
Olive Tree Mosque occupies the heart of the
To claim the heritage of Carthage - the world’s site and commands the network of pathways
renowned maritime metropolis- they would that supply the city, radiating from the sanchave to deal with the sea; never mind that the tuary to the gates of the walls that once proArabs “have brought the sea to Tunis”, in the tected the city. For thirteen centuries, Zeytuna
words of historians of the time. From the eighth has attracted, without interruption, the faithful
century, a canal dug by human hands, opens to prayers; it has also been the champion of
at a natural pass, connecting the Lake with the the teaching of moderate, tolerant and enlighMediterranean Sea. The place became known tened Islam.
as “Halq El Oued” (the throat of the wadi) or The great mosque was surrounded by souks
gully. This is where the outer port of La Gou- whose every alleyway, covered with a vault
lette will be installed, for eternity.
of bricks, enclosed by gates and lined with
The opening of Tunis on the wide and its geo- shops, is assigned to the manufacturing and
graphical location at the crossroads between marketing of a given product. The activities
the East and the West will undoubtedly mark were organized in corporations managed by
its history, not only economically, but also so- an expert called “Amine”. The polluting activicially, culturally and politically. It will also be a ties by noise, odors, use of water and fire are
cosmopolitan and tolerant city and will absorb never in the vicinity of the Great Mosque; they
all cultural influences, without ever losing its are pushed to the periphery: thus, the blacksidentity. To realize this, you