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is the business of women from both families;
the groom simply pays the bill! On the beautiful
square, occupying the center of souk El Birka,
there was the slave market, until 1848. By the
way, did you know that France abolished slavery in 1848, i.e. two years later? If you are a
lover of silver jewelry, go to souk El Kouafi, souk
of Goldsmiths and enter the maze of streets
around to find the bracelet, ring or brooch,
which design dates far back to the Berber tradition.
Elsewhere (El Jazeera street), at the tailorsembroiderer’s shops which are slightly raised
above street level, covered with mats and
cushions, four or five companions decorate
the fine trimmings of the silk-made “jebba”, the
finely woven woolen burnous and other vests
making up the ceremonial male costume.
In the souks you have crossed, the clientele is
mainly Tunisian. However, the medina has not
failed to provide tourists who in a hurry with
the opportunity to find assembled in one place
various items: carpets, jewels, copper, leather
goods… These large rooms or Bazaars (Jemaa
Zeytouna street, Souk El Leffa, Souk Trouk)
with accessible terraces also offer interesting
panoramic views. The traders challenge you,
in all languages, with ease, in order to invite
you to visit their premises, using all their skills
to invent humorous formulas.
At the summit of the Kasbah
Once you have left the souks, go to the heights
of the medina to find yourself at the Kasbah,
an administrative city of seven centuries old.
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Founded by the Hafsids when Tunis became
the capital of Ifriqiya, it received the visit of
Charles V during his occupation of the city in
1535, and was invested by the Turks in 1574,
and the Ottoman recency of Tunis replaced
the Arab appellation “IFRIQIYA”. In 1881, the
entry of the French troops consecrates the installation of the protectorate regime over Tunisia. Today, nine ministries including the Prime
Ministry have their headquarters there. How,
after having witnessed so many events, can
one remain indifferent to the revolution that the
country has gone through?
The Kasbah square is where the protestors,
from all parts of the country, gathered, more
than once, to express their demands through
rallies and sit-ins. Sustainability of the presence
of power has left evidence of architecture ranging from the thirteenth century to the present
day. Government departments, the Headquarters of the army and a royal mosque whose
minaret still stands its square silhouette are
visible from the Hafsid citadel, which contained
within its walls the Sultan’s Palace. And this
reminds you of the ornamentation of Almohad
towers such as Koutoubia in Marrakech and
Giralda. Two mausoleums devoted to the Deys
of the seventeenth Century and an eighteenth
Century palace of the former Bey (housing the
prime ministry) are evidence of the passage of
the Turks at the head of the State. But the most
important heritage of the Kasbah, after all, is
the architectural style “Arabisance”, developed by the French architects who managed
to come up with a happy synthesis between
Arabic architecture and Western architecture.
The Tunisian ministries have inherited master-
pieces such as the Ministry of Finance (1892),
the Sadiki College (1897), the Palace of Justice
(1902).
In the privacy of palaces
The medina does not only consist of tumultuous souks and a Kasbah frequented by
white-color officials; it preserves jealously its
superb residential districts, designed for the
calm and serenity of the inhabitants. To reach
them, dare take one of these routes radiating
from the center to the periphery, in a radio centric pattern; they will take you from branching
to another until you find yourself at a dead-end
where no activity other than the habitat is allowed. This is where family groups find refuge
and live their privacy, in the peace and intimacy
of their patrician residence. Grouped in compact islands as to support each other, these
homes have sober facades whose only ornament is shown on the doors.
The latter are framed by a broad band of finely
carved stone, which is doubled with a framework of deep ochre sandstone. The woodwork is, according to local expression “with
topper”, an ornament made of black nails on
a dark blue or yellow background, unfolding in
real frescos. Numerous palaces open to the
public, today, and inserted in the life of the medina as museums, art galleries, guesthouses or
restaurants offer the opportunity to go beyond
the doors and enjoy the splendor of the habitat, the refinement of the setting and the ingenuity of the builders.
JAMILA BINOUS
Historian and urbanist