Museum Of Sousse At Historic Kasabah

Kasabah of Sousse

Sousse, the pearl of the Tunisian coast, has provided guests with a gateway to the past with the opening of the Archeological Museum of Sousse, located in its historic Kasbah, on the west fringe of the Medina.

Sousse is one of the oldest cities in Tunisia, and was a central point for the world’s largest ancient civilizations, starting with the Phoenicians who founded it as a base for their sea trade. They named the area “Hadramuete” in the ninth century BC.

Sousse museum plan

When Carthage, the Phoenician urban center encompassing Hadramuete, was destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC, the city was annexed to Rome, becoming Rome’s first African colony.For more than five centuries under the Roman empire, Hadramuete was a merchant metropolis due to the wealth the port brought the country. The wealthy Roman citizens built luxurious villas paved with mosaics, and the villages were dotted with public buildings,such as baths, basilicas and temples.

With the Arab conquest in the 7th century, the area currently known as Sousse became a military port. The city was marked by ribats and fortresses to protect the coast from Byzantine assaults.

Sousse and its surrounding area are home to literal layers of culture. Underneath the Arab institutions lies the ruins of both the Punic and Roman eras. The Arabs kept some cultural edifices from the previous inhabitants. The new Arab leaders used the Roman’s huge stone blocks and columns to build the Arab cities of Sousse and Kairouan.

Oceanus was widely worshiped in Roman Hadramuete

The museum, covering 2000 meters, offers the opportunity to see the development of each civilization.  The building itself is a historical monument that evokes the Arab-Byzantine style of the eighth and ninth century.

The museum is divided into thirteen departments, with an outside terrace offering a panoramic view of Sousse. Statues, mosaics and funeral objects exhumed from Sousse and other sites along the Tunisian coast, are exhibited.

Inside Museum

The mosaics are a central component of the musem, as Sousse is famous in the Mediteranean for its collection of art. Their importance to Sousse is reinforced every summer with the festival of Aoussou. This is one of the oldest traidtions of the Tunisian Sahel, the Tunsian desert area, which draws its origins from the Oceanus, one of the most popular gods from the Roman era. This god was worshiped in the first and second centuries, and was the most commonly represented deity in mosaics in the public baths and basins.

The mosaics depicted gods, goddesses and heroes from Greek and Roman mythology, many of which are available for exhibition at the museum.

The Punic and early Christian eras are also represented in the museum. The Punic department exhibits funeral items, with terracotta vases and funeral objects. Christian artificats are plentiful.

A beautiful baptistery, found accidentally  in the Bkalta quarry 40 km south of Sousse It is decorated with mosaics, depicting birds and chrism, or holy oil used in early churches. Other funeral mosaics and tombstones were discovered in the undergrounds catacombs, one km from the Sousse bus station of Souk Lahad.

This museum allows guests to witness the ancient civilizations that have shaped the Tunisian identity and have enriched Tunisia’s development into one shaped by a variety of cultures.

Remember The Timeless King Of France: Saint Louis

 Saint Louis in America, Canada..... and Tunisia 

On the peak of Byrsa, a hill in Carthage, a coastal suburb of Tunis, a cathedral is located among the Roman ruins scattered throughout the ancient city.
Now the structure - today known as the Acropolium - is no longer used as a place of worship, but as a venue for concerts. The cathedral now features a variety of Tunisian and international musical performances.
This building evokes memories of one of the most pivotal conflicts between Muslims and Christians - the Crusades.

The Cathedral 1890

In 1270, King of France Louis IX, or Saint Louis, left his kingdom and landed in Carthage - an event now referred to by historians as the beginning of the Eighth Crusade. However, the king was so sick and weak that he could barely hold his shield and sword. Three weeks later he died, and a small chapel was built. Today the site is still frequented by French and international tourists.

Saint Louis Statue Carthage Museum

In 1830, the ruling Bey of the Tunisian Monarchy Al-Hussein II ibn Mahmud, authorized the consul of France to erect a cathedral dedicated to the king few meters from the chapel marking his burial site. The French consul sent a letter to Tunisia's former monarch stating the following:
Praise to god, to whom all things return!
We cede in perpetuity to His Majesty the King of France a location in Malaga, sufficient to raise a religious monument in honor of King Louis IX at the place where the prince died.
We commit ourselves to respect and to make respected this monument consecrated by the king of France to the memory of one of his most illustrious ancestors. Greetings from the servant of God, Hussein Pasha Bey. May the Most High be propitious! Amen.
The 17th of Safar of the year 1246. Done at Bardo the 8th of August 1830. For the Consul-General Mathieu de Lesseps.
After several examinations, officials charged with determining the location of the cathedral's construction concluded that it would be built on the ruins of the Roman Carthage in Byrsa.
The layout of the structure is typical of a French 19th century Byzantine-Moorish cathedral. The construction style - resembling a Latin cross - spread throughout France in the 19th century. The building is 65 meters long by 30 meters wide, with a facade framed by two square towers. The center of the cathedral's cross-section lies beneath a large cupola surrounded by eight steeples, and a smaller cupola is located above the apse.
The church contains a nave and two aisles separated by arches passing above. The ceiling is adorned with beams featuring sculpted, painted, and gilt arabesques. The stained glass is also embellished with arabesques

Inside the Cathedral

. The cathedral also hosts a great bell, weighing six tons, in addition to a four-bell carillon.
Today, the cathedral is open for visitors. The entrance fee is four Tunisian dinars, and is paid separately from those tickets offering package deals of the other sites in Carthage.

From Thugga to Dougga

Named as an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, Dougga illustrates the synthesis of local and Mediterranean cultures that have left their mark on the ancient city throughout the ages.
Burial sites in the southern quarter of the site indicate that Dougga was founded during the Neolithic era (2000 BC).
The choice of the site was appropriate. It’s easily defensible against outside attack with its steep slopes and high cliffs as well as ideal for human settlement with fertile lands for agriculture and plenty of raw materials nearby for industry.
In the 4^th century BC, the Greeks of Sicily led by Agathocles decided to fight the Carthaginians in their own territory. The city of Toccai was taken by Greeks in the campaign according to historical records and has been identified by modern-day scholars as Thugga, the ancient name of Dougga,
In 202 BC, capitalizing upon the weakness of Carthage at the end of the Second Punic War, the Numidians took control of Thugga, which became the capital of their kingdom, according to some historians. The Numidian Kingdom extended from northwestern Tunisia across northern Algeria. Under the reign of Massinissa (202-148 BC) and his son Micipa, Thugga witnessed a golden age in which the arts flourished.
Furthermore, this period in Thugga’s history has provided a significant collection of epigraphic and archaeological insight to the way of life at that time. In fact, it has provided the most ancient Lybic inscriptions known to date.
The mausoleum of Dougga, in the southern edge of the site, is the only intact structure that displays official Numidian architecture

Royal Mausoleum

in the 2^nd century BC. It consists of a 21m tower topped by a pyramid and a lion and was dedicated to King Massinissa.
One century later, Thugga was conquered by the Romans, and the Roman province of “Africa Proconsularis” annexed the Numidian city. During Roman times, the city was composed of two districts – one for local inhabitants and another for Roman settlers. The Roman influence swiftly made an impact on the nature of the town, but the original layout inherited from the Numidian kingdom remained unchanged.
Local inhabitants assimilated Roman deities into their worship. For example, the Roman temples of Saturn and Caellestis were built over the ruins of previous temples to local deities – Baal and Tanit – respectively. Both of these Roman temples are found outside the cities’ walls while those of other major Roman deities are in the center of the city.
Monuments were erected as displays of Dougga’s loyalty to Rome, and the remnants of ancient Roman structures are testimony to the city’s golden age in the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries AD. Dougga’s theater, which is the best preserved in all of Tunisia, was built under the reign of the Antonian dynasty in the 2^nd century. The Capitol, or the Temple of Jupiter, occupied the center of the city as a sign of Roman unity. The worship of Jupiter was the official religion at the time, and it was incumbent upon any respectful citizen to make sacrifices there.

Dougga Capitol

The city was not lacking in public baths. The largest of Dougga’s baths unearthed so far are the Licinian baths, which were constructed in the 3^rd century thanks to the donations of rich Roman citizens.
Under the reign of the Severan emperors (193-235 AD) Thugga became a Municipium, a Roman city ruled by its own citizens, and even achieved the status of a colony in which all citizens were granted Roman citizenship.
When the Byzantines took over the administration of the city in the sixth century, they channeled enormous effort to fortify the city. Many stone blocks were removed from their original structures to be inserted in huge walls that would enclose the forum and the temple of Jupiter. Latin inscription can be found on these Byzantine walls.
Like the rest of the Roman cities in the province, Thugga declined with the arrival of the Arabs in the seventh century. Despite this decadence, it remained inhabited, and archaeologists have discovered ceramics and potteries from the 11^th century. A small mosque, built a few centuries ago, rests on the eastern side of a pagan temple.
An old tradition with pagan origins survived the arrival of Islam and continues to this day. It’s the Lalla Mokhola along the ruins of Dougga’s Ain el-Hammam cisterns. Curious visitors can discover whitewashed walls bearing handprints, henna, the remains of burnt out candles, and brownish traces of dried blood from a chicken sacrificed to Lalla Mokhola, the Mistress and patron saint of the inhabitants. Lalla Mokhola was a lady, who arrived to the city in time immemorial. When she wanted to depart, she was obliged to stay by Dougga’s residents due to the prodigious, mystical powers she possessed.
At the end of the spring, a Zarda- a celebration involving sacrifice – is organized. The inhabitants collect money to buy a white ox

A Local Paying Respects in the modern-day Shrine to Lalla Mokhola

and spend a night near the cisterns because they think that this woman comes out from the nearby spring and pours oil on the head of the ox. In the morning, the ox is sacrificed and the meat distributed to the families.
The procession of Lalla Mokhola is a legacy of the Roman cult to the water spring. A Roman aqueduct, built in 184 AD, brought its water supply to the city. This cult is even mentioned in Latin inscriptions found near the aqueduct.
In 1960, a new village was built to shelter the inhabitants, who used to live amidst the ruins of the ancient city. It’s located on the road that links Tunis to el-Kef (GP5) and known as New Dougga

The truth behind the destruction of Carthage

In 433, Carthage and the rest of the province of Africa fell under the control of the Vandals. These Germanic tribes had invaded Europe before founding their empire in north Africa that Carthage was the capital.

Many historians have confirmed that the Vandals destroyed the Roman Carthage. They had wrecked Gaul, Spain and Italy itself before occupying Carthage and north Africa.

When French archaeologists started the excavation of the site of Carthage, they declared that Roman Carthage was destroyed by Vandals and later by Arabs.

The approach of the French archaeologists "missionaries" is completely wrong: First Vandals founded an empire and they used the buildings left by Romans. Second, the mission of these archaeologists is to find a "link" between the French history and Tunisian history. Third, the French missionaries didn't read the perfect description of the ruins of Carthage by the Arabs historians and geographers. They mentioned that the Roman buildings remained intact. In the 13th century, the rulers decided to built the second level of Tunis walls. They used the huge buildings as a quarry.......

Bath of Antoninus Carthage: Albekri in the 11th century described with perfect details the building and its huge columns 

The Rise Of Islamic Art in Tunisia (Part1)

The rise of Islam in the seventh century as a new faith has shaped the universal history since Arab-Muslims for more than five centuries became the new rulers of the Mediterranean sea.
After the death of the Prophet Mohamed, Arabs started to conquer new territories. One century later, their empire spanned from China to as far as Spain. This empire included Parthia, heir of a thousands year Persian culture, Alexandria, the capital of the Hellenic world, and Carthage, the most powerful Roman province and the capital of a brilliant Punic culture. By the year 800, Islam had become the official religion of the newly conquered territories, and the natives of these lands started to convert to Islam and many of them took their autonomy from central authority, Damascus and later Baghdad.
Ifriqiya, the heir of Roman Africa, was not an exception. Territories included Tunisia, the eastern part of Algeria and the west of Libya. With the establishment of an Arab-Muslim state in 700, Kairouan became the new capital instead of Carthage. Again with the new system established by the Arabs, Ifriqiya found itself again a leader of the whole Maghreb, the governor that ruled from Kairouan used to control a huge territory that extends from Tripoli to Spain.
Kairouan was the first city to be founded in the Muslim west, its mosque known as the mosque of Ukba Ibn Nafii was the first mosque in the Muslim west that became a model for the rest of Maghrebian and Andalusian mosques. In fact, the mosque of Cordoba follows the model of Kairouan's mosque. Nowadays, the mosque is considered a masterpiece of the Maghreb mosques, since it shelters the oldest pulpit in the Muslim world.

The minaret of the grand mosque of Kairouan

The Kairouan mosque is one of the first mosques to include a minaret, and its minaret follows the model of Roman watchtowers, and. The mosaic tower is represented in a mosaic in Ostia, Italy.

The oldest Minbar in the Muslim world. Photo taken in 1930

According to some Spanish-speaking guides in Tunisia, many Spaniards come to see the grand mosque of Kairouan and compare it to Cordoba's. French writers, such as Guy de Maupassant, admired the beauty. He wrote: "moved by sublime inspiration, erect a dwelling place for their God, a place made of pieces torn from crumbling towns, but one that is as perfect and as a magnificent as the purest conception of the the greatest stonemasons."
The mosque was erected by stones and pillars that were collected from the Roman sites that surrounded the city. The mosque and its prayer-hall are considered as a museum of Romano-Byzantine capitals. The pillars and the blocks were installed magnificently, displaying a rhythmic symphony of semi-circular horseshoe arches.

Mosaic from Ostia depicting Roman watchtower and served as a model for the Tunisian minarets.

The minaret of the mosque and its buttressed walls reflects its military aspect. The mosque was built as a military base for the Arabs who founded the city as a military base. The name Kairoaun is derived from the Persian language and means ‘camp’.

Aghlabid Pools in Kairouan

Due to its arid weather, Kairouan attracted refugees from Yemen, Sham (Syria) and the Arabic peninsula. With the locals of Ifriqiya, Kairaoun counted around 500,000 inhabitants. The problem of water appeared since the precipitations are rare. The rulers of Kairouan appealed an old technique of water collections; the Fesquiya. The Kairouanese engineers built the biggest hydraulic work in the Muslim world that still stands in Kairouan. They consisted of fifteen reservoirs. Every reservoir is divided into three elements; small pools, big pools and water tanks. They are filled by water coming from aqueducts and rain. The small pools have a capacity of 4000 cubic meters and the purified water goes to the bigger pools, 57000 cubic meters in capacity while the potable water is pulled up from the cisterns.
Nowadays they are recognized by the name the Aghlabid Pools. Its a name of a dynasty that ruled Ifriqiya, Sicily and south Italy from Kairouan for more than a century. They were the first to be independent from the central authority of Baghdad. Independence allowed Kairouan to be the metropolis of the Mediterranean Sea.
Thanks to its contribution to the Islamic and universal culture Kairouan was named as a World Heritage site in 1988.
The legacy of Islamic architecture
Mr Neji Djelloul, a holder of a PhD from Sorbonne university, said the architectural elements in the Islamic art has its meaning. The minaret symbolize the power. In Sunni towns, the mosque with its minaret occupies the center since they believe that the mosque is the main area for their several activities like praying and studying and ruling. The minaret is not only to call Muslims for prayer but also symbol of the authority.  He said also that the courtyard of the mosque was derived from the Roman forum because Muslims meet every Friday after prayer to talk and converse about their issues and daily problems.
Since they believe that the nation must be ruled by a descendent of the prophet (Ahlù-bayt), Shiites built the palace of the Caliph or the ruler in the center of the town while the mosque is on the corner and devoid of minaret because they built it in the corner of the ruler palace.
Mahdia was the first Shiite capital in the history of Muslim monarchies, founded by the Fatimid monarchy that was considered a descedent of the prophet Mohamed. The town planning reflects  Shiite beliefs. The mosque is on the edge of the peninsula while the palace of the Shiite caliph was raised in the center.
Mahdia and later Sabra Mansouriya in the outskirts of Kairouan served as models for the future Cairo founded by the same dynasty in 974.

The History Of Religions in Tunisia

1-The Berber beliefs in the prehistory

2-The arrival of the Phoenicians and the emergence of Punic civilization; the problem of human sacrifice and its biblical background

3-The refuge of the Jewish after the destruction of Jerusalem temple

4-The Romanization of local deities; the The assimilation of the local deities to the Roman deities

5-The Christianity and the cult of the martyrs

6-The Islam and its rites from 700 to nowadays

The Allegory of Victory (2nd century AD)

This low relief discovered at the top of Byrsa hill represents the allegory of victory in the guise of a winged female, the hair in bun, dressed a pleated tunic and holding an impressive trophy. 

At the top feature the Romans weapons: the helmet and the breast plate where the head of Medusa and two faced griffins are depicted.

At the bottom:  a bow, a quiver, a sword, shields and peltarions shields evoking the Parthians weapons.

Inspired from the Hellenic art, it would commemorate the Roman victory against the Parthians under the join reign of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus(163-165)

Low relief in white marble Museum of Carthage
3m by 1.2m

The Mosaic of Daniel in Bardo Museum

Octagon once at the center of a pavement in the mausoleum of a roman family. The scene is treated in schematic style, borrowed from the old testament figuring Daniel in the lion's den. Tunisia 5th C AD

Daniel is usually considered by Muslims to have been a prophet. Although he is not mentioned in the Qur'an, there are a few Hadith and Muslim records which bear his name and which refer to his time spent in the den of the lions. There are debates, however, that go on about Daniel's time of preaching and some Muslims believe that he was not a prophet but a saintly man. Some Muslim records suggest that a book regarding apocalyptic revelations was found in a coffin, which is supposed to have contained the remains of Daniel, which was brought to light at the time of the Muslim conquest of Tustar, and buried again at the request of Umar.