Our first stop is Kairouan. In few word, Kairouan is the 4th holiest city in Islam and one of the most important cultural centers in the Arab world, have the oldest mosque in North Africa, and the world's oldest minaret. Bas.
Islam has spread from this city towards the Maghreb by its founder Uqba bin Nafi. I felt like walking in the past within the old city walls. The city has not been touched by moderation.
What have we seen in Kairouan?
Zaouia of Sidi Sahab 
House the tomb of one of the prophet's companions, named Abu Zama al-Belaoui. It is also called Mosque of the Barber, as he was known for always carrying with him 3 hairs of Muhammad. Zaouia contains a number of courtyards, a madrasa, a mosque and a hotel (for pilgrims).
Aghlabid pools
The has been used as a water reservoir. Water came from the hills 35 km west of Kairouan, delivered by aqueduct.The largest pool is 128 in diametre and 5 metres deep.
The Great Mosque
The great mosque is called as well Sidi Oqba mosque on the name of the founder of Kairouan. I started WOWing just by looking at the exterior walls & the minaret. The mosque became far more impressive upon entering and understanding its particularities.
The courtyard is paved with flagstones and slopes to intricately decorated draining hole in the center, which filters dust from the rainwater and deposits it into a 9th-century cistern.
Around the courtyard are beautiful horseshoe-arched porticoes containing some 400 ancient pillars. These were reused from Roman, Byzantine, and Latin Christian buildings.
On the north side of the courtyard is a massive, three-story minaret. The lowest level of the minaret dates from 728 and includes two reused Roman slabs with Latin inscriptions (one upside down).
According to popular belief, seven trips to Kairouan was worth one hajj to Mecca.
Can't recall the name of the museum :-(, but in their theater we watched an interesting short documentary about Kariaoun & its role in the Maghrib.
Time to eat! We had a fast food lunch; Tuna Pizza. I am destined to have Tuna every day in Tunis. I can't escape it. I have noticed to my pleasure that they don't have any of the American fast food chains such as Macdonald's, Pizza hut, Kentucky. Lucky them.
Our trip in Kairouan could not be completed; as our guide mentioned without stopping at the local delicacy, to eat & buy makroud–little pastries filled usually with dates but also available with peanuts and almonds. I loved the baked one, not sweat or oily.
Monastir City
On our way to Monastir: City of Bourguiba we were dozing in the car, I guess I took a 15 minutes nap. We were up since 5 am in the morning. Ya... I am a morning person when it comes to exploring.
We parked the car in front of the Ribat. Awesome! It is well preserved, it was used to scan the sea for hostile ships. "Ribat" in Arabic means fortresses, typical of those built in major cities along the southern coast of the Mediterranean, forming a defence line that stretched from Morocco to Egypt to protect the Muslim empire from invasions. We climbed every inch, entering every room & climbing up to the tower. We were joyful and playful. I guess it is the reaction of spending so much time in the car & the effect of watching the blue sea & smelling the sea.
From the Ribat, we could see cemetery with hundreds of graves, and behind we could see Bourguiba mausoleum. Habib Bourguiba was the first president of Tunisia, he is generally considered as the father of the modern Tunis. He was an advocate of women's rights, he made a huge impact on the country's law, to name a few: polygamy was outlawed. Marriage was redefined as a voluntary contract that conferred rights upon the wife as well as the husband. A minimum age for marriage was set, and the consent of the bride was made mandatory. Salute!
I was very eager to enter the mausoleum where Bourguiba is buried with his parents and his wife. Just by the time we reached it, it was closed. We presented the guard with a set of arguments of how we are are coming from abroad, we are not staying the night over & we sincerely would like to pay respect to Bourguiba. It is obvious why! We waited till last tourist went & we were allowed to go in after working hours. No more battery in the camera.
By the time we left the mausoleum we were tired and considering the option to skip Sousse, but then we put the extra step to at least check it out; specially it is considered as the largest tourist center in Tunisia.
Once we reached Sousse, we decided to have a walk on it corniche, with a long line of hotels on the other side. I am happy we left it to the end as for me it is too touristy.
Today, my new Tunisian friend gave me a new nickname. I love it, shall I consider changing Blue Dolphin!
Y3yscheck Ta7founa o 7bib for the good day. M3 Slamah!
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