The Ave. Jules-Ferry ends at the Place de la Résidence (Pl. D, 4; band, see p. [331]), the centre of the new town. To the left, on the S. side, rises the Palais de la Résidence (Pl. D, E, 4), or Maison de France, built in 1856–60 for the French consulate (see p. [334]), and tastefully remodelled in 1890–2 by Dupertuys as a dwelling for the resident-general. The beautiful garden is not accessible. Opposite the Residence is the Cathedral (Pl. D, 4); erected in 1893–7. The Rue es-Sadikia leads to the S. from the W. end of the square to the Gare du Sud (p. [329]).
The Ave. Jules-Ferry is continued by the much narrower Avenue de France (Pl. D, 4), intersecting the older European quarter, the favourite promenade of the town. A little to the S. of it, in the Rue d’Italie, which leads to the Post and Telegraph Office (Pl. D, 5), is the Marché (Pl. D, 5; interesting from 7 to 10 a.m.).
In the Rue de Russie, the southmost street in this quarter, is the Bibliothèque Française (Pl. D, 5; adm., see p. [331]), which is well supplied with literature relating to N. Africa.
b. The Old Town.
At the W. end of the Ave. de France (p. [333]), the starting-point of several tramway-lines (see p. [330]), is the Porte de France (p. [332]), and beyond it lies the Place de la Bourse (Pl. D, 4), which presents a busy scene all day. In and near this square are most of the Consulates (British among others), as during the Turkish period. The old French Consulate (about 1650 to 1860), which served also as a warehouse (fondouk), is at No. 15 Rue de l’Ancienne-Douane.
To the W. from the Place de la Bourse run the two chief thoroughfares of the Medina. To the right is the Rue de la Kasba (Pl. D, C, 4, 5; p. [336]), leading past the Jewish quarter (p. [337]) and the Souk el-Grana (Pl. C, 4) to the upper boulevards (p. [336]), to which it is the chief approach. To the left is the Rue de l’Eglise (Pl. D, C, 4, 5), leading direct to the Souks of the Medina, the main business street of the Christian merchants in the Turkish period.
We follow the Rue de l’Eglise. On the left is the small church of Ste. Croix (Pl. C, D, 4, 5; 1662), to which the street owes its name. Then, on the right, is the Administration des Habous, the headquarters of the Mohammedan pious foundations. Lastly we pass through a vaulted passage under the Direction des Antiquités.
The Rue de l’Eglise ends at the Rue de Djamâa ez-Zitouna, on the E. side of the chief mosque, the Djamâa ez-Zitouna (Pl. C, 5), which is said to trace its origin to the tomb of St. Oliva of Palermo, a Christian saint revered even by many Mohammedans. The mosque was founded in 732 by Obeïd Allah ibn el-Habbab, enlarged by the Aglabide Sijadet Allah I. (p. [374]), and repeatedly altered under the Hafsides. When Tunis was plundered by the troops of Emp. Charles V. the mosque was used as a stable. Since then the edifice has been much modernized, and is lavishly adorned with spoils from Carthage. The chief portal, behind the colonnade in the Rue de Djamâa ez-Zitouna, where on Fridays the clergy receive the Sheikh ul-Islam, or supreme pontiff, and the side-portal in the Souk des Etoffes (p. [335]) have each an ornamental ancient pillar as a lintel. The many-aisled interior, with its 161 columns and two domes over the nave, is similar in plan to the Sidi Okba Mosque at Kairwan (p. [374]). The new minaret, 145 ft. high, erected in the Andalusian style by Si Slîmân Ennigro in 1894, is a free copy of the old tower. The pile of buildings is best surveyed from the roof of the Dâr el-Bey (p. [336]).
The mosque serves also as a lecture-room for the Mohammedan University. The instruction is under the direction of the Sheikh ul-Islam; there are about a hundred teachers and 400 students. Admittance to the twenty-two medersas, or colleges, for students from other parts of the country, and to the library famed for 7000 Oriental MSS. is granted to none but Mohammedans.
The Zitouna Mosque lies in the region of the *Souks (Pl. C, 5; Arabic sûk, market), the market quarter of the Medina, dating from the Hafside period (13th cent.). As usual in the East the lanes are roofed over. The small narrow shops are shut in by a counter, over which the trader swings himself into his seat with the aid of a rope. Most trades have their own streets. It is interesting to watch the people at work in those souks where the wares are made on the spot. The larger bazaars in some of the streets are designed solely to attract foreigners. The busiest time is the early morning. Friday is the Mohammedan, and Saturday the Jewish day of rest. As to purchases, see p. [331]. In and near the Souks are many small Arab coffee-houses and barbers’ shops.