From the Rue de Djamâa ez-Zitouna we turn to the right to visit the Souk el-Attârîn, the spice-market, founded in 1249. Besides the spices and perfumes sold here (such as essence of jasmine and rose-geranium, sometimes palmed off on strangers as attar of roses), we observe amber, dried henna-leaves, henna-powder (p. [108]), and the big candles, often branched, which are used at weddings and for the tombs of saints.—The side-street to the right, opposite the N. side of the mosque, is the Souk el-Blagdjia, for leather-wares.
At the W. end of the spice-market, to the left, opposite the Rue Sidi Ben-Arous (see below), is the Souk des Etoffes, on the W. side of the mosque, with its display of silk and woollen stuffs, carpets from Kairwan, and rugs from the Djerid (p. [386]) and from Djerba (p. [393]).
Adjoining the Souk des Etoffes is the busy Souk des Femmes, the only one frequented by Mohammedan women, where female apparel, trinkets, and slippers of Saffian leather (p. [109]) are sold.
Between these two souks the Souk el-Leffa (Pl. C, 5), off which, on the right, is the Souk el-Kebabdjia (lace), leads to the *Souk Sekajine, the saddle-market, where, among gorgeous caparisons embroidered in gold and silver, we are specially struck with the ornaments worn by horses at the fantasias (p. [99]).
We return to the Souk el-Leffa. Thence, to the left, we follow the short Souk ed-Dziria, past the Hôpital Sadiki (Pl. B, C, 5), destined for natives, to the—
Rue Sidi Ben-Ziad, on the S. side of the Dâr el-Bey (p. [336]). The small Sidi Youssef Mosque (‘Mosquée’; Pl. C, 5), belonging to the Hanefites (p. [445]), with the handsome tomb of the founder and an octagonal minaret, dates from 1610–37.—At the lower end of the street, where the Souk el-Bey branches off to the left to the Place de la Kasba, we turn to the right into the—
Souk el-Berka, the slave-market, which was abolished only in 1842. Down to 1816 Christians captured by the pirates were sold here by auction. This is now the seat of the silversmiths, goldsmiths, and dealers in antiquities, mostly Jews. The best of their gold trinkets are from Paris; the fine silver filigree is Genoese or Maltese; the ancient coins are often spurious.
From the Souk el-Berka the Souk el-Trouk, the street of the tailors, almost all Jews, who make the rich costumes of the Moslems, leads back to the Souk el-Attârîn.
From the N.W. angle of the Zitouna Mosque the Rue Sidi Ben-Arous leads into the Rue de la Kasba (p. [334]). At the junction of these streets, adjoining the burial-chapel of Mohammed Murad Bey (d. 1705), is the Hanefite Mosque of Sidi ben-Arous (Pl. C, 5), of 1654, similar in plan to that of Sidi Youssef (p. [335]), with an elegant minaret.
The Rue de la Kasba ends at the Place de la Kasba (Pl. B, C, 5), with its charming grounds.