The present *Maksûra (see p. [71]), to the right of the pulpit, seems to be now enclosed with fragments of an older screen of the caliph’s maksûra and parts of the wooden screen of a former maksûra for the ladies of the court (to the left of the pulpit). The central sections, destroyed in part, with their plain geometric decoration, are framed with graceful arabesques. The long Cufic inscription under the pinnacles of the summit records the name of the founder (p. [374]) amidst verses from the Koran.
At the back of the Maksûra is a *Door, framed with late-Roman marble ornamentation and tastefully embellished with iron nails and two knockers, leading into a corridor. The side-room on the left, with another fine old door, contains a few relics of the once famous Kairwan Library. The small door in the external wall is the Bâb el-Imâm (‘gate of the preacher’).
We now return by the Rue el-Kadraouine (Pl. D, C, 2, 3) to Place Finot (p. [373]) and the Souks; or we follow the town-wall, through the Rue Sidi Abd el-Kader (Pl. D, C, 2) and past the zaouïa Sidi Abd el-Kâder el-Djilâni (p. [183]) and the Kasba (Pl. B, C, 2; barracks), and so regain the Grande Rue.
At the N. end of the Grande Rue is the new Porte de Tunis (Pl. B, 3; adjoining the fine old gateway, adorned with antique columns), leading into the Place de Tunis, the outer market-place, a haunt of reciters and jugglers, with a large Fondouk (see p. [281]).
From the Place de Tunis we may now walk to the N., past the pretty park of the Pépinière (Pl. B, 1), to the (10 min.) Bassins des Aglabides, two round reservoirs, the smaller of which was once used for filtering purposes. Both have been utilized since 1885 for the conduit of Cherichera, 18¾ M. long.
A road, much used by caravans, leads from the Place de Tunis, past the dilapidated Feskia du Saïd (Pl. A, 2; a rain-water basin), of the time of Sijadet Allah I., and between cactus-hedges, to the N.W. to (¼ hr.) the so-called—
*Mosquée du Barbier (beyond Pl. A, 2), the finest building of the Turkish period. This mosque, which has long been regarded as the second great sanctuary of Kairwan, lies most picturesquely among low hills and is surrounded with white tombs of saints and Moslem cemeteries. It is dedicated to Abû Zemaâ el-Beloui, the traditional friend (sahâb) and barber of the prophet.
The extensive group of buildings, with several medersas annexed, dates chiefly from the 17–19th centuries. The outer gate leads into a low forecourt. In the corner, between the two main entrances, rises the handsome minaret (*View), in four stories, with blind arcades in the two lower, and crowned with pinnacles and the muezzin’s turret. The large W. portal, adorned like the minaret with Byzantine columns, opens into the first inner court, on whose W. side rises the plain mosque itself with its nave and two aisles. A remarkably beautiful domed chamber leads into the second *Inner Court, a perfect gem, with its slender little marble columns, old wall-tiles, rich stucco-decoration, and modern soffited ceilings. A superb marble portal of Italian workmanship (18th cent.) leads to the alleged tomb of Sidi Sahâb, which is railed in and surrounded with valuable old Kairwan carpets besides much European frippery. From the domed chamber a *Colonnade to the left and another ante-room, also embellished with fine mural tiles, lead us back to the outer court.
The large Moslem Cemeteries, which extend round the Faubourg des Djlass (p. [372]) from the Barber’s Mosque all the way to the S. suburb, still contain some very old tombstones. They afford a beautiful view of Kairwan, especially by evening light.
The Djamâa Amor Abeda (Pl. A, 3, 4; popularly called Mosquée des Sabres), whose five huge domes of mediæval type dominate the poor streets of the Faubourg des Djlass, was built by the saint of that name (d. 1871), formerly a smith, with alms collected for the purpose.