Medina of Tunis, Historic Islamic district in Tunis, Tunisia
Description
The Medina of Tunis is a historic old city spanning 270 hectares with narrow winding streets connecting mosques, markets, palaces, and homes through a dense network of passages. The layout reveals hidden courtyards, small fountains, and unexpected corners as you walk through the interconnected alleyways.
History
It was founded around 698 as a settlement built around the al-Zitouna Mosque and grew into North Africa's leading religious and trading hub during the Hafsid dynasty. Over centuries, the city experienced different phases under Arab and later Ottoman rule.
Culture
The quarter remains a functioning neighborhood where people shop, pray, and gather daily, shaped by layers of Arab, Ottoman, and local building traditions visible in doorways, courtyards, and decorative details.
Practical
Multiple entrances provide access throughout the quarter, with Bab el Bahr gate offering direct routes to main sites and traditional markets. The area is best explored on foot, though streets are narrow and can feel confusing, so a map helps with finding your way.
Did you know?
Streets follow a social pattern where residential buildings sit farther from the market hustle, giving residents quiet and privacy away from commercial activity. This design shows how the city deliberately separated daily living from trading.
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Tunisia offers many places worth seeing. This collection includes sites that show what the country truly has. There are coastlines along the Mediterranean with deep blues, desert areas in the Sahara, and villages built over many centuries. You can find ancient ruins that tell about the past, markets...
Tunis offers a journey through thousands of years of history, from the narrow lanes of its ancient medina to the grand ruins of Carthage. Walk through the medina and you'll find yourself surrounded by centuries-old mosques and palaces, with souks where vendors still sell spices, textiles, and crafts...
Khaldounia
151 m
Madrasa of Ech Chamaiya
101 m
Souk El Attarine
143 m
Hammouda Pacha Mosque
120 m
Mausoleum of Sidi Ali Azouz
145 m
Diocesan Library of Tunis
86 m
Mausoleum of Sidi Ben Arous
173 m
Madrasa of Ennakhla
180 m
Souk El Fekka
120 m
Tourbet Aziza Othmana
120 m
Mosque of El Hafsia
52 m
Souk El Blaghgia
114 m
Mosque of El Habibi
88 m
Old barracks of the medina of Tunis
141 m
Mosque of El Fell
55 m
Funduk El Attarine
86 m
Madrasa of Asfouria
151 m
Madrasa of Hamzia
151 m
Midhat al Sultan
135 m
Madrasa of Al Habibia Al Kubra
176 m
Hospital of Saint-Louis of Tunis
84 m
Zaouia of Sidi Klai
178 m
Mourad Bey Mausoleum
170 m
National Library of Tunisia
94 m
Marabout de Sidi Louklaï
178 m
Library De La Khaldounia
151 m
Rue de la Kasbah
140 m
Rue Jemaa Ez Zitouna
143 mDiscover hidden gems everywhere you go!
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