Early start this morning, enjoying my coffee listening to the sea
Driving south today through citrus groves with a backdrop of the Atlas Mountains. The olives will be harvested soon and this is all done by hand using rams horns to pull the fruit from the trees.
Our stop en route to Tozeur was a visit to Kairouan and, along with Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem one of Islam’s four holy cities.
Our first visit was to the Sidi Sahbi Mausoleum, also known as the Barber’s Mosque. The site includes beautiful courtyards and porticos and intricate ceramic tile work.
Kairouan was founded in AD 670 by Oqba in Nafi who, according to legend, chanced upon a golden goblet in the sand that turned out to have been lost in Mecca. When the goblet was picked up water sprang from the ground.
The Great Mosque or Mosque of Sidi Oqba
All the pillars around the courtyard were pillaged from various Roman sites hence the reason they are all made from different materials and have different capitals.
The Medina surrounded by high walls.
Cemetery outside the medina
Bir Barouta
A well, probably dug in the 8th century. The water is drawn by a camel that turns the wheels of the mechanism.
Arrived at our destination in Tozeur as the sun was setting. The hotel pool looked very inviting.
