This is undoubtedly the most ancient Islamic religious building in the Moslem West. It was built in 670 during the first campaign to annex Ifriqiya to the emerging Moslem empire. After having chosen the location of the “military camp”- al qayrawan - on the edge of the northern foothills, where he established his troupes after the first victorious offensive, general Okba Ibn Nafaa proceeded to build a seat for the government of the province of Ifriqiya and an oratory of mud-bricks, which, in the IXth century, after being remodelled several times, took on more or less the aspect the Great Mosque has retained to this day.

The Great Mosque of Kairouan is a singular monument, its perfect harmony masking a unique architectural “syncretism”. Indeed, the building materials used for its construction all came from ancient sites dating to different periods predating the Islamic conquest, yet the general aspect of the building, in particular the minaret, reflects distant oriental influences. It forms an original whole, its sober features not lacking in elegance.

As for its internal decoration, it can be termed as exuberant: a true explosion of geometric and floral motifs carved in fine marble decorates the mihrab façade, the niche indicating the direction of Mecca, or carved on the precious wooden panels composing the minbar, the preacher’s pulpit.