QAIRIV AN, the sacred city of Tunisia, 36 m. south by west by rail from Susa, and about 8o m. due south from the capital. Qairwan is built in an open plain a little west of a stream which flows south to the Sidi-el-Hani lake. Qairwan, in shape an irregular oblong, is surrounded by a crenellated brick wall with towers and bastions and five gates. The city, however, spreads beyond the walls, chiefly to the south and west. Some of the finest treasures of Saracenic art in Tunisia are in Qairwan. The chief buildings are the mosques, which are open to Christians, Qairwan being the only town where this privilege is granted.
In the northern quarter stands the great mosque founded by Sidi Okba ibn Nafi, containing his shrine and the tombs of many Tunisian rulers. It was several times rebuilt ; that which sub sists dates from the period of the Aghlabites (3rd century of the Hegira, 9th century of the Christian era). Like the primitive mosques of Islam, it consists of a rectangular hypostylar hall preceded by a courtyard surrounded by porticoes on all sides. It is reached through numerous gateways; that on the N.E., named the gate of Lella Rejana, is preceded by a beautiful square porch, decorated with ancient columns. In the middle of the northern side of the courtyard rises a massive square minaret.
The mosque of Sidi Okba is the prototype of many other notable mosques. (See MosQuE.) Of greater external beauty than that of Sidi Okba is the mosque of the Three Gates. Cufic inscriptions on the facade record its erection in the 9th and its restoration in the 15th century A.D. Internally the mosque is a single chamber supported by sixteen Roman columns. One of the finest specimens of Moorish architecture in Qairwan is the zawia of Sidi Abid-el-Ghariani (d. c. A.D. 1400), one of the Almoravides, in whose family is the hereditary governorship of the city. The entrance, a door in a false arcade of black and white marble, leads into a court whose arches support an upper colonnade. The town contains many other notable buildings, but
i none of such importance as the mosque of the Companion (i.e., of the Prophet), outside the walls to the north-west. This mosque is specially sacred as possessing what are said to be three hairs of the Prophet's beard, buried with the saint, who was one of the companions of Mohammed. (This legend gave rise to the report that the tomb contained the remains of Mohammed's barber.) The mosque consists of several courts and chambers, and contains some beautiful stained glass.
The suks of Qairwan are interesting but less important than those of Tunis. The town is the centre of fairly active trade and industry, especially in leather goods and carpets. The town has a population of 19,426.
The legend says that Okba in A.D. 671 (A.H. 50) determined to found a city as a rallying-point for the followers of Mohammed in Africa. He led his companions into the desert, and having exhorted the serpents and wild beasts, in the name of the Prophet, to retire, he struck his spear into the ground exclaiming "Here is your Qairwan" (resting-place), so naming the city. In the 8th century Qairwan was the capital of the province of Ifrikia governed by amirs appointed by the caliphs. Later it became the capital of the Aghlabite princes, thereafter following the for tunes of the successive rulers of the country. (See TUNISIA: History.) After Mecca and Medina Qairwan is the most sacred city in the eyes of the Mohammedans of Africa, and constant pilgrimages are made to its shrines.