Editing Tunis (section)

== Architecture and landscape ==
{{See also|List of tallest structures in Tunisia}}

===Urban landscape===

[[File:StatueIbnKhaldounTunis.JPG|left|thumb|Statue of [[Ibn Khaldoun]] in Independence Square]]

The [[Medina of Tunis|Medina]], built on a gentle hill slope on the way down to the [[Lake of Tunis]], is the historical heart of the city and home to many monuments, including palaces, such as the [[Dar Ben Abdallah]] and [[Dar Hussein]], the mausoleum of [[Tourbet el Bey]] and many mosques such as the [[Al-Zaytuna Mosque]]. Some of the fortifications around it have now largely disappeared, and it is flanked by the two suburbs of Bab Souika to the north and Bab El Jazira to the south. Located near the Bab Souika, the neighborhood of Halfaouine gained international attention through the film '[[Halfaouine Child of the Terraces]]'.

[[File:Habib-bourguiba-tunisia 23858288336 o.jpg|right|thumb|Avenue Habib-Bourguiba]]
But east of the original nucleus, first with the construction of the French Consulate, the modern city was built gradually with the introduction of the French protectorate at the end of the 19th century, on open land between the city and the lake. The axis to the structure of this part of the city is the [[Avenue Habib Bourguiba]], designed by the French to be a Tunisian form of [[Champs-Élysées]] in Paris with its cafes, major hotels, shops, and cultural venues. On both sides of the tree lined avenue, north and south, the city was extended in various districts, with the northern end welcoming residential and business districts while the south receives industrial districts and poorer peoples.

[[File:Tunisie Siège du RCD.jpg|thumb|View of the building of "Tour de la nation" in avenue Mohamed-V]]
South-east of the Avenue Bourguiba the district of La Petite Sicile (Little [[Sicily]]) is adjacent to the old port area and takes its name from its original population of workers from [[Italy]]. It is now the subject of a redevelopment project including the construction of twin towers. North of the Avenue Bourguiba is the district of La Fayette, which is still home to the Great Synagogue of Tunis and the Habib Thameur Gardens, built on the site of an ancient Jewish cemetery that lay outside the walls. Also to the north is the long Avenue Mohamed V, which leads to the Boulevard of 7 November through the neighborhood of the big banks where there are hotels and Abu Nawas Lake and finally to the Belvedere area around the place Pasteur. This is where the Belvedere Park lies, the largest in the city, and home to a zoo and the Pasteur Institute founded by [[Adrien Loir]] in 1893. Continuing to the north are the most exclusive neighborhoods of Mutuelleville which house the French Lycée Pierre-Mendès-France, the Sheraton Hotel, and some embassies.

[[File:August Moon (165913827).jpeg|left|thumb|Tunis at night]]
Still further north of the Belvedere Park, behind the Boulevard of 7 November are the neighborhoods of [[El Menzah]] and El Manar now reaching the peaks of the hills overlooking the north of the town. They support a range of residential and commercial buildings. To the west of the park lies the district of El Omrane which holds the main [[Muslim]] cemetery in the capital and the warehouses of public transport. Heading east is the [[Tunis-Carthage International Airport]] and the neighborhoods of Borgel, giving his name to the existing Jewish and Christian cemeteries in the capital, and the neighborhood of Montplaisir. Beyond that, several kilometers north-east, on the road to [[La Marsa]], the [[Berges du Lac]] was built on land reclaimed from the north shore of the lake near the airport, which has held offices of Tunisian and foreign companies, many embassies as well as shops.

Southwest of the Medina, on the crest of the hills across the Isthmus of Tunis, is the Montfleury district then on down to the foothills of Séjoumi, the poor neighbourhood of [[Mellassine]]. Northwest of the latter, north of the [[National Route 3]] leading to the west, is the city of [[Ezzouhour]] (formerly El Kharrouba), which spans more than {{convert|3|m|ft|spell=in|abbr=off}} and is divided into five sections. It is still surrounded by farmland and vegetables are grown which supply many of the [[souk]]s in the region.

The south of Tunis is made up of disadvantaged neighbourhoods, especially due to the strong industry in this part of the metropolis. These include Jebel Jelloud, located in the southeast of Tunis, which concentrates on the [[heavy industry]] of [[cement]] production, the treatment plant of [[phosphate]] s, etc. The main cemetery in Tunis, the Djellaz Cemetery, dominates this part of town, perched on the slopes of a rocky outcrop.

=== Médina ===
[[File:PatioDarSoulaimania.JPG|left|thumb|Court of Dar Soulaimania, once the boarding lodge of [[University of Ez-Zitouna]].]]
The [[medina of Tunis]] has been a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] since 1979. The Medina contains some 700 monuments, including palaces, mosques, [[mausoleum]]s, [[madrasa]]s, and fountains dating from the Almohad and the Hafsid periods. These ancient buildings include:

* The Aghlabid [[Al-Zaytuna Mosque|Al-Zaytouna Mosqu]]e ("Mosque of the Olive") built in 723 by [[Ubayd Allah ibn al-Habhab]] to celebrate the new capital.
* The [[Dar El Bey]], or Bey's Palace, comprises architecture and decoration from many different styles and periods and is believed to stand on the remains of a Roman theatre as well as the 10th-century palace of Ziadib-Allah II al Aghlab.

With an area of 270 hectares (over 29 hectares for the Kasbah)<ref name="MEDI"/>  and more than 100,000 people, the Medina comprises one-tenth of the population of Tunis. The planning of the Medina of Tunis has the distinction of not grid lines or formal geometric compositions. However, studies were undertaken in the 1930s with the arrival of the first anthropologists who found that the space of the Medina is not random: the houses are based on a socio-cultural code according to the types of complex human relations.

Domestic architecture (palaces and townhouses), official and civilian (libraries and administrations), religious (mosques and zaouïas), and services (commercial and fondouks) are located in the Medina. The notion of public space is ambiguous in the case of Medina where the streets are seen as an extension of the houses and subject to social tags. The concept of ownership is low however and souks often spill out onto public roads. Today, each district has its culture, and rivalries can be strong.

The northern end supports the football club of [[Esperance Sportive de Tunis]] while at the other end is the rival [[Club Africain]]. The Medina also has a social sectorization: with the neighborhood of [[Tourbet el Bey]] and the Kasbah district being aristocratic, with a population of judges and politicians, while the streets of Pacha often being military and [[bourgeois]].

Founded in 698 is the [[Al-Zaytuna Mosque]] and the surrounding area which developed throughout the [[Middle Ages]],<ref name="MEDI">{{in lang|fr}} [http://www.asmtunis.com/savoir.php Fiche de présentation de la médina (Association de sauvegarde de la médina de Tunis)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081223232940/http://www.asmtunis.com/savoir.php |date=2008-12-23 }}</ref>  dividing Tunis into a main town in two suburbs, in the north (Bab Souika) and the south (Bab El Jazira). The area became the capital of a powerful kingdom during the [[Hafsid]] era and was considered a religious and intellectual home and economic center for the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. A great fusion of influences can be seen blending [[Andalusian people|Andalusian]] styles with eastern influences, and Roman or [[Byzantine]] columns, and typical Arab architecture, characterized by the archways.

[[File:PatioDarBenAbdallah.JPG|left|thumb|Court of Dar Ben Abdallah]]
The architectural heritage is also omnipresent in the homes of individuals and small palace officials as well as in the palace of the sovereign of Kasbah. Although some palaces and houses date back to the Middle Ages, a greater number of prestigious houses were built in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries such as [[Dar Othman]] (early 17th century), [[Dar Ben Abdallah]] (18th century), [[Dar Hussein]], Dar Cherif and other houses. The main palace beys are those of La Marsa, Bardo, and Ksar Said. If we add the mosques and oratories (about 200), the [[madrasa]]hs ([[Madrasa El Bachia|El Bachia]], [[Madrasa Slimania|Slimania]], El Achouria, Bir El Ahjar, [[Madrasa Ennakhla|Ennakhla]], etc..), The [[zaouia]]s (Mahrez Sidi Sidi Ali Azouz, Sidi Abdel Kader, etc.) and Tourbet El Fellari, Tourbet Aziza Othman and Tourbet El Bey the number of monuments in Tunis approaches 600. Unlike [[Algiers]], [[Palermo]] and [[Naples]], its historical heart has never suffered from major natural disasters or urban radical interventions. The main conflicts and potentially destructive human behavior has been experienced in the city occurred relatively recently following the country's independence which is why it made into a [[World Heritage Site]] by UNESCO in 1979. At the beginning of the 21st century, the Medina is one of the best-preserved urban locations in the Arab world.<ref>{{in lang|fr}} [http://www.cites.tv/TV5Tunis/pop_contenu.php?type=videos&image=&swf=pop44.swf&url=http://213.41.65.178/akamareal/tv5/tunis/binous_160304.rpm Entretien avec Jamila Binous sur la médina de Tunis (TV5)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080417043428/http://www.cites.tv/TV5Tunis/pop_contenu.php?type=videos&image=&swf=pop44.swf&url=http%3A%2F%2F213.41.65.178%2Fakamareal%2Ftv5%2Ftunis%2Fbinous_160304.rpm |date=2008-04-17 }}</ref>

Furthermore, along the boulevards, the contribution of the architectural period 1850–1950 can be felt in the buildings, such as the government buildings of the nine ministries and the headquarters of the municipality of Tunis.

===Other landmarks===
* The [[Bardo Museum]] was originally a 13th-century [[Hafsid]] palace, located in the (then) suburbs of Tunis. It contains a major collection of Roman empires and other antiquities of interest from [[Ancient Greece]], Tunisia, and the Arab period.
* The ruins of [[Carthage]] are nearby, along the coast to the northeast, with many ancient ruins.

====Souks====
{{main|Souks of Tunis}}

The souks are a network of covered streets lined with shops and traders and artisans ordered by specialty.<ref name="NARDI">{{in lang|fr}} [http://www.cites.tv/TV5Tunis/pop_contenu.php?type=videos&image=&swf=pop48.swf&url=http://213.41.65.178/akamareal/tv5/tunis/souk_160304.rpm Promenade de Marie-Ange Nardi et Lotfi Bahri dans les souks de Tunis (TV5)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207205055/http://www.cites.tv/TV5Tunis/pop_contenu.php?type=videos&image=&swf=pop48.swf&url=http%3A%2F%2F213.41.65.178%2Fakamareal%2Ftv5%2Ftunis%2Fsouk_160304.rpm |date=2008-12-07 }}</ref>  Clothing merchants, perfumers, fruit sellers, booksellers, and wool merchants have goods at the souks, while fishmongers, blacksmiths, and potters tend to be relegated to the periphery of the markets.<ref name="NARDI"/>

[[File:Souks Tunis.jpg|left|thumb|Souk En Nhas with items of copper]]

North of the [[Al-Zaytuna Mosque]] is the [[Souk El Attarine]], built in the early 18th century. It is known for its essences and perfumes. From this souk, there is a street leading to the [[Souk Ech-Chaouachine]] ([[Taqiyah (cap)|chachia]]). The main company that operates it is one of the oldest in the country and they are generally descendants of Andalusian immigrants expelled from Spain. Attached to El Attarine are two other souks: the first, which runs along the western coast of the Al-Zaytuna Mosque, is the Souk El Kmach which is noted for its fabrics, and the second, the [[Souk El Berka]], which was built in the 17th century and houses embroiderers and jewelers. Given the valuable items it sells, it is the only souk whose doors are closed and guarded during the night. In the middle, there is a square where the former slave market stood until the middle of the 19th century.

Souk El Berka leads to [[Souk El Leffa]], a souk that sells many carpets, blankets, and other weavings, and extends with the Souk Es Sarragine, built in the early 18th century and specializing in leather. At the periphery are the souks Et Trouk, El Blat, El Blaghgia, El Kébabgia, [[Souk En Nhas|En Nhas]] (copper), [[Souk Es Sabbaghine|Es Sabbaghine]] (dyeing) and [[Souk El Grana|El Grana]] that sell clothing and blankets and was occupied by Jewish merchants.

====Walls and gates====
{{City gates of Tunis|state=collapsed}}
[[File:Tunis remparts portes.jpg|thumb|Walls and gates of the city in 1888]]
From the early days of its founding, Tunis has been considered an important military base. The Arab geographer El Yacoubi has written that in the 9th century Tunis was surrounded by a wall of brick and clay except for the side of the sea where it was stone.<ref>{{harvp|Messikh|2000|p=41}}</ref>  Bab El-Jazeera, perhaps the oldest gate of the south wall, opened onto the southern road. Bab Cartagena gave access to Carthage, important for bringing in construction materials needed for the city. Bab Souika (initially known as Bab El Saqqayin) had a strategic role to keep the roads to [[Bizerte]], [[Béja]] and [[Le Kef]]. Bab Menara (initially known as Bab El Artha) opened onto the medina and onto the suburb of El Haoua. As for El Bab Bhar, it allowed access to some [[Caravanserai|funduq]]s where Christian merchants lived in Tunis.

With the development of the capital under the reign of the [[Hafsids]], two emerging suburbs grew outside the walls; Bab El Jazira in the south and Bab Souika to the north. In the early 14th century, Hafsid Darba Abû al-Muhammad al-Mustansir Lihyânî ordered the construction of a second chamber including the Medina and two suburbs outside.<ref>{{harvp|Messikh|2000|p=46}}</ref> Six new gates were built including Bab El Khadra, Bab Saadoun, Bab El Allouj (initially called Bab Er-Rehiba), Khalid or Bab Bab Sidi Abdallah Cherif, Bab El Fellah and Bab Alioua. In the Ottoman period, four new gates were established: Bab Laassal, Bab Sidi Abdesselam, Bab El Bab Gorjani, and Sidi Kacem. The city retains some of these gates including Bab El Khadra, Bab El Bhar, and Bab Jedid but some of the earlier ones have long disappeared.

=== Places of worship ===
[[File:Acropolium.jpg|thumb|[[Saint Louis Cathedral, Carthage|St. Louis Cathedral]] on the Byrsa hill at [[Carthage (municipality)|Carthage]]]]
Among the [[places of worship]], they are predominantly [[Islam|Muslim]] mosques.   There are also [[Christianity|Christian]] churches and temples : [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tunis]] ([[Catholic Church]]), [[Protestant churches]], [[Evangelical Churches]].<ref>J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, ''Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices'', ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 2898</ref>

As in the rest of Tunisia, a very large majority of the population of Tunis (around 99%) is [[Sunni Muslim]]. The capital is home to a large number of mosques in various architectural styles, signs of construction of their respective eras. 

[[File:MosqueeEzzeitounaTunis 1.JPG|left|thumb|[[Zaytuna Mosque]]]]
The main and oldest of them is the [[Al-Zaytuna Mosque]], founded in 689<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thearabweekly.com/zitouna-mosque-landmark-tunisia-and-islamic-history|title = The Zitouna mosque, a landmark of Tunisia and Islamic history &#124; Roua Khlifi}}</ref> and built in 732 and is in the heart of the Medina. Practicing the [[Maliki]] rite as the vast majority of Tunisia's Mosques. It was completely rebuilt in 864 and is a prestigious place of worship, and was long an important place of culture and knowledge with the [[University of Ez-Zitouna]] on the premises until the independence of Tunisia. It still hosts the main ceremonies marking the dates on the Muslim calendar and is regularly attended by the president.

[[File:Bab El Bhar, Tunis.jpg|right|thumb|[[Bab el Bhar]]]]
The medina contains most of the major mosques in the capital which were built before the advent of the French protectorate. The mosque in the Kasbah, was founded in 1230. Practicing the [[Hanafi]] rite since 1584, it is recognisable mainly by the dome as well as its minaret, similar to the Koutoubia in [[Marrakesh]] and is the highest in the city.<ref name="MUN">{{in lang|fr}} [http://www.commune-tunis.gov.tn/fr/culture_lieu_culte0.htm Lieux de culte (Municipalité de Tunis)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090811155804/http://www.commune-tunis.gov.tn/fr/culture_lieu_culte0.htm |date=2009-08-11 }}</ref> [[Ksar Mosque]], also of the [[Hanafi]] rite, is located in front of Dar Hussein (Bab Menara) and was built in the 12th century.<ref name="MUN"/>  The [[Hammouda Pasha Mosque]], built in 1655, is the second mosque built by the Hanafi rite in Tunis.<ref name="MUN"/> [[Youssef Dey Mosque]] operated primarily as a public speaking venue before becoming a real mosque in 1631.<ref name="MUN"/> The [[Sidi Mahrez Mosque]] is the largest mosque Hanafi mosque in terms of area but not the tallest. Built in 1692, it resembles the Ottoman [[Süleymaniye Mosque]] in [[Istanbul]].<ref name="MUN"/>  The [[Saheb Ettabaâ Mosque]], built between 1808 and 1814 was the last mosque built by the Tunis Husseinites before the French occupation.<ref name="MUN"/>

[[File:SVdP Tunis.JPG|left|thumb|[[Cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul]]]]
The presence of modern churches in Tunis is also testimony to the French presence for half a century. Tunis is the seat of the [[Diocese of Tunis]], with the seat located at the [[Cathedral of St Vincent de Paul]], The church was built in 1897 on the site of the old Christian cemetery of Saint-Antoine.<ref name="MUN"/>  This includes a network of Catholic buildings, including the Church of St. Joan of Arc, but also with the Protestant Reformed Church and the Anglican church Saint-Georges.<ref>Cette dernière est construite sur ordre du souverain Romdhane Bey en 1696 pour y inhumer la dépouille de sa mère d'origine italienne et de culte protestant. Elle est gérée par l'ambassade du Royaume-Uni à Tunis.</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Miller|first1=Duane|title=Contextuality, Contextualization, and the New Christians of Tunis|journal=Pharos Journal of Theology|date=2016|volume=97|pages=1–13|url=https://www.academia.edu/24369709|access-date=16 April 2016}}</ref>

[[Greeks]] used to enjoy an important presence in the city since ancient times. Tunis is the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Holy Archdiocese of Carthage with jurisdiction over [[Algeria]], [[Mauritania]], [[Morocco]], and Tunisia. It belongs to the [[Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa]], and its cathedral, small school, and other buildings are in Central Tunis.
In total, there are three Greek Orthodox and two Russian Orthodox parishes in Tunisia. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria also maintains jurisdiction in Tunisia.
The small [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] community is centred around the Greek Orthodox Church (1862), managed by the Greek Embassy and the Russian Orthodox Church (1957), reflecting the presence in Tunisia of a small colony of [[white émigré|Russian immigrants]].<ref name="MUN"/>

Judaism, meanwhile, enjoys a long tradition of presence in the city despite the emigration of a large part of the community after independence.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/africa/177862-180623-synagogues-in-tunis-from-28-to-2|title = I24NEWS| date=23 June 2018 }}</ref> Among the places of worship are [[Beit Yaacouv Synagogue]] and especially the [[Great Synagogue of Tunis]], built at the end of the 1940s to replace the former Great Synagogue which was demolished as part of the Jewish redevelopment area, the [[Hara (Tunis)|Hara]].

===Parks and greenery===
Tunis has some large parks, many of which were installed at the end of the 19th century by the authorities of the French protectorate. The largest Park, Belvédère Park, which was founded in 1892, overlooks Lake Tunis. It is the oldest public park in the country and is built in the landscape style common to France.<ref>{{harvp|Turki|Zhioua|2006|p=24}}</ref>  The park covers an area of more than one hundred hectares across roads that can be explored on foot or by car. It is also home to [[Tunis Zoo]], which houses African fauna, and the Museum of Modern Art.

Habib Thameur garden in Tunis has a central pond and flower beds. The Gorjani garden is an English garden located southwest of the city, which notably takes an irregular form, partly due to the steep topography of the land.<ref>{{harvp|Turki|Zhioua|2006|p=28}}</ref>