07.Tunez.Recorrido Vii

ITINERARY VII The Ribat Towns Mourad Rammah VII.1 MONASTIR VII.1.a The Ribat VII.1.b Sidi al-Ghedamsi Ribat (option) VII.2 LEMTA VII.2.a The Ribat (option) VII.3 SOUSSE VII.3.a The Ribat VII.3.b The Great Mosque VII.3.c Al-Zaqqaq Madrasa VII.3.d Qubba bin al-Qhawi VII.3.e Sidi ‘Ali ‘Ammar Mosque VII.3.f Buftata Mosque VII.3.g The Kasbah and the Ramparts The Ribat, Monastir. 185 ITINERARY VII The Ribat Towns Monastir The assaults of the Byzantine fleet along the itary and religious purpose were reflected coast following the Muslim Conquest in their robust and austere architecture, forced the Ifriqiyans to build a continuous characterised by the use of stone and vaults line of defence consisting of fortresses made of rubble and the banishment of called ribats. They rose along the coastline wood coverings and light structures. This from Tangier to Alexandria and communi- type of architecture spread across the cated via the use of fires lit up at the top of whole of the Tunisian Sahel, and Sousse and the towers. The ribats served as a refuge for Monastir became the two ribat-towns par the inhabitants of the surrounding coun- excellence. tryside and were lived in by warrior Whilst all making reference to the same monks. The prolonged stays and visits of school of architecture, they nevertheless the most illustrious Ifriqiyan scholars, each underwent a slightly different evolu- jurisconsults and ascetics reinforced the tion. Sousse became in the 3rd/9th century spiritual prestige of these buildings, trans- the headquarters of the Aghlabid fleet and forming them into veritable monastery- the most important naval military base, fortresses and centres of learning that which was involved in the Conquest of Sici- transmitted Arab-Muslim culture along the ly in 211/827, as well as being the crucible north coast of North Africa. The proximi- of Mediterranean commerce, all without ty of Sousse and Monastir to Kairouan, as losing its appeal to Islamic scholars, some well as their strategic positions as frontline of whom preferred it to all other bastions watch towers defending the capital, meant of Islam. that they possessed a military role of the Monastir’s evolution took a more spiritu- first order. Their ribats gained an utterly al turn, and became, during the Middle The Ribat, interior unique renown and became the core for Ages, a place of pilgrimage during reli- courtyard, Lemta. future urban developments. Their dual mil- gious festivals, and there are still many Sahelians, especially the Mahdians, who wish to bury their dead in its blessed earth. In fact, the evolution of Sousse and Mona- stir complemented each other perfectly, incarnating the whole dialectic of the spir- it of the ribat. Situated at the far end of the headland, the antique Ruspina derives its name from the Punic “Rus Penna”, which into Latin translates as Caput Anguli, a name justified by the very marked corner that forms the coastline on this site. This headland was an ideal place from which to defend the coastline, thus explaining the Abbasid Governor Harthama Ibn A‘yun’s choice, in 178/795, of it as a site on which to build his model ribat, a type imported from the East. The passion Ifriqiyan 186 ITINERARY VII The Ribat Towns Monastir scholars and ascetics felt for such insti- tutions facilitated the population of this new qsar and, during the 2nd–3rd/first half of the 9th century, several ribats were built in Monastir, such as the Ibn al-Ja‘ad Ribat, and the Dhuayib Ribat in 239/854. Overtaken first by Sousse, which became the Aghlabid naval base, and then by Mahdia which became the Fatimid Capital, Monastir had to con- tent itself, throughout the Middle Ages, with its essentially spiritual role, becoming a place of pilgrimage, a ribat, and one of the bastions of orthodoxy to face the Shi‘ite challenge. Neverthe- less, the town continued to grow, and was described by al-Bakri, writing in the middle of the 5th/11th century, as follows: “ … it is a vast fortress, extreme- tations. The inhabitants of Mahdia use Ruins of the Ribat of ly high, enclosing a considerably large sub- small boats to transport their dead to Sidi al-Ghedamsi, urb. At the heart of this suburb, one sees a Monastir where they are buried”. The exo- Monastir. second, very large fortress, full of lodgings, dus of Muslims from Sicily following mosques and castles with several floor lev- the Norman Conquest, followed by the els. In this secure and powerful place one exodus of the Kairouanese, contributed discovers a great number of baths. Not long to the growing urbanisation of the ago, the inhabitants of Kairouan donated town. It seems that even when Mahdia large amounts of money and charity to it. was seized by the Normans in Close to al-Monastir is a huge salt marsh 542/1148, Monastir managed to that provides ships with cargoes of salt escape this fate and served as a refuge intended for export to other countries. for the Mahdians. Without doubt, it is Al-Monastir has, within its area, five from this time onwards that one can mahris, built very solidly, which are inhab- date Monastir’s extension and the birth ited by pious people”. Monastir does not of one of its suburbs. The decline of seem to have suffered from the Hilalian Kairouan followed by that of Mahdia, invasions in the same way that Kairouan during the Hafsid era, led to the deca- did, and al-Idrissi reports that, during dence of Monastir, which folded back the middle of the 6th/12th century, onto itself and continued to grow stag- “Mahdia had neither gardens nor orchards. nant. Leo the African, who visited Neither did it have palm trees. Fruits are Monastir at the start of the 10th/16th brought in from Monastir … Monastir”, he century, describes it thus: “It is sur- continues, “consists of three fortresses rounded by forts and high walls. The hous- grouped together, full of devout inhabi- es within it have also been built with an tants. The Arabs (Hilalians) do not cause equal amount of care. One thing is for cer- damage to their orchards, nor to their plan- tain and that is that the inhabitants are 187 ITINERARY VII The Ribat Towns Monastir The Ribat, facade looking over the courtyard, Monastir. poor … Within Monastir, a great number VII.1 MONASTIR of properties are planted with fruit trees such as apricot trees, fig trees, apple trees, pomegranate trees and an infinite number Take the coastal route towards Sousse. of olive trees. But the sovereign cripples the town with taxes”. In fact, Monastir would end up by revolting against the Hafsid VII.1.a The Ribat Sultan Mulay Hassan, who became an ally of the Spanish. Between 945/1539 This monument is situated on the coast road. Entrance fee. Opening times: 08.3–17.30 from and 955/1549, the town was sacked th th several times by the naval fleets of 16 September–31 March, and from 08.00– Charles Quint, lead by André Doria. In 19.00 the rest of the year. Closed Mondays. On- the 10th–11th/end of 16th century, it site parking. Toilets available. was conquered by the Turks. In the Muradite era, during struggles between The ribat was built in 178/795–179/796 by the two Murad brothers, Monastir the Abbasid General Harthama Ibn A‘yun, sided with Mohamed, who took refuge and underwent various enlargements there in 1091/1680. Throughout the throughout the ages. Originally, in its first modern era, Monastir regained its stage of construction, the ribat was com- strength, becoming a centre for the posed of a rectangular enclosure with tow- transmission of Sufism and asceticism. ers in each corner. In the south-east corner 188 ITINERARY VII The Ribat Towns Monastir rose a high cylindrical minaret that made pavilion, which would later serve as a ribat reference to Mesopotamian influences. for women, is mentioned by al-Bakri in Inside, the courtyard was surrounded by the middle of the 5th/11th century. This porticoes onto the which the rooms looked function explains why it was necessary to out. The prayer hall, on the first floor, was provide the ribat with a new gate, to sep- composed of two bays and seven naves, the arate the passage used by women from axial nave being larger than the others. This that of men. The present angled entrance architectural layout, applied for the first of the ribat seems to date from this time. time to a prayer room, would become the The decoration featured above its arch- norm for all Ifriqiyan mosques. way consists of five flat niches, sur- The architectural plan of Harthama’s ribat mounted by horseshoe arches topped by would serve as the model for the main a floral frieze, an ornamental design char- Ifriqiyan ribats built along the coast in the acteristic of the Fatimid-Zirid style; one 3rd/9th century. The north wing of this also finds it on the facade of the porch of ribat, which must have had an area of 1,300 the Great Mosque of Mahdia, on the east- sq. m., was completely modified, and the facing facade of the Mosque of Sfax, and monument underwent several enlarge- on the facade of the Sidi ‘Ali ‘Ammar ments of which four major stages can be Mosque. marked out. The second phase of construction consisted In the first stage, a pavilion, composed of of extending the north and east sides that a porch flanked by two columns support- dated from the Aghlabid era, an era that saw ing a semi-circular horseshoe arch, was the consolidation of the monument via the added to the primitive entrance, separat- building of square towers.

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