Great Mosque of Kairouan in Bekalta

Visited Kairouan on a day trip from Sousse. Quite disappointed and wasted half the day. Tickets were 12 Dinar and all you really could see was the courtyard. Annoying touts standing outside. The other ‘included’ attractions nearby all seem to be closed.

mashallah great masjid but they should take care of the womans side the humidity make it smell bad and the place is very dark

12 dinar if you are not Muslim and shorts are not allowed. Nice old place

Entry is prohibited for Orthodox Christians

Amazing and unusual mosque, very beautiful place.

The great masjid of okba İbn nafee, lovely structure on the borders of the Medina of kairaouen

The oldest mosque of a big size in North Africa. Peace and certainly!Love it

Its beautiful, the history is fascinating and its absolutely peaceful.

Tickets cost 12 dinar and find you access to five other local attractions. Visitors clothing must be below the knee (so long shorts are ok). You can walk around the large, pretty courtyard, and can see into the prayer area, but cannot enter the latter.

The 4th most important mosque in the world… Too bad it was closed at the time we visited and we were nit able ti see it from inside.

What a wonderful place a must go destinations in Tunisia free entire for Muslims an amazing history lays behide the gates over a thousand year old still acvitie today the structure and design is one of the greatest @ 42 degrees was so cool inside without aircon

Beautiful spot a must go in Tunisia ignore the heat and wonder around this wonderful place

An absolutely stunning mosque. Definitely worth a visit.

Worth visit and pray in this mosque. We fell history and authenticity. It’s a must in Kairouan!

This mosque is a giant, fabulous structure. Although as a non muslim I could not go in the prayer room, the door was open and I could look in, magnificent! The wooden doors are also spectacular in size and carving. Definitely worth a visit. We were lucky enough to be visiting during Qadr, the area around the mosque at night came alive, a real excitement in the air, was enjoyable to be part of it.

Heres my super review of most Kairouan and Tunis attractions and some tips:*first, if you havent bought your ticket, my first advice would be to skip Tunis as a destination. Worst trip of my life overall.*second, do not trust all reviews nor all pictures, many pictures do not match in Google maps, youll see what I mean when you arrive (but remember first tip)***beware of scammers outside the mosque, they will insist on taking you to the Medina and walk next to you, they will act super friendly but after an unrequested "tour" he asked for 40 TND (like 15 euros), we told him we were not paying that much for something we didnt ask for, we ended up paying him 15 TND because he was getting super hostile.KAIROUANKairouan is one of the most sacred cities in Muslim religion, which kept my hopes high of finding something beautiful, but as usual in Tunisia, this city didnt fail to disappoint. Beware of pictures that do not match (people upload pictures of one mosque that belong to another, or fully edited unreal pictures).Great Mosque of Kairouan. Well. Just another plain mosque, nothing particularly special, cannot get inside but you can take a peek from the doors/windows. If youve been in Istanbul youre not missing anything here. And as usual there will be "guides" pretending to befriend you that will force you into being guided (they walk by your side and start telling you things and suddenly he is your guide and will end up requesting money)Mosque of the three doors. CLOSED. Small and a bit cute. Can see it from the outside only.Mausolée Sidi Sahbi & Zaouia of Sidi Sahabi. The first one was closed when we arrived, probably open at other times. The other thing is not particularly attractive. Worth a few minutes if your time.And thats pretty much it for Kairouan, you may see a few other things in travel blogs, good luck with that.TUNIS- Bardo museum: CLOSED as of April 2022. And will most likely remain close for a looong time. Thing is, theres a lot of politic unrest in Tunis (news we dont get in Europeand the president recently dissolved the parliament (the parliament is in the very same building of the museum and the same reason of the terrorist attacks in 2015.- Monument of Kasbah, a nice monument without much history. Nothing much.- Zaytune Mosque. CLOSED if youre not praying. Beware of the super edited pictures in Google. A local tolds us sometimes you can pay to go into the yard, nothing much to see.- Medina (Tunis). Hell unleashed. One of the most uncomfortable moments in my life. Prepare to be harassed by the sellers and some randoms people pretending to try to help you, they will show you a thing or two against your will and then will try to charge you money. Awful experience.- Mausoleum Torbet el Bey. Probably the only good experience in my whole trip. It is still under construction and not open for visitors, but an elder guy was sitting there and when we asked if we could go in he gave us a guided tour (he closed the door so no other people could get inand charged us 30 TND for both of us (well diserved though not pre arranged so very uncomfortable)- Municipal market. Interesting experience, we were being guided by our first mistake (one of those guys that pretends to help you from a good heart and because he was passing by. They are never passing by, theyre looking for touristsnot a bad experience overall, you get to see flowers and fruits, nothing super special either.- Cathedral of St. Vincent. CLOSED. And not only that, surrounded by a barricade. Theres policeman outside and technically forbidden to take pictures. Its nice to see, nothing particularly special.

It was lovely.Very interestingWell worth the visitThe ticket to visit other places in good value

Non Muslims are not allowed to enter

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The Great Mosque of Kairouan, also known as the Mosque of Uqba , is a mosque situated in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Kairouan, Tunisia and is one of the most impressive and largest Islamic monuments in North Africa. Is considered to be the very first mosque built by arabs in Africa.

The best place to visit in Tunisia.. islamically visiting this place is priceless. Astounding history. The oldest Masjid in North Africa, and once visited by the Sahaba of Arabia.Some believe that if you visit this Masjid 5 times, its equivalent to a Hajj, very auspicious and spiritually enlightening experience. For Muslims and non Muslims great to know what our ancestors and fellow religious leaders have built and preserved for us.

Very old mosque, peaceful atmosphere

Historic place worth a quick visit, but rather small area accessible to visitors. Remember to save the ticket, as you can use it in other sights of the town.

Fantastic place to visit and so much history surrounding this grand mosque. Please dress appropriately when visiting as it is Still an active place of worship. Their are so many pillars and one of the oldest mosques in Africa. Well worth a visit there is a museum nearby just a short walk away.

The oldest mosque in Africa, which exhibits the decorative and architectural splendor of medieval Islamic civilization.The first mosque at Kairouan, Tunisia, was founded in 670 CE by Uqba ibn Nafi, one of the Arab warriors spreading the newly born Islamic faith by conquest across northern Africa. Although the current mosque is often referred to as the Uqba Mosque, its buildings date from the mid-9th century, when Kairouan flourished under the Aghlabid dynasty (800–909). The Aghlabids made the Great Mosque not only a place of worship but also a renowned center of learning.Intricate decoration.From the outside, the mosque seems to be an austere building, dominated by its massive, three-tiered stone minaret. Inside its extensive prayer hall, however, austerity is replaced by exuberant decoration. The space is filled with marble, granite, and porphyry columns. The wooden ceiling is painted with elaborate designs; the minbar (pulpitis finely carved in Indian teak; and the mihrab, the focus of prayer, is an elaborate display of marble and tilework. By the 11th century, Kairouan had gone into decline, but the mosque has remained one of the most sacred places in the Islamic world.

A nice mosque what you will need to visit it. If you arrive so late, better to go to a carpet shop and ask them to let you go to the roof and watch from there. Many columns are from Ancient Christian temples. On some of them you can see even the cross.

Its symbol of Islamic heritage and culture. Its first Mosque in Africa built by the great warrior Ukba bin Nafi Ra. He born in Makka, grew up in Egypt and travelled from there to the west. He stopped his journey at the coast of Atlantic Ocean. If there would not be a ocean He might go so far with the mission of Islam.May Allah decree a place in Jannah.

World Heritage Site, the Great Mosque of Kairouan is also known as Uqba Bin Nafe Mosque built in 670 CE at the time of foundation of city of Kairiuan. Hazrat Uqba Bin Nafe was a companion of Prophet Mohammed (SAWand he founded this mosque. The mosquea minaret is square in shape. The interior of the mosque is spacious and the atmosphere is very spiritual. Must visit.

Amazing and rightly considered one of the most important monuments of Islamic civilization. A must see.

Its a important place to visit in tunisia, i recommend it

If you’re staying in Sousse, save yourself the money and catch the local louage to Kairouan for the day. Firstly, you’ll beat the crowds. When I arrived at the mosque, no one else was there so I had the place to myself.Secondly, you can explore at your own leisure and find yourself lost down many of the interesting twists and turns of Kairouan’s old city

Very beautiful and authentic mosqueA must see in kairouan for tourists and visitors

an interesting ancient mosque / pilgrimage to visit but the place is filthy. This is the third biggest Islamic pilgrimage after Mecca and Medina though Jerusalem would be considered the biggest if you count all the Abrahamic religion. Beware of tourist scammer who pretend to be nice and act like a tourist guide. It is a bummer to be harrassed for money!

Amazing mosque- this mosque is a place of worship which must be respected as such and as a tourist attraction.Visitors are very welcome and viewing of the surroundings is very much encouraged.The staff are very friendly but you must be dressed appropriately- if not there are changing areas where cultural dress is offers to change into before you visit the mosque.Car parking and organised trips are available.There are coffee shops / gift shops and opportunities to take pictures.

Very well preserved historical site.

One of the landmarks of Kairouan. Built in 670 and is still very well preserved. It is currently used for the daily Muslim prayers. Can also be visited by tourists having different faiths and religions.

Very interesting interior and views from the roof

Very beautiful and old mosque. A must to visit and look at it.Its very big and its possible to visit it as a tourist.

Beautiful place remember for respect you need to be covered when visiting

No actual tour of the mosque/in it. More geared towards selling fake goods and cheap souvenirs

Wonderful, its the oldest moskee in the north of africa... rich historic monument.. my visit was fantastic !!!

It looks great from the outside. But we couldnt entered, because praying people and travel agency trip schedule always rushing us.

Even we are muslims they tried to prevent us to enter inside. I dont understand how people can prevent someone to enter Allahs place. Not just us. Let people from other religions to enter. They may see the Sirat El-mustakim inside and you are the blockers between them and Allah.

A nice place to visit. Considered the 4th holiest city for Muslims. Was interesting to learn about the history.

The old mosque is an excellent place to visit. The views are breathtakingly beautiful. The mixture of architecture from Roman to French is stunning. The prayer room is one of the most beautiful places in the whole of Tunisia. This is the oldest mosque in North Africa and has a special meaning for Muslims in the area.

Stunning building. Best view is from the carpet shop just opposite the entrance (turn left out of the entrance and walk about 20m down the road).

Nice place .... so much history ...

It’s amazing but i suggest the government to hire some educated stuff around

This historic mosque is still in good standing and not appearing too old. Its in simplistic style. Its good to visit, but hey, why do I have to pay money to visit a holy place? And when somebody calls it a masterpiece, then its disappointing and even insulting. Look, one of the most striking features of the mosque is the marble columns. But those are second hand materials taken from other great civilisations. And worse yet, they appear to be in different sizes, and different styles. So the place was pretty hacked up.

This is the 3rd holiest site for Muslims to visit. The mosque is nice. Its size is impressive and some of the details of the buildings exterior are lovely. But there are more interesting and impressive aspects of the city. As with all mosques, women must cover their arms, legs, and hair.