Founded in 670, Kairouan flourished under the Aghlabid dynasty in the 9th century. Despite the transfer of the political capital to Tunis in the 12th century, Kairouan remained the Maghreb’s principal holy city. Its rich architectural heritage includes the Great Mosque, with its marble and porphyry columns, and the 9th-century Mosque of the Three Gates.
Criteria for inclusion as a World Heritage Site
| # | ||
|---|---|---|
| i | To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius. | All |
| ii | To exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design. | All |
| iii | To bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared. | All |
| v | To be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change. | All |
| vi | To be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria). | All |
Nearby
Sites
| Name | Since | Distance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dar El Annabi | 2020 | 134km | site_ao | ||
| Monument to Mohamed Bouazizi | 2019 | 90.9km | site_ao | ||
| Tunis Medina | 2019 | 124.4km | site_ao | ||
| Hotel du Lac | 2019 | 124.8km | site_ao | ||
| El Jem Amphitheatre | 2019 | 69.4km | site_ao | ||
| An Ancient Tophet at Carthage | 2017 | 130.4km | site_ao | ||
| Hôtel du Lac | 1970 | 124.8km | site_brutalism | ||
| Medina of Tunis | 1979 | 126.3km | site_whs | ||
| Medina of Sousse | 1988 | 50.9km | site_whs | ||
| Archaeological Site of Carthage | 1979 | 131.7km | site_whs | ||
| Dougga / Thugga | 1997 | 114.5km | site_whs | ||
| Amphitheatre of El Jem | 1979 | 69.4km | site_whs | ||
| The Implicit Threat of Being Designated a World Heritage Site | 2019 | 132.5km | post | ||
| The mystery of Star Wars and Tunisia’s rundown Brutalist hotel | 2019 | 126.6km | post |
About the source: UNESCO
Within UNESCO's broad remit, this specialised agency of the UN works towards international cooperation agreements to secure the world's cultural and natural heritage, designating venues of exceptional value as World Heritage Sites.