Publication Date
1041 AH / 1631 AD
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;tn;Mon01;3;ar
Library Location
In the Grand Square, Beja Governorate, Testour, Tunisia
Date
1041 AH / 1631 AD
Notes
The mosque includes two courtyards, the largest courtyard is located to the north, and the second courtyard is located west of the prayer hall. The large courtyard (17.70 x 26.26 meters) is surrounded by arcades supported by semicircular arches, resting on ancient limestone columns and capitals. These corridors were covered with ceilings with a single, slight inward slope. The courtyard was paved with reused old limestone. In the middle of the courtyard there is a sundial, bearing an inscription indicating the name of the craftsman, Ahmed Al-Harrar, and the date 1174 AH / 1761 AD. The minaret occupies the northeastern corner, and its height reaches 22.50 meters. This silo consists of a square tower with a side length of four and a half metres, topped by a second octagonal tower. The group was crowned with a wooden dome, pyramidal in shape. The four corners of the square tower are surmounted by small cylindrical building pinnacles, crowned with icons. Unlike the square tower, the octagonal tower is decorated with enameled ceramics, and double niches were opened on the upper level. One of them is inlaid with a sundial, which is a unique phenomenon in the decoration of minarets of that period. The rectangular prayer hall (25.85 x 19.12 metres) is covered with fluted domes resting on semicircular arches supported by ancient columns and capitals. It is divided into nine naves and seven bays. The middle court contains two small domes, one in the middle, and the other in front of the mihrab, the frame of which is surmounted by a triangular front, the sides of which are decorated with vertical-shaped decorations of diamond arrows and palmettes. In addition to the decorative elements (the building’s pinnacles in the form of obelisks, a triangular front, and sloping surfaces), the method of building the landmark is linked to the Andalusian tradition. The walls are supported by baked bricks and rubble stone fillings, just like the Tulunid style.
Sample Text
Mohamed Béji Ben Mami “Grand Mosque of Testour” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;tn;Mon01;3;ar
