al-Madinah (Medina in Tunis)

The medina, or old quarter, of Tunis was built during the seventh century AD. From the 12th to the 16th centuries, Tunis was considered to be one of the greatest and wealthiest cities of the Islamic world and its medina is testimony to its former grandeur. Today, visitors can step back in time through the maze of narrow, winding streets and barter for souvenirs with the locals; goods on sale include colourful hand-made carpets, hand-crafted jewellery, copper and brassware, pottery and exotic spices. Among the more frequented attractions found within the walls of the medina are: the ninth-century Ez-Zitouna Mosqu (Mosque of the Olive Tree), the perfume makers’ Souk el Attarine and Tunis’s first Ottoman-style mosque, Sidi Yousef, built in the 17th century.