Kasbah

Sousse


Standing at the high point of the medina, the kasbah was built onto the city walls in the 11th century. It incorporates the imposing square Khalef tower, built by the Aghlabids in AD 859 at the same time as the city walls, which superseded the ribat as the city’s watchtower. The building now houses the impressive Sousse Archaeological Museum, and entry is limited to those with a museum ticket.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Sousse attractions

1. Sousse Archaeological Museum

Located inside the 11th-century kasbah, this museum showcases an extraordinary collection of 2nd- and 3rd-century Roman mosaics, one of the best in the…

2. Kalat El Koubba

0.22 MILES

The rooms surrounding the courtyard of this funduq (caravanserai) contain naff mannequin displays of day-to-day life under the Ottomans. The building is…

3. Souq Er Ribba

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This souq and its western extension, Souq El Kayed, are the closest Sousse comes to a medieval bazaar. The roof is unmistakably modern, yet the sales…

4. Medina

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Added to Unesco's World Heritage List in 1988, Sousse's 9th-century medina is an unusual and important example of Aghlabid military coastal architecture…

5. Dar Am Taïeb

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Driven by passion and a healthy ego, local sculptor Taïeb Ben Hadj Ahmed has turned his large villa in a leafy residential neighbourhood into a gigantic…

6. Zaouia Zakkak

0.33 MILES

The splendid octagonal stone minaret belongs to the 17th-century Zaouia Zakkak, the medina’s leading example of Ottoman architecture. Its blue-green stone…

7. Musée Dar Essid

0.34 MILES

In a quiet part of Sousse's medina, this privately owned museum shows off a beautiful old home, furnished in the style of a well-to-do 19th-century Sousse…

8. Great Mosque

0.37 MILES

This typically austere Aghlabid affair was built in AD 851. Its architect adapted an earlier kasbah (fort), which explains the mosque’s turrets and…