Great Mosque

This typically austere Aghlabid affair was built in AD 851. Its architect adapted an earlier kasbah (fort), which explains the mosque’s turrets and crenellated wall, as well as its unusual location (in Tunisia, 'Great Mosques' are usually sited in the centre of medinas). Its lack of a minaret is also unusual; the tower in the nearby ribat is used to call the faithful to prayer. Non-Muslims aren’t allowed beyond the courtyard but from there can view the barrel-vaulted prayer hall.