DES ene DaCiiy Or NEE GAN DS 1059 
which is over half a mile outside the 
walls of Kairowan. 
One enters first a large courtyard of 
the school, or zaouia; doors open out of 
it, giving access to the rooms of the pro- 
fessors, students, and servants. ‘The ex- 
quisitely hand-wrought stucco-work and 
the Moorish faience tiles remind one of 
the Alhambra. Parts of this mosque are 
modern, and show what the Arabs can 
do today. Alas, art is not encouraged 
or well paid, and as the old craftsmen 
die their sons cannot fill their places, and 
Arab art will soon be a thing of the past. 
After the courtyard of the zaouia comes 
a small rectangular courtyard, open to 
the sky and most beautifully decorated 
in blue and green tiles. Above all is a 
fluted dome of creamy white against a 
soft blue sky. Opening out of this small 
courtyard is a large one with a graceful 
cloister extending on all sides. 
Opening out of the patio is a room in 
which is placed the catafalque of “‘the 
barber.” It is covered and surrounded 
with flags of vivid colors richly embroid- 
ered in gold and silver. Between the 
banners are hung ostrich eggs and bags 
containing “holy earth’ from Mecca— 
votive offerings brought back by pious 
pilgrims. Scattered over the floor are 
numerous Oriental prayer-rugs and car- 
pets, many of great value. At the foot 
of the tomb hangs a crystal candelabrum. 
One notices marble doors and window- 
casings of Italian workmanship, and 
Henri Saladin tells the following story 
in his book, “Tunis et Kairowan”: 
During the 18th century an Italian 
doctor was captured by pirates and sold 
to a wealthy native of Kairowan. This 
man became very ill and his life was de- 
spaired of by the local doctors, but his 
Italian slave was most devoted and saved 
his life. On getting well the man of 
Kairowan gave the Italian doctor his 
liberty and great riches and sent him 
back to Italy. On his arrival there he 
ordered the marble doors and fittings one 
now sees in the Mosque of the Barber, 
and sent them as a present to his former 
master, who was most interested in the 
zaoula and Mosque of the Barber. 
It would take a large volume to de- 
scribe all the various mosques and zaouia 
of Kairowan. ‘There is one more of 
especial interest, Mosquée de Sidi-Amor- 
Abbada, or the “Mosque of the Swords.” 
‘This mosque owes its existence to a 
dwarf blacksmith who became a famous 
marabout. Being small, he had a mania 
for large things, and forged many great 
swords and battle-axes covered with 
verses of the Koran. He also made a 
huge Turkish pipe, or “chibouk,” so tall 
that no giant could ever have used it. 
The Mosque of the Swords was built 
stone by stone, as pilgrims left their 
small or large offerings. The maribout 
dwarf lies buried in a huge tomb in the 
mosque. He died about 50 years ago, so 
that the Mosque of the Swords, with its 
five picturesque fluted domes, is the most 
modern mosque in Kairowan (p. 1071). 
When Sidi Okba founded Kairowan 
there was no water. Ibrahim el Aglab, 
called the “Louis XIV of Tunisia,” ow- 
ing to his love of luxury and superb 
edifices, had two very large circular 
reservoirs built to the north of Kairo- 
wan, and they were known as the ‘“Cis- 
terns of the Aglabites.” When the oued 
Merg-el-lil overflowed, the water was 
caught in the smaller of these two cis- 
terns, where it deposited all impurities, 
then filtered through into the larger 
reservoir. They are said to contain over 
100,000 cubic meters of water (about 
2% million gallons). 
Thanks to the French administration, 
water has been piped from the springs of 
Chérichira, so that the Cisterns of the 
Aglabites have been restored and are 
filled with a never-failing supply of ex- 
cellent water. “The inhabitants of Kai- 
rowan say that they are very grateful to 
the French protectorate for this water; 
but the fanatics add that if the ‘roumis’ 
(foreigners) have done these nice things, 
it is because they have been the instru- 
ments of Allah, who makes them work 
for the benefit of the ‘faithful.’ ” * 
In every town or village where Arabs 
dwell are to be found zaouia or houses 
* Quotation from Charles Lallamand in his 
book “La Tunisie.” 
