Marble courtyard
Carrara marble ringed by arcades.
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Dar Ben Abdallah is a grand palace in the southern medina of Tunis, beside Tourbet el Bey. Dating from the eighteenth century, it ranks with Dar Lasram, Dar Hussein and Dar Bach Hamba among the medina's finest palaces. Since 1978 it has housed the Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions, devoted to home life in nineteenth-century Tunis. Its first recorded owner, in 1796, was a city notable. In 1801 it passed to Slimane Kahia, later head of the bey's army, who enlarged and embellished it, probably for his marriage to a daughter of the future Mahmoud Bey (reigned 1814-1824). It is named after Mohamed Tahar Ben Abdallah, a wealthy silk weaver who bought it at auction in 1875. Its rich, largely Italian materials and large reception rooms make it a palace, not a merchant's house. A bent entrance, lined with Italian-style tiles under stucco carved with calligraphy and scrollwork, shields the central courtyard, paved in white Carrara marble and ringed by arcades. Around it, under painted ceilings, costumed figures stage the lives of man, bride, woman and child, among jewellery, mother-of-pearl chests, furniture and toys. The old kitchen keeps its pottery, copper and wooden utensils around a second courtyard, and the former stables show chechia makers' tools. It stands in an alley off Rue Sidi Kacem. By 2021 restoration had kept it shut for about ten years, and visitors in December 2023 and April 2024 found it closed or got in only briefly, so check it has reopened before you go. Pair it with Tourbet el Bey and the quiet southern lanes.
Carrara marble ringed by arcades.
Man, bride, woman and child.
Pottery, copper and wooden utensils.
Impasse Ben Abdallah, off Rue Sidi Kacem, beside Tourbet el Bey, southern medina, Tunis
Tourbet el BeyThe royal mausoleum of the Husainid dynasty, which ruled Tunisia from 1705 to 191 minute walk
Zitouna Mosque (Al-Zaytuna)The oldest and best-known mosque in Tunis, standing at the centre of the medina 5 minutes walk4.7
Medina of TunisThe old heart of the capital and one of the most complete historic Islamic citie7 minutes walk
Sidi Mahrez Mosque (Tunis)Sidi Mahrez Mosque, officially the Muhammad Bey Mosque, crowns the Bab Souika qu15 minutes walk
Avenue Habib BourguibaThe main boulevard of Tunis and the face of its modern city, which was built in 17 minutes walk4.4It lies in the southern medina beside Tourbet el Bey, about 370 m south-east of the Zitouna Mosque as the crow flies, a short walk through the lanes.
A mamluk officer of Caucasian origin who married a daughter of Mahmoud Bey, received command of the bey's army under him, and put down the last revolt of the Turkish janissaries in Tunis in 1816. He died in 1838.