Bab Diwan
The great gate.
IssamBarhoumi — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Noomen9 — CC0 · Csisc — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Houssem Abida — CC BY-SA 4.0
An old city built by the Aghlabid prince Abu al-Abbas Muhammad between 849 and 851, and one of the rare medieval towns of North Africa to keep its original layout. Complete stone walls, among the best preserved in Tunisia, ring it, and in 2012 it was put on Tunisia's tentative list for World Heritage. Unlike the tourist medinas of the coast, Sfax's medina is fully alive with its residents and trade: souks for copper, perfume, fabric and grain, craft workshops, old hammams and neighbourhood cafés. The Great Mosque stands at its centre, with the main souks around it, as in the earliest Islamic towns. Most visitors enter through Bab Diwan, the great gate in the southern wall, and walk the main street to the mosque and on into the souks. In the south-west corner stands the kasbah, the old fort, now a museum of traditional architecture. Wandering is free, and weekday mornings are best, when the souks are busiest. Sfax is Tunisia's second city, and its cooking is famous for fish and couscous.
The great gate.
Copper, perfume, fabric.
Traditional architecture museum.
Central Sfax; main entrance through Bab Diwan
Less than the coastal medinas, which is its charm: its souks are alive with everyday local trade.
