Tourbet el Bey

About this place

The royal mausoleum of the Husainid dynasty, which ruled Tunisia from 1705 to 1957, and the largest funerary monument in Tunis. It was built under Ali II Bey in the second half of the eighteenth century, and most of the Husainid beys lie here; only the last two were buried elsewhere. Domes crown the building, the main ones covered in green tiles shaped like tortoiseshell scales. The ochre sandstone facades are lined with pilasters and Italian-style entablatures. Inside, a run of funerary chambers holds the tombs of the beys, their wives, and a number of their ministers. The tombs are covered with carved marble chests. The men's carry columns topped with a chechia cap or a turban, while the women's have marble plaques at each end. The decoration mixes coloured tiles, carved plaster and Italian marble. It sits in the quieter southern part of the medina, so pair it with a walk through the southern lanes and nearby Dar Ben Abdallah.