Medina of Sfax
[2] With the fall of the majority of the Aghlabid State in the hands of the Fatimids, Sfax suffered its first crisis since its foundation, when attacked among other cities in 914 by the ruler of Sicily, Ahmed bin Gharb, a strong supporter of the Abbasids, in order to recover the cities of the African coast held by the Fatimids.
[4] However, the locals did not integrate the Ismaili rite brought by the new state and remained faithful to their Maliki doctrine thanks to the support of a great scholar, Abu Ishaq Aljbinyani.
One of the most significant changes taking place in the city during this period is the remarkable improvement that the great mosque underwent under the rule of the Sanhaji Prince Abi Al-Fotuh Al-Mansour in 988.
The oil that is made here is exported to Egypt, the Maghreb, Sicily and Europe (Roum) [...] Kerkennah contains some remains of old buildings and several cisterns.
[6] During this time also, the city witnessed its first invasion when it passed under the control of Ibn Melil from 1067 to 1099 with the support of Hilalis and Banu Sulaym.
[2] At the end of the reign of the Zirid dynasty, between 1148 and 1156, the Normans of Sicily occupied the city, representing Sfax's first non-Islamic occupation since its foundation.
[2] Sfax quickly joined the new kingdom after some resistance, and it is during this period that its monuments were restored and that the trade movement developed.
At the time of the Mouradid dynasty, Sfax experienced an important intellectual renaissance: several scholars and scholars emerged, including Abu El Hassan El Karray and Ali Ennouri who led the jihadist movement against the cross occupation of the order of Saint John in Malta.
While Ali Ben Khelifa El Naffati lead the army to defend the city from the outside, the inhabitants fight from the inside under the leadership of Mohammad Kammoun.
Gradually, the medina lost its role at the expense of a new European city built by the French and became the center of all transactions and even a large part of the local economy.
On 17 February 2012, the Tunisian government presented the medina of Sfax as a candidate for ranking on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
[8] The first one represents the main axis which makes with the meridian north-south an angle of 22 degrees, which corresponds to the orientation of most mihrabs mosques of Sfax.
[1] The souks (or markets) surround the great mosque, at once place of worship, culture and sociability, from its north-west facade to Bab Jebli with a hierarchical distribution, while the rest of the area is occupied by the residential quarters.
It was used for a different purposes throughout the history, first a control tower built by the Aghlabids on the coast, then the seat of the municipal government, and then the main army barracks.
Today it is served as a museum of traditional architecture[11] Souks (or markets), are organized in the medina according to their specialties or activities.
Among these mosques still standing we can cite: The houses of the medina in Sfax have a common architecture that is called El Dar.
Some of these buildings kept their original function (housing) like Dar Laadhar, while many other got converted into hotels, coffee shops, or even artisans workshops.
Nowadays, only Hammam El Sultan is still standing, but in poor condition due to lack of protection and renovation works.
