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The Great Mosque of Kairouan (), also known as the Mosque of Uqba (), is one of the most important mosques in Tunisia, situated in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Kairouan. Established by the Arab general Uqba ibn Nafi in 670 AD (the year 50 according to the Islamic calendar) at the founding of the city of Kairouan, the mosque is spread over a surface area of 9,000 square metres and it is one of the oldest places of worship in the Islamic world, as well as a model for all later mosques in the Maghreb.〔''(Great Mosque of Kairouan (discoverislamicart.org) )''〕 The Great Mosque of Kairouan is one of the most impressive and largest Islamic monuments in North Africa,〔(|| Géotunis 2009 :: Kairouan || )〕 its perimeter is almost equal to 405 metres (1,328 feet). This vast space contains a hypostyle prayer hall, a huge marble-paved courtyard and a massive square minaret. In addition to its spiritual prestige,〔(Great Mosque of Kairouan - Kairouan, Tunisia )〕 the Mosque of Uqba is one of the masterpieces of both architecture and Islamic art.〔(Kairouan - UNESCO World Heritage Centre )〕〔(Kairouan 499 )〕〔(The Great Mosque (kairouan-cci2009.nat.tn) )〕 Under the Aghlabids (9th century), huge works gave the mosque its present aspect.〔 M’hamed Hassine Fantar, ''De Carthage à Kairouan: 2000 ans d’art et d’histoire en Tunisie'', éd. Agence française d’action artistique, Paris, 1982, p. 23〕 The fame of the Mosque of Uqba and of the other holy sites at Kairouan helped the city to develop and repopulate increasingly. The university, consisting of scholars who taught in the mosque, was a centre of education both in Islamic thought and in the secular sciences.〔Wilfrid Knapp and Nevill Barbour, North West Africa : a political and economic survey, Editions Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1977, page 404〕 Its role can be compared to that of the University of Paris in the Middle Ages.〔Henri Saladin, Tunis et Kairouan, Editions Henri Laurens, Paris, 1908, page 118〕 With the decline of the city of Kairouan from the mid 11th century, the centre of intellectual thought moved to the University of Ez-Zitouna in Tunis.〔Mahmud Abd al-Mawla, L’université zaytounienne et la société tunisienne, éditions Maison Tiers-Monde, Tunis, 1984, page 33〕 == Location and general aspect == Located in the north-east of the medina of Kairouan, the mosque is in the intramural district of Houmat al-Jami (literally "area of the Great Mosque").〔 (Mohamed Kerrou, « Quartiers et faubourgs de la médina de Kairouan. Des mots aux modes de spatialisation », ''Genèses'', vol. 33, n°33, 1998, pp. 49-76 )〕 This location corresponded originally to the heart of the urban fabric of the city founded by Uqba ibn Nafi. But because of the specific nature of the land, crossed by several tributaries of the wadis, the urban development of the city stretched southwards. Then there are the upheavals of Kairouan following Hilalian's invasions in 449 AH (or 1057 AD) and which led to the decline of the city. For all these reasons, the mosque (which occupies the same place since its founding in 670) is not any more situated in the center of the medina, and is thereby positioned on the extremity, near the walls. The building is a vast irregular quadrilateral, longer (with 127.60 meters) from the eastern side than on the opposite side (with 125.20 meters) and less wide (with 72.70 meters) on the north side (in the middle of which stands the minaret) that the opposite side (with 78 meters). It covers a total area of 9000 m2. From the outside, the Great Mosque of Kairouan is a fortress-like building, which required as much by its massive ocher walls of 1.90 meters thick composed of well-worked stones, courses of rubble stone and courses of baked bricks,〔 as the square angle towers measuring 4.25 meters on each side and the solid and projecting buttresses that support and bind. More than a defensive role, the buttresses and towers full serve more to enhance the stability of the mosque built on a soil subject to compaction.〔Néji Djelloul, ''op. cit.'', p. 8〕 Although a seemingly harsh, the external facades, punctuated with powerful buttresses and towering porches, some of which are surmounted by cupolas, give to the sanctuary a striking aspect characterized by majestic sobriety.〔〔 Henri Saladin, ''Tunis et Kairouan'', coll. Les Villes d’art célèbres, éd. Henri Laurens, Paris, 1908, p. 120〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Great Mosque of Kairouan」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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