Kairouan is the fourth holy city of Islam, after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem, and that makes it unusual in Tunisia, which otherwise has a relaxed Mediterranean air. It was founded in 670 by the Arab general Uqba ibn Nafi as a military base in the heart of the plains, far from the coast and the Byzantine fleets, and it became the first Islamic capital of the Maghreb. The Great Mosque, also called the Mosque of Uqba, dates from that early period and was rebuilt in the ninth century. It has a huge courtyard surrounded by arcades, a three-storey minaret and a prayer hall with hundreds of columns, many taken from Roman and Byzantine ruins. The old city is a UNESCO site.
The medina, enclosed by brown walls, is a warren of lanes, with whitewashed houses and blue doors, and the carpet shops are among the best in the country. Kairouan carpets, woven from wool in rich reds and blues, are famous. The city is also known for makroudh, a pastry of semolina and dates fried in oil and soaked in honey, which is sold in every corner shop and is best eaten warm. Another sight is the Aghlabid Basins, a pair of huge circular reservoirs from the ninth century, built to store water for the city.
The landscape is dry, with steppe, olive groves and low hills, and the colour of the earth is soft brown and ochre. Around Kairouan, the road runs straight and fast across flat country, with sheep and the occasional camel by the verge. Trucks are many, and the roads are in decent condition, though sometimes uneven. Summer heat is fierce, with temperatures over forty degrees, and the best seasons for riding are spring and autumn.
The ride to El Jem, about sixty kilometres to the east, leads to one of the great monuments of the Roman world. The amphitheatre there, built in the third century, held thousands of spectators, and it still stands to its third tier, with underground chambers where the animals and gladiators waited. It is among the best-preserved Roman amphitheatres in existence, and its walls glow golden in the evening.
Kairouan has fuel stations, restaurants and a few small hotels in the old town. Sidi el Hani, nineteen kilometres away, is a small town. Try grilled lamb, and drink mint tea in a courtyard of the old city. Dress modestly, and non-Muslims can see the mosque courtyard but not usually the prayer hall.