Tunisia - Medina of Sfax

The medina of Sfax was founded in 849 AD by order of the Aghlabian emirs of Kairouan, the capital of Ifrikiya. Morphologically, it is distinguished by its regular orthogonal plane and the almost total absence of dead ends. It is organized in four large islands where the main axis is doubled connecting the two unique original doors that open one towards the South (towards the sea) and the other towards the North (inland). The Great Mosque occupies the center of this space and the souks are placed in the area located north of the mosque. Covering an area of ​​24 ha and surrounded by ramparts 2750 m long, the medina of Sfax is a quadrilateral of 600 m long and 400m wide, whose main axis Bab Djebli-Bab Diwan does with the meridian north-south an angle of 22 °.