“Al-Zaytouna” .. the lung of Tunisia is looking for visitors

Tunisia – AFP
Among the alleys of Tunisia’s old medina, children compete in a treasure hunt, one of the fun activities to revitalize the place that visitors abandoned at night and during the weekend.
The construction of the city, which includes one of the most important religious installations, the Zitouna Mosque, began in the ninth century, and then expanded operations began four centuries later in this area, which is the first destination for tourists visiting Tunisia.
The city contains hundreds of historical monuments and regarding twenty traditional markets selling various commodities, including gold, cloth, handicrafts, leather and perfumes. UNESCO included it on its World Heritage List in 1979.
The writer who specializes in the history of the city, Hatem Boreal, explains, “The city has a moral charge and embraces the first Quranic schools, including the Zaytuna Mosque – the College, which is one of the most famous and authentic in the world.”
In spite of that, this area, which contains historic houses and palaces founded during the rule of the Ottomans, its lights are turned off at night and the noise of the day is raging, and tourists and Tunisians abandon it and become a place to be avoided by passers-by.
The activity in the old city is limited at night during the month of Ramadan, when Tunisians go to it for the summer.
Boreal comments, “Not visiting the city at night is a tradition, because all the shops and markets close their doors and the alleys remain empty.”
“Al-Zaytouna” .. the lung of Tunisia
For her part, 38-year-old architect Salma Gharbi said during her participation in a tour of the place on Saturday, “The old city is the lung of Tunisia, and from here the development of the country began.”
Tourists roam the two main streets in the heart of the city, between the Zaytuna Mosque and the Kasbah headquarters; Where is the seat of the government.
Recently, “cultural activities have been created, such as the “Dream City” festival, to give a new breath to the city.”
The engineer also encourages the continuation of the “Ramadan Nights” experience, during which the old city last April witnessed a great turnout for Tunisians to stay up in antique cafes and attend singing and dancing parties.
Recently established projects, including Alex Reed houses and spaces for art performances, along with art workshops with the participation of schools, have contributed to breaking the routine of life in the city.
Since 2013, Leila Bin Qassem has established a Alex Reed house, through which she is looking for a “new dynamic to improve security, lights and cleanliness” in the place, and has persuaded regarding 21 other entrepreneurs to get involved in achieving her goal.
“We all create experiences so that people come to visit the city, spend their weekends, meet artisans, and experience moments of authenticity,” she said.
cooking lessons
A German foundation funded the “Feel Medina” project, which offers recreational activities throughout the year through the “My City” program, including “treasure hunting,” “cooking lessons,” and learning Arabic calligraphy. In addition to “traveling or wrapping books in leather”; As well as the “Al-Balgha industry” (leather shoes) on the Tunisian way.
“Our goal is to revitalize the city at night and throughout the weekend”, through cultural activities and festivals, said Suhail Al-Fitouri, a participant in the “My City” program and a leather shoe artisan, as he sits in his shop inside the covered markets. Closure of traditional industries.
And close to him, in an old shop, Mohamed bin Sassi, a specialist in the travel of books using leather, expresses his happiness that “people and tourists come to visit him on weekends to discover his very old craft” and that he is working to be an “ambassador for it.”
This summer, Ben Belkacem plans to implement new ideas, including spending the night “on the rooftops”. “We can carry out many things, such as meetings with craftsmen and historians, showing films, or even with the city’s residents,” who number no more than 25,000, she says.
However, achieving this goal passes through the authorities’ opening of closed museums for a long time, such as the “Torbet El Bey Museum,” the Dar Ben Abdallah Museum, and “Torbe Sidi Boukhrisan,” which has been closed for 15 years, according to Borial, who calls for the opening of mosques for visitors to visit.