Dar El Bey ( ar, دار الباي), also known as the government palace ( ar, قصر الحكومة) is an old
palace in the
medina of Tunis
The Medina of Tunis is the medina quarter of Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.
The Medina contains some 700 monuments, including palaces, mosques, mausoleums, madrasas and fountains dating from ...
, more precisely in the city's
Kasbah
A kasbah (, also ; ar, قَـصَـبَـة, qaṣaba, lit=fortress, , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term ''alca ...
. Nowadays, it serves as the office of
the Head of Government of Tunisia but was used by guests of the State previously. It is located south of Government Square, west of Kasbah Square.
History
The palace was built in the 17th century during the reign of the
Muradid
The Muradid dynasty was a dynasty of beys that ruled Tunisia from 1613 to 1702. They were succeeded in 1705 by the Husainid dynasty.
History
The dynasty was founded by Murad I Bey, a janissary of Corsican origin. Ramdan Bey, ruler of Tunis, had ...
Bey
Hammuda Pasha Bey. In 1795 the
Husainid Bey
Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...
Hammuda Ibn Ali
Abu Mohammed Hammuda ibn Ali Pasha (9 December 1759 – 15 September 1814) ( ar, أبو محمد حمودة ابن علي باشا) was the fifth leader of the Husainid dynasty and the ruler of Tunisia from 26 May 1782 until his death on 15 Sep ...
added another floor to it.
Henri Dunant
Henry Dunant (born Jean-Henri Dunant; 8 May 182830 October 1910), also known as Henri Dunant, was a Swiss humanitarian, businessman, and social activist. He was the visionary, promoter, and co-founder of the Red Cross. In 1901, he received the ...
considers it as «the most beautiful
moorish royal house in the world».
It became the main office for the
Head of the Tunisian government even before the independence.
Mustapha Kaak was the first to fill that position.
Architecture
The palace's decoration is very rich and diverse with, as an example, sixteen twisted columns with their arches in white
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...
: the rooms were designed by
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
n,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
and
Moroccan artists. These rooms are distinguished by their special rooftops highly decorated with painted scenes and precious materials, as well as Andalusian style
faience
Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip of a lead glaze, was a major a ...
. The courtyard is paved in white marble and surrounded by a
portico.
[Henri Saladin, Tunis et Kairouan, Paris, Henri Laurens, coll. "Les Villes d'art célèbres", 1908, p. 52-53]
Dar El Bey.JPG, Façade of Dar El Bey in the Kasbah
Kasbah-Kassus.jpg, General view of the palace
References
External links
El Bey
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