Saheb Ettabaâ Mosque, also known as Youssef Saheb Al Tabaa Mosque, is a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, located in the Halfaouine area of the city. It is an official Historical Monument. It is the last great mosque built in Tunis before the establishment of French protectorate in 1881.

Structure

It bears the name of the Grand Vizier

Youssef Saheb Ettabaa Youssef Saheb Ettabaa ( ar, يوسف صاحب الطابع; born c. 1765, died 23 January 1815), was a Tunisian politician and a mameluk of Moldavian origin. He became a Prime Minister of the Beylik of Tunis. Early career He was enslaved as a ...

and was opened in 1814. Its construction lasted six years, from 1808, led by Ben Sassi and a workforce consisting primarily of slaves captured by European pirates to Tunis and made available to the Minister by

Hammouda Pacha Hammouda (in Arabic حمودة) or Hamouda or Hammuda is a given name derived of Hammoud and variants Hamoud and Hamud. It is also a common surname in Arabic. Notable people with the name include: Hammouda * Adel Hammouda (born 1948), Egyptian jou ...

. It is influenced by

Italian architecture Italy has a very broad and diverse architectural style, which cannot be simply classified by period or region, due to Italy's division into various small states until 1861. This has created a highly diverse and eclectic range in architectural des ...

; columns with fluted shafts, capitals and especially a unique type of veneer marble polychrome. The mosque dominates the imposing Halfaouine district with its many domes and colonnaded galleries Italian marble work. It is part of a monumental complex built at the same time including a bazaar, a hammam, two madrasas, a sabil or public fountain, a funduq and Ettabaâ Saheb's palace (now a public library) as well as his tomb. The combination of these schedules in place of worship is a unique example in the construction of religious buildings.Mohamed Masmoudi et Jamila Binous, ''Tunis. La ville et les monuments'', éd. Cérès Productions, Tunis, 1980, p. 113 The minaret is octagonal, but remained unfinished until 1970, when restoration work was finished. Entrée Mosquée Saheb Tabâa.JPG, Entrance of the mosque Les arcades de la Mosquée Saheb Tabâa.JPG, Arches of the main hall Les arabesques Mosquée Saheb Tabâa.JPG, One of the hall porticos Les arabesques Mosquée Saheb Tabâa 2.JPG, Decoration of the mosque La salle de priére Mosquée Saheb Tabâa 4.JPG, Prayer room Nader ghanja sahéb tabaa 12.jpg, One of the prayer room's spans Nader ghanja sahéb tabaa 3.jpg, The mosque's Mihrab Nader ghanja sahéb tabaa 4.jpg, Chandelier of the prayer room

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saheb Ettabaa Mosque Mosques in Tunis Religious buildings and structures completed in 1814 19th-century mosques