Madrasa Slimania ( ar, المدرسة السليمانية) is a former

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

and one of the monuments of the

Ottoman era The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

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 ...

History

It was built in 1754 by

Abu l-Hasan Ali I Abu l-Hasan Ali I ( ar, أبو الحسن علي باش; 30 June 1688 – 22 September 1756), also known as Ali Pasha and Ali Bey I,) was the second leader of the Husainid Dynasty and the ruler of Tunisia from 1735 to 1756. Biography He was a ...

in memory of his son Suleiman (who was poisoned by his brother), near the

Al-Zaytuna Mosque Al-Zaytuna Mosque, also known as Ez-Zitouna Mosque, and El-Zituna Mosque ( ar, جامع الزيتونة, literally meaning ''the Mosque of Olive''), is a major mosque at the center of the Medina of Tunis in Tunis, Tunisia. The mosque is the o ...

and

Souk El Kachachine Souk El Kachachine is one of the souks of the medina of Tunis. It is specialized in selling second-hand clothes. Location It is located in the east of Al-Zaytuna Mosque, near souk El Nissa. History The souk was founded during the Hafsid ...

. It was the first one of four madrasahs to be built by Abu l-Hasan Ali I :

Madrasa El Bachia Madrasa El Bachia ( ar, المدرسة الباشية) is one of the madrasahs of the medina of Tunis, located in the Rue des Libraires, near the Al-Zaytuna Mosque and in front of the Guachachine Hammam. History Madrasa El Bachia was built in ...

Madrasa El Achouria Madrasa El Achouria is one of the madrasahs of the medina of Tunis. It was built in the Ottoman Tunisia. This madrasa became a heritage monument on October 19, 1992. Location Located at 62 Haouanet Achour Street, from which come its name, thi ...

and

Madrasa Bir Lahjar Madrasa Bir Lahjar ( ar, مدرسة بئر الأحجار) is one of the madrasahs of Medina of Tunis, the Medina of Tunis. Location It is located in 40 El Pacha Street. History Abu l-Hasan Ali I the Husainid dynasty, Husainid Bey built f ...

Architecture

Madrasa Slimania is known for its

porch A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...

located at a higher level compared to the street. This porch offers access to a richly decorated entrance with an Ottoman touch. Columns and capitals hold its beautiful stone arch (''kadhel et harch'') with its green roof tiles

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

The courtyard is surrounded by four galleries: one of them gives access to a prayer room and the three others to 18 rooms formerly hosting students. The prayer room is divided into three

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

s of three

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...

and has a colourful marble

mihrab Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla ...

. It has an octagonal

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

covered with green tiles. The walls of this room are covered by locally made

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 ...

panels deploying the

Basmala The ''Basmala'' ( ar, بَسْمَلَة, ; also known by its incipit ; , "In the name of Allah"), or Tasmiyyah (Arabic: ), is the titular name of the Islamic phrase "In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful" (Arabic: , ) ...

and the 99 Names of Allah. Madrasa Slimania was restored in 1982 by the National Heritage Institute and the

Association de sauvegarde de la médina de Tunis The Association de sauvegarde de la médina de Tunis (Association for the protection of the medina of Tunis) was established in 1967 to conserve the Medina quarter in the old heart of Tunis. Its mission is "to strive for the conservation and prote ...

. Nowadays, it is the head office of many medical associations. Medersa Slimaniya.JPG, Entrance door Kacheln in tunis02.JPG, Faience panels on vestibule walls Medersa Sliman Int.JPG, Courtyard

References

Slimania Ottoman architecture in Tunisia {{Tunisia-stub