Kairouan
ٱلْقَيْرَوَان | |
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![]() Top (from left to right): Monument to Kairouan carpets, Great Mosque of Kairouan Second row: Historic city walls, Aghlabid Basins Third row: Zawiya of Sidi Abid al-Ghariani, Makroudh Bottom: Kairouan carpets, Bazaar, Medina quarter | |
Coordinates: 35°40′38″N 10°06′03″E / 35.67722°N 10.10083°E | |
Country | ![]() |
Governorate | Kairouan Governorate |
Delegation(s) | Kairouan North, Kairouan South |
Founded | 670 CE |
Founded by | Uqba ibn Nafi |
Government | |
• Mayor | Radouane Bouden (Ennahda) |
Elevation | 68 m (223 ft) |
Population (2022) | |
• Total | 210,313 |
Website | Official website |
Criteria | Cultural: i, ii, iii, v, vi |
Reference | 499 |
Inscription | 1988 (12th Session) |
Area | 68.02 ha |
Buffer zone | 154.36 ha |
Kairouan (UK: /ˌkaɪər(ʊ)ˈwɑːn/, US: /kɛərˈ-/), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan (Arabic: ٱلْقَيْرَوَان, romanized: al-Qayrawān [æl qɑjrɑˈwæːn] , Tunisian Arabic: Qeirwān [qɪrˈwɛːn] ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by the Umayyads around 670,[1] in the period of Caliph Mu'awiya (reigned 661–680); this is when it became an important centre for Sunni Islamic scholarship and Quranic learning,[2] attracting Muslims from various parts of the world. The Mosque of Uqba is situated in the city.[3][4]