The Great Mosque of Testour
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BUSINESS PUBLICATION
FOR DESIGNERS
TEST
OU
R
The Medina Of
TESTOUR
By Cheikh Khalil
T
estour is a small town located
in the north of Tunisia. The town
is perched on the hills of Medjerda Valley,
20 km (12 mi) south-west of Medjez-el-Bab,
the crossroads between Tunis, Béja, and
the north of Tunisia. It was known during
the Roman period, as Tichilla, which means
the green grass as it is situated in the mouth of
Siliana valley. It was rebuilt by Muslim
and Jewish refugees from Andalusia who
gave it a distinctive character in building and
layout. Today it is a popular pilgrimage for
Jews who visit Rabbi Fraji Chawat's tomb.
is a mosque located in the city of Testour in Beja
Governorate, Tunisia. It is 76 km from the capital
Tunis, in the center of the old city. It embodies the
Andalusian architecture, especially its minaret, which
features Andalusian style inscriptions and
architectural elements.
The Medjerda River
the classical Bagrada, is a river in North Africa flowing
from northeast Algeria through Tunisia before
emptying into the Gulf of Tunis and Lake of Tunis.
With a length of 450 km (280 mi), it is the longest river
of Tunisia. It is also known as the Wadi Majardah
or Mejerha
C HE IK H
K HAL IL
Winter 2019
The International festival of Malouf
Tunisia is a North African country with a predominantly
Arabic-speaking population. The country is best known
for malouf, a kind of music imported from Andalusia
after the Spanish immigration in the 15th century.
Though in its modern form, malouf is likely very
dissimilar to any music played more than four centuries
ago, it does have its roots in Spain and Portugal, and is
closely related to genres with a similar history throughout
North Africa, including malouf's Libyan cousin, Algerian
gharnati and Moroccan ala or Andalusi. During the
Ottoman era, malouf was influenced by Turkish music.
However, Tunisian repertoires, styles and also instruments
remain distinctive - the ʻūd tūnsī is an emblematic case.
This is a close relative of the 'uds associated with Algeria
and also Morocco. Malouf is based on qasidah, a kind of
classical Arabic poetry, and comes in many forms,
including the post-classical muwashshah, which abandons
many of qasidah's rules, shgul, a very traditional form,
and zajal, a modern genre with a unique format.
Source (Wikipedia)