Мечеть аз-Зайтуна

The Al-Zaytunah Mosque is the main congregational mosque in the historic Medina of Tunis. It is also known as the Great Mosque, and its name is linked to the olive tree. It belongs to the Sunni tradition and the Maliki school, and is described as the largest and oldest mosque in the city. It is regarded as the second oldest mosque in Tunisia, after the Mosque of Uqba ibn Nafi in Kairouan.

The mosque covers about 5,000 square metres and has nine doors. Its prayer hall contains 184 columns, brought mainly from the archaeological site of Carthage. Because it faces the sea, its minaret served for a long time as a defensive vantage point. The mosque is administered by a body known as the Mashyakhat of the Great Mosque, and it is a listed monument of Tunisia.

According to the sources, the mosque was founded in 698 (79 AH) on the order of Hassan ibn al-Nu'man. It was completed in 732 by Ubayd Allah ibn al-Habhab.