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Culture of Tunisia


Art, Culture And Architecture of Tunisia

You may not be aware of many or any Tunisian writer or poet, however there are various Tunisian poets and writers who have produced some really fascinating art. May be it is a good chance now to learn more about the Tunisian Arts and fill this gab because different pieces of art produced by Tunisian artists usually provide some striking insights on the country and its culture. You will also realize that arts actually pervade everyday life in Tunisia with decorative arts turning every market and building into a whirl of different colors. Traditional music also can provide the soundtrack of choice to be listened to in Taxis or during a trip. <br><br>Tunisia architecture heritage is equally magnificent. The country has many historic architectural structures ranging from the strikingly uncommon Berber buildings in the south to the Roman and Islamic magnificent structures that are spread in many spots in Tunisia.  <br><br>You can learn more about Tunisia's most interesting Arts and Architecture styles through the following articles:


Literature


Perhaps the most well-known poet who is also Tunisia's national poet is Abu el-Kacem el-Chabbi (1909-34). His poems include the rousing poem Will to Live which is taught to every child in Tunisia. Although he has died prematurely at the age of 25 years only, his poetry had a huge impact. His poetry is characterized by combination of the classical Arabic tradition with a landscape-inspired Romanticism and usually expresses the bitter sense of living under a colonial power. Songs of Life is also a well known collection of some of his poetry that very much worth reading. <br><br>The majority of the modern Tunisian writers however live in Europe because of both reasons: better financial rewards as well as avoiding the dangers arising from offending the government. Among those modern writers is Mustapha Tlili (1937-) who is living in New York. One of his most famous works is Lion Mountain (1988) which is a thoughtful examination of postcolonial mores as well as the impact of modernity on a remote, imaginary mountain village. Albert Memmi is one of the internationally acclaimed writers. He writes in French and lives in Paris. Most of his works are focused on the identity crisis faced by North African Jews like himself. His book The Colonizer and the Colonized is quite famous and discusses the political, social and sexual impact of the French occupation of Tunisia. Hassouna Mosbahi is a Tunisian writer from a Bedouin family. He lives in Germany and was shortlisted for the 2001 Caine Prize for African writing. One of his works called Adieu Rosalie which deals with the tragedy of an exile lost between two worlds. <br><br>Most of the works mentioned here can be found in its English translation versions in addition to a much larger collection of works that are available in French. <br>


 


Music


Traditional music In Tunisia takes the form of malouf (meaning 'normal'), a national institution introduced in the 15th century by Andalusian refugees. It combines instrumental pieces (which serve as preludes and breaks) and vocal works performed in a nouba - a nine-part sequence. <br><br>In the past malouf used to be performed by small ensembles using a rbab (a kind of two-stringed violin), oud (lute) and darbuka (drum, usually made of terracotta and goatskin), with a solo vocalist, however today, malouf is usually composed of large instrumental and choral groups playing Western as well as traditional Arabic instruments. Malouf is now seen as a symbol of national identity and has become institutionalized, as the government offers courses in malouf at the National Conservatory of Music in Tunis in addition to holding an annual cycle of festivals and competitions in the International Festival of Malouf held in July in Testour.<br><br>The best and most accessible time to hear traditional music in Tunisia is at festivals which take place usually in summer. During that time of the year, sometimes there are weekend free concerts held on Ave Habib Bourguiba and some occasional classical music concerts at the Centre of Arabic and Mediterranean Music (known as the Dar Ennejma Ezzahra) in Sidi Bou Said and at L'Acropolium in Carthage. Some music festivals are also held in Tabarka as well as festivals held during summer at Hammamet and Nabeul which host traditional musicians and singers. There are also some restaurants in Tunis that features traditional music like Dar el-Jeld, Le Malouf and Lucullus.<br><br>Tunisia's most attractive soundtracks are often classical Arabic or Arabic pop. The most well-known among them is those of the omnipresent Umm Kulthoum - the rags¬to-riches Egyptian diva whose passionate classicism forms a soundtrack for North Africa. Other loved soundtracks also include the love songs performed by some raven-haired songstress from Cairo; or Algerian dance music - rai - which is a special favorite of louage (shared-taxi) drivers - a good barometer of popular (male) taste. In spite of that, Traditional Arabic music is not that fashionable among young people who prefer the more modern Tunisian pop favorites including those of Sabar Rbai and Salma Echarfi, known for their catchy romantic hits. If you wish to get a taste of Tunisian songs and music, you can buy some tapes (around TDl) at newspaper stands and supermarkets. 


Dance


Women dancers usually move in a sensual, perfectly mastered belly¬dancing style. Such kind of dancing are seen often at a bar or restaurant where a band is playing, but it may be also observed at a wedding or at a festival. <br><br>The traditional style Berber dances can be observed at resort hotels. They include the dramatic Dance of the Vases in which dancers are performing while balancing vases on their heads. Berber dance is usually observed also at the Festival of the Ksour, held around Tataouine in September.


 


Calligraphy & Painting


Calligraphy is a historic and holy art form: it's believed that Arabic was revealed by Allah to the Prophet Mohammed in the form of the Qman. <br><br>Early calligraphers used an angular script called Kufic that was perfect for stone carving; the eastern wall and minaret of the Great Mosque in Sfax (p216), and above the entrance to the Mosque of the Three Doors in Kairouan (p203) are among the finest examples. Nja Mahdaoui is renowned among modern calligraphists for his free-flowing style.<br><br>Rachid Koreichi is an Algerian, partly based in Tunis, who produces works featuring symbols and characters in various materials. You can see his huge embroidered works in cloth at luxury hotel Villa Didon  in Carthage. <br>


Painting as a figurative rather than decorative art form came to Tunisia with the French. Murals and ceiling paintings were particularly popular in the 15th and 19th centuries. <br><br>Contemporary painting ranges from the highly geometric forms of Hedi Turki to Western styles that aim to encapsulate daily life, includ­ing scenes of cafes, hammams (public bathhouses) and music and dance performances - figurative works that are unusual within the framework of an Islamic society. Works by Yahia Turki (widely considered to be the father of Tunisian painting) and Ammar Farhat fall into this last category. Art patron Baron Erlanger, who lived in Sidi Bou Said, was a keen amateur painter, and his impressive renditions of the everyday are on view at his mansion studio .<br><br>In the 1940s, artists established the nationalist Ecole de Tunis in order to counter French dominance, and this was responsible for popularising Tunisian life as artistic subject matter. <br><br>Under the French, the ambient lifestyle of Tunisia attracted European artists who were entranced by the North African light and architecture. Most famously, Tunisia inspired the Swiss and German expressionists Paul Klee and Auguste Macke, who visited the country together in 1914. It was a turning point for Klee, whose encounter with North African colour led to his move towards abstraction, with paintings such as Ham­marnet with its Mosque. Wonderful works by Macke - who tragically died in action during WW 1 the following year - include 5t Germain near Tunis, Tunisian Landscape and Turkish Cafe. <br>


Modern art galleries are mainly confined to Tunis and its suburbs, es­pecially the artist's haven of Sidi Bou Said. The English-language weekly Tunisia News lists exhibitions. Espace Diwan 9 (Map pp72-3; 9 rue Sidi ben Arous; 9am-8pm Mon-Sat, to 7pm Oct-Mar) in the Tunis medina, and Librairie Claire Fontaine (Map pp72-3; 14 rue d'Alger) have some excellent art books.<br><br>Other places in Tunis worth investigating include Galerie Yahia (@ 71 330235; Palmarium, 4 rue de Grece) and Galerie Gorgi (@ 71 892 129; 23 Rue Jugurtha, Le Belvedere). The Palais Khereddine (p76) also often has impressive art exhibitions. In Hammamet you can see and buy the etchings of Baker Ben Fredj.


 


CRAFTS 


Wandering through Tunisian souqs, you will be dazzled by colour, busy patterns, rustic beauty and a share of tourist tat. Like Morocco (but resembling a less-virtuoso cousin) Tunisia has an impressive decorative tradition, with vibrant rugs, bright ceramics, finely worked brassware and heavy folk silver jewellery. <br>


A holy man named Sidi Kacem Ezzilizi is credited with importing tile-making from Andalusia in the 15th century, and his tomb now forms a small Tunis museum to the craft. In the 16th century, tilemakers and potters worked around the area close to Bab Souika in the Tunis medina. The Ottomans injected Turkish style, and you can see fine examples at Oar Othman and Ottoman-era mosques in the Tunis medina (p74). In the 19th century, Italianate was all the rage, as evident in grand mansions such as Tunis' Oar Ben Abdullah (p76). <br>


Ceramics used to be a functional craft supplying local needs, but as times have changed, the pottery trade nowadays caters mainly for tourists. Nabeul is the largest centre, selling Andalusian-influenced, tourist-friendly designs, while Sejnane in the north turns out a distinct Berber style, special­ising in rustic figurines. For more information on contemporary ceramics and where to buy them, see Shopping in the Directory. <br>


Carpet-making is a centuries-old craft and one of the most beautiful. <br>


Knotted carpets are divided into alloucha or zarbia variations. Alloucha use natural colours - beige, black and white - with simple motifs. Zarbia are richly multicoloured. Woven carpets are known as mergoum, are brighter coloured and stem from the nomadic Berber tradition. Kairouan is the biggest carpet centre in the country; again, see Shopping for good places to buy.


You may not be aware of many or any Tunisian writer or poet, however there are various Tunisian poets and writers who have produced some really fascinating art. May be it is a good chance now to learn more about the Tunisian Arts and fill this gab because different pieces of art produced by Tunisian artists usually provide some striking insights on the country and its culture. You will also realize that arts actually pervade everyday life in Tunisia with decorative arts turnin


 


Architecture


Tunisia owns a magnificent array of architectural heritage that goes as far back as 2500 years ago. There are the few but wonderful remains of the great ancient Punic civilization which was remark¬able for its organized town planning. On the other hand, the Roman vestiges are characterized by their mighty and great structures and many of the buildings remain remarkably intact, such as the city of Dougga in the north, and the great stadium of El-Jem.<br><br>The Islamic architecture is the most formidable and ranges from the austere functionality of the early Aghlabids to the numerous works of the later Andalusians and Ottomans. Visitors to Tunisia sometimes feel like getting lost in the country's seemingly unplanned medina! (walled cities), each housing a great mosque at its centre.<br><br>The Berbers have also established some of the most as¬tonishing forms of indigenous architecture in the south. The strange style and look of these structures made them seem as if from another world and hence they attracted the makers of the Star Wars to feature them in the movies. There are also the traditional relief brickwork in Tozeur and Nefta, which employs protruding sand¬-coloured bricks to create intricate monochrome patterns and are much worth seeing. <br><br>The distinctive structures located at Jerba belong to the fiercely autonomous Kharijite sect. Most of these structures are painted dazzling white and look much like fortresses in spite of having different functions, because all of these buildings were designed with a defense plan in mind.


Punic Architecture and Town Planning


The Punic architecture remained a mystery for very long times as the Punic cities were actually erased from the ground, and on their site were built another structures belonging to their conquerors. However in 1952, Kerkouane (Cap Bon) was discovered and its discovery revealed that town planning at that time was highly developed as the town seemed to have been an idyllic place with a fascinating setting beside the sea. the Punic building technique that is called opus Africanum was generally composed of rabble walls strengthened at intervals with stone slabs, a technique that was later adopted in Roman and Byzantine architecture in structures such as the Capitole in Dougga. Specially remarkable also is the unique and neat bathtubs which were found in almost every house in the town and was resembling an armchair that is lined with red cement and have a will within reach and a drain for dirty water. Almost all the houses were having one similar layout of a small-scale houses arranged around a courtyard. Each house was also having a staircase leading to a roof terrace. The floors were decorated by simple red-and-white mosaics with some adorned by a symbol of tanit, a Punic god, to expel Evil Eye.


Roman Architecture and the Underground Rooms


The Romans are always known for their great buildings and mighty architectural engineering which were reflected in many ancient sites in Tunisia. Some of these sites include the ruins of the Zaghouan to Tunis Aqueduct, the El-jem colosseum and impressive citites: Dougaa, Thurburbo Majus, Carthage, Bulla Regia, Shietla, Haidra and Oudhna. In addition to that, there are also the fascinating mines from which the famous Chemtou marble was extracted. <br><br>The planning of the Roman cities consists of a capitole, grand public baths and a forum which was the center of public life, surrounded by temples and civil buildings with streets forming an orderly grid inside the city. The buildings were usually lavishly decorated with mosaics in the prosperous towns. <br>


Particularly interesting is the Bulla Regia unique site where Romans built underground rooms to protect them from the summer heat and cold of the winter. They employed hollow tubes In order to create light-weight overhead vaults (the same technique can be seen in Rome, where amphorae were often embedded into upper walls to make the load much lighter). The site actually gives you the experience of walking inside a completely Roman room.


Berber Architecture


One of the most highlights of Tunisia is the bizarre architecture of the southern Berber Villages that were featured in Star Wars movies, because of its strange architectural style that seems to belong to another world. You can see these strange buildings in the Matmata region. Here, Berbers have overcome the hot summer and freezing winter by constructing their houses underground. A narrow tunnel is dug out to function as the entrance of the house. After the entrance comes a central courtyard that is 6 meters deep under the ground but open to the sky and usually circular in shape, and from its sides there are tunnels leading to rooms. Sometimes these houses are large in size and consist of two or even three connected courtyards. You can see some of the best examples of these houses in Matmata where there are the three troglo¬dyte hotels, the Marhala, the Sidi Driss and Les Berberes. <br><br>Some villages were also built by the Berbers on hilltops and can be found west of Tataouine. These villages were usually built by tribes who were forced to flee the plains. They first inhabited the natural caves in the area but as the time went, they eventually succeeded in converting these caves into houses. The best example you can see of such villages are Chenini, spilling over a peak I8km west of Tataouine as well as its nearby Douiret and Guermessa which provide amazing spectacle but are much less visited than Chenini. More interesting also are the ksours, some extraordinary multistory, podlike, hilltop granaries built by Berbers. Most of the ksours are in ruins except those few at Metameur and Ksar Hallouf that have been converted into hotels where you can stay and enjoy the night in one of them. There is also an extraordinary ksar at Medenine which houses a tourist market.


Islamic Architecture


Ancient Islamic Medinas (cities) were carefully planned after Islamic architectural principles. The city was divided by deep narrow streets and decorated with many rising domes of the mosques, shrines and hammams, which were essential buildings to every Islamic city. The main mosque is located at the center of the city with souqs surrounding it. Sick walls around the city as well as towers were constructed to provide protection and defensive positions against potential enemies and can best be observed in Sousse and Sfax. <br><br>Funduqs (inns) were scattering at many places in Madina and were functioning as temporary staying places for traders, nomads and pilgrims who were in their way of traveling to somewhere else. These buildings were featuring tea¬houses, shops and warehouses downstairs, while upstairs there were the rooms for travelers. Many of the funduqs are now being used as hotels such as those in Houmt Souq on Jerba.<br><br>The mosque (masjid) is an essential building for any medina. Its plan follows a particular layout which consists of an enclosed, oblong courtyard along one side which is known as sahn, an arcaded riwaqa and a prayer hall. The courtyard of the mosque is usually open for all to visit, while non-Muslims will not be allowed into the prayer hall. The prayer hall is usually divided by aisles in order to segregate men and women. A central aisle leads to the mihrab, a vaulted niche in the wall which is built to face Mecca and indicates the direction of prayer. Beside the mihrab, there is the minbar, a pulpit from where the khutba (weekly sermon) is delivered. Every mosque has a minaret which is a large tower from where Muslims are called to prayer. <br><br>Some mosques house an elaborately decorated medersas (Quranic schools), residential colleges teaching theology and Muslim law. These complex building may comprise an ablutions fountain in the centre of the courtyard and a main prayer hall at the far end, surrounded by an upper gallery of student cells. Best examples of such buildings are the Medersa Bachia and Medersa Slimania, both located in Tunis and can be visited by non-Muslims. The many small whitewashed domes over Tunisia are usually domes of marabout (Muslim holy men) tombs. A tomb complex may typically contain a prayer hall and accommodation for visitors. It is called a zaouia and many of these structures can best seen in Kairouan.


Military Architecture


Thick defensive walls were built around Tunisian towns to provide protection in addition to serving also as barracks, granaries and arsenals. Towers were built on the edges of the town as well as crenel¬lated walls that shelter defenders. Along the walls of the city gates were few in number and they were open during day and shut at night. Some examples of such constructions can be best seen in Sfax and Sousse which both go back to the 9th century and were built by the Aghlabids. <br><br>The main fortress in a Tunisian medina was called a kasbah which was either built astride the city's walls or in a commanding corner. The best example of it may be seen in the towering structure over the town of Le Kef. A smaller fort was called a borj and was usually added to strengthen a medina's defense at key points, one example of them is the Borj Ennar in Sfax. A borj can also refer to a free-standing fort like lerba's Borj Ghazi Mustapha. A ribat, which is something between a fort and a monastery, used to be inhabited by Islamic warriors where they were enjoying the contemplation of the Quran at times and observing their duties as soldiers at other times. Most ribats did not stand till today except the ribats of Sousse and Monastir.

The Culture You can read about Tunisian culture Here through the following articles:Arts You can know more about Tunisian arts through the following articles:
History of Tunisia

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