🕌 Zitouna Mosque (Tunis)

About This Sacred Site

The Zitouna Mosque (Mosque of the Olive Tree) is the oldest and most important mosque in Tunis and home to one of the oldest continuously operating universities in the world. Founded in 737 CE, the mosque served as a major center of Islamic learning for over a millennium, with its Zitouna University educating scholars who shaped Islamic thought across the Maghreb and beyond. Located in the heart of the medina, the mosque remains central to Tunisian religious and intellectual life.

Key Facts

• •Founded in 737 CE, the oldest mosque in Tunis
• •Zitouna University, within the mosque, is one of the oldest in the world
• •The name means 'Mosque of the Olive Tree' referencing an olive tree at its founding site
• •The prayer hall contains 184 ancient columns from Roman-era Carthage
• •Scholars educated here influenced Islamic thought across North and West Africa

Location

Coordinates: 36.7975, 10.1711