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Heritage

The Ribat

The oldest and best-preserved fortress-monastery in North Africa. From the top of its watchtower, the whole medina and the sea.

UNESCO World Heritage

The ramparts of the Sousse medina

A fortress for soldier-monks

Completed in 821 under the Aghlabid emir Ziyadat Allah I, the ribat of Sousse belonged to a chain of small forts watching over the coast. The murabitun who lived here divided their time between prayer and guard duty. The plan is strikingly plain: a square courtyard, cells on two levels, a vaulted prayer hall upstairs, and a 27-metre round watchtower added in 859.

What to see

  • The entrance gate and its vestibule, the earliest known rib vault in North Africa.
  • The prayer hall, one of the oldest in the Maghreb.
  • The top of the tower, up a narrow staircase: the medina, the Great Mosque right below, the harbour and the sea.

Tip

Come in the late afternoon, when the stone turns honey-coloured and the light grazes the ramparts.