Islamic Architecture Guide: Tunisia and Egypt Traditional Homes - Courtyards, Rooms and Heritage
Reposted from the web
Summary: Tunisia and Egypt Traditional Homes - Courtyards, Rooms and Heritage is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, architecture, and local history. The article keeps the original names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Tunisia, Egypt, Traditional Homes.
Name: Dar Bach Hamba
Location: Southern part of the Medina of Tunis.
Date: Built in the 17th century.
Description: The Rassa family built Dar Bach Hamba in the 17th century. This family moved to Tunis from Tlemcen, Algeria, before the 16th century. The house was later owned by the Naccache family and Haj Ahmed Bach Hamba. During the French protectorate period (1881-1956), it became a school run by French nuns.
Dar Bach Hamba is a classic noble residence in the Medina of Tunis. It has a central courtyard with a grand room on each of its four sides, and the north and east rooms feature porches. Today, it serves as the office for the L'Art Rue association. This group works to promote local Tunisian art heritage and provides a space for children's art workshops, concerts, and art projects.
Name: Dar al Jaziri
Location: Northern part of the Medina of Tunis.
Date: Before the 18th century.
Description: Dar al Jaziri served as the home for the Jaziri family in Tunis from the 12th to the 18th century. The Neo Destour party, which led the Tunisian independence movement, held its second congress here in 1937. They also became the ruling party of Tunisia after 1956. Today, it houses the House of Poetry of Tunisia and hosts regular poetry readings.
Dar al Jaziri features a courtyard surrounded by a porch, with very classical columns and capitals, and a water well in the center of the courtyard.
Name: Dar El Monastiri.
Location: Northern part of the Medina of Tunis.
Date: Between 1814 and 1824.
Introduction: Dar El Monastiri was built by Al-Husayn II ibn Mahmud of the Husainid dynasty in Tunisia during the reign of his father, Mahmud (who ruled from 1814 to 1824). It was later given to the Chechia hat merchant M'hamed El Monastiri. After 1924, the building served as an arts and crafts school, an office for craft education, and a regional center for Tunisian arts. Today, it is the National Center for Calligraphy.
The courtyard inside Dar El Monastiri features intricate lime carvings and colorful tiles. The latticed windows (mashrabiya) on the second floor are also very distinctive.
Name: Dar El Bey.
Location: Southern part of the Medina of Kairouan, Tunisia.
Date: 18th century.
Introduction: Built in the 18th century, this former residence of the Bey of Kairouan is now a carpet shop. The house has 18 rooms inside with very fancy ceilings. But if you do not buy a rug, the shop staff might not show you all the rooms.
Name: Bayt al-Kritliyya
Location: Next to the Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo, Egypt.
Date: 1545 and 1631.
Introduction: Bayt al-Kritliyya is built right against the outer wall of the Mosque of Ibn Tulun and is an outstanding example of a traditional Ottoman-era house in Cairo. The residence consists of two houses connected by a bridge. One was built by the scholar Abdel-Qader al-Haddad in 1545, and the other was built by Hajj Mohammad ibn al-Hajj Salem ibn Galman al-Gazzar in 1631. It was later owned by a Muslim noblewoman from the Greek island of Crete, which is how it got the name Bayt al-Kritliyya. In 1928, Egypt began clearing the houses outside the Mosque of Ibn Tulun. This house survived because it was well-preserved, and it was also restored. Major Gayer-Anderson moved into the house in 1935 and filled it with his collection of furniture, carpets, and antiques. When he left Egypt in 1942, he gave the house to the Committee for the Conservation of Arab Monuments, which later turned it into the Gayer-Anderson Museum.
Both houses have their own courtyards, each featuring a fountain from Gayer-Anderson's collection in the center. From one of the courtyards, you can climb up to the summer balcony (Maq'ad) with its horseshoe-shaped arches, where the owner and his guests would go to cool off during the summer.
After passing through the summer balcony, you reach the winter hall, which was the living area for men during the colder months. The hall features a beautiful carved wooden ceiling decorated with fine calligraphy.
Walking further inside leads to the women's and children's quarters (Haramlek), where you can look down over the entire courtyard through the latticed windows (Mashrabiya). The walls of the women's quarters are decorated with Persian and Turkish-style tiles, and the wooden ceilings feature scripture, plant motifs, and geometric patterns.
The largest room in the house is the celebration hall (Salamlek). This is a spacious Ottoman-style room. The lower marble area in the center is called a durqa'a, with a marble fountain (fasqiyya) at the very middle and an arched alcove (iwan) on each side. The room is decorated with verses by the Egyptian poet Ahmed Rami (1892-1981) and several wise sayings.
Above the celebration hall is the harem (haramlek), a space for women and children. From here, you can look down into the celebration hall and watch ceremonies and performances through the windows during festivals.
The third floor holds Gayer-Anderson's various collections, including the Persian, Egyptian, Byzantine, Chinese, Indian, and Turkish rooms. The collection covers major civilizations and is truly fascinating.
The water fountain (sabil) inside Bayt al-Kritliyya. In the old city of Cairo, a sabil is usually found on the side of a road for citizens to drink water, so having one inside a private residence is very rare. The sabil at Bayt al-Kritliyya was built in 1631. Its original painted wooden ceiling is perfectly preserved and features scriptures, the builder's name, and the date of construction. The sabil could store 500 cubic meters of water. Historically, the water carriers' guild (saqgain) was responsible for transporting this water, and the guild operated until the early 20th century.
Name: Bayt al-Suhaymi
Location: Inside the northern gate of Old Cairo, Egypt.
Date: Construction began in 1648, with expansions in 1797.
Introduction: Bayt al-Suhaymi is the best-preserved private Ottoman-era house in Old Cairo and is now open as a tourist site. The house is built around a courtyard (Sahn), which features a small garden with palm trees in the center. You can see beautiful wooden lattice windows (Mashrabiya) in the courtyard. The south side of the mansion is the original 1648 structure, while the north side was added in 1797. It is named after its last owner, Sheikh Muhammad Amin al-Suhaymi, who was a sheikh at Al-Azhar Mosque. In 1930, King Fuad I of Egypt provided funds to buy the mansion and placed it under the management of the Committee for the Conservation of Arab Art Monuments.
Summary: Tunisia and Egypt Traditional Homes - Courtyards, Rooms and Heritage is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, architecture, and local history. The article keeps the original names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Tunisia, Egypt, Traditional Homes.
Name: Dar Bach Hamba
Location: Southern part of the Medina of Tunis.
Date: Built in the 17th century.
Description: The Rassa family built Dar Bach Hamba in the 17th century. This family moved to Tunis from Tlemcen, Algeria, before the 16th century. The house was later owned by the Naccache family and Haj Ahmed Bach Hamba. During the French protectorate period (1881-1956), it became a school run by French nuns.
Dar Bach Hamba is a classic noble residence in the Medina of Tunis. It has a central courtyard with a grand room on each of its four sides, and the north and east rooms feature porches. Today, it serves as the office for the L'Art Rue association. This group works to promote local Tunisian art heritage and provides a space for children's art workshops, concerts, and art projects.
Name: Dar al Jaziri
Location: Northern part of the Medina of Tunis.
Date: Before the 18th century.
Description: Dar al Jaziri served as the home for the Jaziri family in Tunis from the 12th to the 18th century. The Neo Destour party, which led the Tunisian independence movement, held its second congress here in 1937. They also became the ruling party of Tunisia after 1956. Today, it houses the House of Poetry of Tunisia and hosts regular poetry readings.
Dar al Jaziri features a courtyard surrounded by a porch, with very classical columns and capitals, and a water well in the center of the courtyard.
Name: Dar El Monastiri.
Location: Northern part of the Medina of Tunis.
Date: Between 1814 and 1824.
Introduction: Dar El Monastiri was built by Al-Husayn II ibn Mahmud of the Husainid dynasty in Tunisia during the reign of his father, Mahmud (who ruled from 1814 to 1824). It was later given to the Chechia hat merchant M'hamed El Monastiri. After 1924, the building served as an arts and crafts school, an office for craft education, and a regional center for Tunisian arts. Today, it is the National Center for Calligraphy.
The courtyard inside Dar El Monastiri features intricate lime carvings and colorful tiles. The latticed windows (mashrabiya) on the second floor are also very distinctive.
Name: Dar El Bey.
Location: Southern part of the Medina of Kairouan, Tunisia.
Date: 18th century.
Introduction: Built in the 18th century, this former residence of the Bey of Kairouan is now a carpet shop. The house has 18 rooms inside with very fancy ceilings. But if you do not buy a rug, the shop staff might not show you all the rooms.
Name: Bayt al-Kritliyya
Location: Next to the Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo, Egypt.
Date: 1545 and 1631.
Introduction: Bayt al-Kritliyya is built right against the outer wall of the Mosque of Ibn Tulun and is an outstanding example of a traditional Ottoman-era house in Cairo. The residence consists of two houses connected by a bridge. One was built by the scholar Abdel-Qader al-Haddad in 1545, and the other was built by Hajj Mohammad ibn al-Hajj Salem ibn Galman al-Gazzar in 1631. It was later owned by a Muslim noblewoman from the Greek island of Crete, which is how it got the name Bayt al-Kritliyya. In 1928, Egypt began clearing the houses outside the Mosque of Ibn Tulun. This house survived because it was well-preserved, and it was also restored. Major Gayer-Anderson moved into the house in 1935 and filled it with his collection of furniture, carpets, and antiques. When he left Egypt in 1942, he gave the house to the Committee for the Conservation of Arab Monuments, which later turned it into the Gayer-Anderson Museum.
Both houses have their own courtyards, each featuring a fountain from Gayer-Anderson's collection in the center. From one of the courtyards, you can climb up to the summer balcony (Maq'ad) with its horseshoe-shaped arches, where the owner and his guests would go to cool off during the summer.
After passing through the summer balcony, you reach the winter hall, which was the living area for men during the colder months. The hall features a beautiful carved wooden ceiling decorated with fine calligraphy.
Walking further inside leads to the women's and children's quarters (Haramlek), where you can look down over the entire courtyard through the latticed windows (Mashrabiya). The walls of the women's quarters are decorated with Persian and Turkish-style tiles, and the wooden ceilings feature scripture, plant motifs, and geometric patterns.
The largest room in the house is the celebration hall (Salamlek). This is a spacious Ottoman-style room. The lower marble area in the center is called a durqa'a, with a marble fountain (fasqiyya) at the very middle and an arched alcove (iwan) on each side. The room is decorated with verses by the Egyptian poet Ahmed Rami (1892-1981) and several wise sayings.
Above the celebration hall is the harem (haramlek), a space for women and children. From here, you can look down into the celebration hall and watch ceremonies and performances through the windows during festivals.
The third floor holds Gayer-Anderson's various collections, including the Persian, Egyptian, Byzantine, Chinese, Indian, and Turkish rooms. The collection covers major civilizations and is truly fascinating.
The water fountain (sabil) inside Bayt al-Kritliyya. In the old city of Cairo, a sabil is usually found on the side of a road for citizens to drink water, so having one inside a private residence is very rare. The sabil at Bayt al-Kritliyya was built in 1631. Its original painted wooden ceiling is perfectly preserved and features scriptures, the builder's name, and the date of construction. The sabil could store 500 cubic meters of water. Historically, the water carriers' guild (saqgain) was responsible for transporting this water, and the guild operated until the early 20th century.
Name: Bayt al-Suhaymi
Location: Inside the northern gate of Old Cairo, Egypt.
Date: Construction began in 1648, with expansions in 1797.
Introduction: Bayt al-Suhaymi is the best-preserved private Ottoman-era house in Old Cairo and is now open as a tourist site. The house is built around a courtyard (Sahn), which features a small garden with palm trees in the center. You can see beautiful wooden lattice windows (Mashrabiya) in the courtyard. The south side of the mansion is the original 1648 structure, while the north side was added in 1797. It is named after its last owner, Sheikh Muhammad Amin al-Suhaymi, who was a sheikh at Al-Azhar Mosque. In 1930, King Fuad I of Egypt provided funds to buy the mansion and placed it under the management of the Committee for the Conservation of Arab Art Monuments.
