Raqqada

 monument, place with historical importance

In 867AD, the 9th Aghlabid Emir Ibrahim II, who dwelled in El Qadim palace of Abbassiya, decided to change his residence to another neighbourhood. When the Emir got a persistent insomnia, his personal physician Is’haq Ibn Omrane advised him to walk in the countryside until he finds a place where he would be able to sleep.

At the Raqqada site, the new city of Ibrahim II was constructed endowed with a mosque and many palaces the most famous of which is Qsar Al Fath (the Conquest Palace), Qsar as-Sahn (the Courtyard Palace), Qsar Baghdad (Baghdad Palace), Qsar Al Mokhtar (the Chosen Palace), and Qsar Al Bahr (the Sea Palace), well equipped with drinking water through several “fesqiats” (basins) and surrounded by magnificent gardens. Raqaada is 10km away from Kairouan (south west).

The palace was a residential site for many Aghlabid Emirs (800 909AD). It was surrounded by ramparts having seven doors the best known of which is “Bab Al Kairouan” (Door of Kairouan). In 909A.D, the Fatimids decided to settle in Raqqada that became the headquarters of the Caliph. Their power spread from the Maghreb up to Egypt where in 969AD, they founded “Al Qahira” (Cairo) where power was transferred. Nowadays, in the converted Palace, the Raqqada museum contains rare and prestigious collections.

(source: www.kairouan-cci2009.nat.tn)