Name of Monument:

Mohamed Bey al-Muradi Mosque

Also known as:

Sidi Mehrez Mosque

Location:

Opposite the Sidi Mehrez Suq, in the Medina, Tunis, Tunisia

Date of Monument:

Hegira 1104–10 / AD 1692–99

Period / Dynasty:

Muradid

Patron(s):

Mohamed Bey, son of Murad Bey II.

History:

This monument, whose building was begun by Mohamed Bey and continued by his brother Romdhane Bey, remains unfinished. Taking inspiration from the older Turkish mosques, the project was to have an octagonal minaret at the northwest corner of the courtyard and two family turbes. The death of Mohamed Bey, the murder of his brother and the troubled times under Murad II hindered the completion of the works. The mosque had to make do with a square minaret belonging to an ancient mosque attached to the east courtyard, which was annexed to the ensemble.

Description:

This is the only domed mosque in Tunisia. Turkish in inspiration, it is similar to Sainte-Sophie, the mosque of Sultan Ahmed in Istanbul and the Pecherie in Algiers.
The prayer hall is built to a square plan and surrounded on three sides with galleries overlooking three U-shaped courtyards. The galleries are supported on marble columns with Turkish-style capitals decorated with acanthus leaves on the sides and scrolls at the corners. On the inside four stout pillars measuring 1.50 m wide hold up a hemispherical dome on pendentives which rises to 29 m above floor level. The dome sits on two superposed tambours, the first circular and the second octagonal. This central dome is buttressed by four half-domes. At the corners of the hall the roofing is completed by four smaller domes set on circular tambours. Viewed from the outside, the mosque is a mass of stepped domes. Their striking whitewashed shapes dominate the town.
Originally the interior decoration was sober; a few Iznik ceramic panels alternated with isolated sculpted plaster motifs. Later refurbishments added a wall lining of green marble and the total covering of the domes with Maghrebin-style sculpted plaster. However, the original decorations of the mihrab and the minbar have been preserved. The former has a surround of marble blocks of two colours and is covered with Iznik tiles. The latter is panelled in polychrome marble. The minbar also has an inscription written on an arch above it. It bears the date AH 1116 (AD 1704).

Also known as the Sidi Mehrez Mosque, this is the only domed mosque in Tunisia. Inspired by Turkish architecture, it is reminiscent of Hagia Sophia, Sultan Ahmed’s mosque in Istanbul, and the Pecherie in Algiers. From the outside, the building consists of a group of staggered, whitewashed domes overlooking the town. The square prayer room is surrounded on three sides by galleries leading to U-shaped courtyards. The galleries are supported by marble columns with Turkish-style capitals.

How Monument was dated:

The building of this mosque is recorded in the habus deeds of the Muradid beys, which are kept in the State Archives.

Selected bibliography:

Ben Mami, M. B., “La mosque Mohamed Bey, un exemple de la presence architecturale et artistique ottomane dans la medina de Tunis”, Africa, Series A.T.P., No. 12, pp.1–22.

Citation of this web page:

Mohamed Béji Ben Mami "Mohamed Bey al-Muradi Mosque" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;tn;Mon01;4;en

Prepared by: Mohamed Béji Ben MamiMohamed Béji Ben Mami

Né le 27 janvier 1950 à Tunis, docteur en archéologie islamique, Mohamed Béji Ben Mami est directeur général de l'Institut national du patrimoine et vice-président de la Municipalité de Tunis. Il a restauré, sauvegardé et mis en valeur plus d'une cinquantaine de monuments de la médina de Tunis, dirigé les fouilles de grands sites islamiques et organisé diverses expositions relatives à la civilisation arabo-islamique.
Depuis 1996, il est vice-président de l'Union des historiens arabes et représentant de l'Union des archéologues arabes de Tunisie.
Mohamed Béji Ben Mami a pris part à divers congrès internationaux et publié plusieurs articles et ouvrages, parmi lesquels Tourbet el-Bey (Tunis, 2004) et Les médersas de la médina de Tunis (Tunis, 2005).
Copyedited by: Margot Cortez
Translation by: David Ash
Translation copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez

Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.

MWNF Working Number: TN 04