Kairouan Governorate

القيروان Kairouan
Basic data
Country	Tunisia
Capital	Kairouan
surface	6712 km²
Residents	570,559 (2014)
density	85 inhabitants per km²
ISO 3166-2	TN-41

Coordinates: 35 ° 41 ′  N , 10 ° 6 ′  E

Aerial view of the Kairouan Great Mosque

The Kairouan Governorate ( Arabic ولاية القيروان, DMG Wilāyat al-Qairawān ) is one of the 24 governorates of Tunisia . It is located in the north of the country at heights between 50 and 1350 m above sea level. d. M. and has an area of ​​6712 km² about 570,000 inhabitants. The capital is the city of the same name, Kairouan .

Delegations

The governorate has eleven delegations :

delegation	2004 residents	Residents 2014
Bou Hajla	70,589	72,371
Chebika	33,889	35,308
Echrarda	25.903	27,518
El Alâa	31,773	32,343
Haffouz	43,792	40,066
Hajeb El Ayoun	35,403	36,137
Kairouan North	83,794	96.904
Kairouan South	80,444	89,749
Nasrallah	37,112	33,789
Oueslatia	36,195	34,452
Sbikha	67,315	71,922
total	546.209	570,559

climate

The long-term average temperatures are, depending on the altitude and cloud cover, between 5 and 15 ° C in winter and between 20 and 35 ° C in summer. The annual rainfall varies between 250 and 350 millimeters.

economy

Agriculture is the dominant economic sector in the region - cereals, fruit growing (olives, almonds) and the cultivation of vegetables (asparagus, tomatoes etc.) are the main products; in addition, livestock is raised to a not insignificant extent. The Kairouan Medina is visited by numerous tourists.

nature

The region is largely man-made; two nature reserves are located in the far north and north-west: the Djebel Zaghdoud National Park and the Djebel Serj National Park with the highest mountain in the governorate (1357 m).

history

The region was formerly settled by Berbers who were subjugated by the Romans . In the 6th century, the Byzantines controlled the region and built several fortifications. The Arab conquests under ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ led to the establishment of Kairouan around the year 670. The Aghlabids ruling in the 9th century founded the royal seat of Raqqada ; however, they were defeated by the Fatimids in 909 , who moved their capital to the newly founded Fustat / Cairo in 969 .

Culture

Although it can be assumed from many small finds that the region around Kairouan already played an important role in Roman times, large ancient buildings (temples, theaters etc.) are hardly known or are in very poor condition; Relics from Byzantine times are also rare. The most important cultural assets come from the Islamic period; most of them are in Kairouan, where the Musée national d'art islamique de Raqqada exhibits some important finds.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Population statistics 2004 + 2014
2. ↑ Climate diagrams Kairouan
3. ↑ archaeological sites in the governorate of Kairouan in the French Wikipedia