Testour is an Andalusian town founded around 1609 by Moriscos (Muslims driven out of Spain), 77 kilometres south-west of Tunis, on the banks of the Medjerda and over the remains of the Roman village of Tachilla. It preserves a rare Hispano-Moorish heritage: narrow streets, patio houses, and a Great Mosque whose minaret is adorned with Stars of David and a clock with reversed hands. A town of Malouf (traditional Andalusian music), it ranks today among the oldest cities in Tunisia.
Testour: an Andalusian jewel at the heart of Tunisia
Testour stands 77 kilometres south-west of Tunis. This municipality of 12,732 inhabitants, attached to the governorate of Béja, is the seat of a delegation of 23,500 inhabitants. Built at the beginning of the 17th century, around 1609, it rises on the banks of the Medjerda on the site of Tachilla, a former Roman village.
After the arrival of the Moors in Tunisia around 1580, Testour became one of their greatest cities. Its Great Mosque, erected around 1631, its winding lanes and its centuries-old houses make it one of the oldest towns in Tunisia.
The town's historical roots
A rediscovered heritage
Testour is emerging as one of the favoured destinations of Tunisian tourism. An excursion entitled “Andalusian Towns” revealed to participants the districts founded by the Andalusians: Mjez El Bab, Slouguia, Téboursouk and Testour.
The Tunisian Association for Urban Studies and Research (ATERU) organises this event. The association brings together researchers, doctoral students, academics, urban planners, geographers, architects and renowned historians. They work to make the riches of our heritage known.
Ramla Hsaiti and Abdelhalim Koundi lead the tours. The latter even set the clock of the Testour mosque running again. For the modest sum of 30 dinars, anyone can immerse themselves in the glorious past of this town of Malouf and ricotta.
The Andalusian exodus to Tunisia
After the Reconquista, the Catholic monarchs drove the Andalusians out of Spain. These Moriscos found refuge in North Africa. Spaniards of the Jewish faith settled in Morocco, while the Muslim Andalusians scattered across Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. They brought their customs and traditions, enriching the political, cultural and social life of their host countries.
The story of this emigration begins before the fall of Granada in 1492, though it intensified after that date. It stretched over two centuries, until the total expulsion of the Andalusian Moors from the Iberian Peninsula in 1610.
The welcome of the Turkish authorities
The Turkish authorities then governing Tunisia welcomed these populations with open arms. Othman Dey, and after him Youssef Dey, considered this population industrious and educated. They encouraged its settlement in the capital and the regions of northern Tunisia.
Among these Moors, the Tagarins stand out. Coming from Castile and Aragon, they chose a region lying 76 kilometres west of Tunis. This particularly fertile region spreads along the right bank of the Medjerda and lies on the road linking Tunis to Algeria.
Set on the remains of the Roman village of Tachilla, Testour does not lack for water. It quickly became a vast cultivated plain, ringed with olive trees.
Authentic Andalusian charm
Preserved traditions and architecture
Archives and family names attest that, for nearly a century and a half, the people of Testour went on speaking Spanish. They kept up certain traditions, such as the practice of the corrida (bullfighting).
Its picturesque lanes, its centuries-old houses and the quarters of Rhiba, Hara and Tagarin make it one of the oldest towns in Tunisia. It still preserves its Andalusian character in its dwellings. Perfectly aligned tiles cover the roofs, while the houses include stables and granaries.
The traditional rooms open onto a central patio adorned with a majestic tree. The main square is striking for its beauty and its typically Spanish square layout.
A unique architectural testimony
In 1893, René Cagnat and Henri Saladin published “Le voyage en Tunisie” (The Journey through Tunisia). These scholars, entrusted with an archaeological mission by the French ministry, described the mosque: “The minaret rises before our windows. It is clad in multicoloured faience tiles in which white, green and black predominate. On the square tower stands a pointed tiled roof, crowned by a sharp spire. The spire rests on three superposed spheres and ends in a crescent.”
The Great Mosque: an architectural symbol
Construction and setting
Mohamed Targarino built the Great Mosque of Testour in 1630. It stands at the heart of the town, at the intersection of the main thoroughfares. Having become the symbol of the city, it has two courtyards: the larger to the north, the second and smaller to the north-east, with the ablutions room.
The mosque offers an unprecedented synthesis of local traditions and Hispano-Moorish techniques. The sober character of the building reveals an influence of Mudéjar art. Enlargement works took place in the 18th century.
A remarkable architectural layout
The building unfolds on a rectangular plan. The prayer hall, quite wide, opens through six entrances. It is arranged in seven bays and nine naves perpendicular to the qibla wall (the wall facing the direction of prayer), marked out by arches resting on columns.
The central nave, aligned with the axis of the mihrab (prayer niche), is distinguished by two domes on pendentives, in the Ottoman tradition.
Fascinating architecture and Andalusian craftsmanship
The exceptional minaret
At the centre of the great courtyard stands a marble sundial signed by Ahmed al-Harrâr and dated 1761. The north-east corner houses the minaret, made up of two superposed towers.
The lower tower takes a square plan, built with the Toledan technique in mixed materials. The brick framing is combined with a rubble-stone infill. The upper part, octagonal in plan, is crowned by a lantern turret with a wooden pyramidal roof. Twin bays pierce it, while rich ceramic facings and a clock face adorn it.
The minaret's silhouette recalls the bell-towers of Aragon and those of southern Spain. The second courtyard, with its single covered hypostyle gallery, breaks the regularity of the plan on the north-east side.
Refined Andalusian decoration
The decorative repertoire draws on Andalusian art. Geometric ornament, the most widespread, features various forms: lozenges, hexagons, circles, stars and rectangles. The stylised floral elements take the shape of lance-shaped flowers, rosettes, leaves radiating around a central motif, palm leaves and fig branches.
These motifs adorn the domes, the lower niche of the mihrab and the stucco panels. Mason's marks complete this decorative ensemble.
Unique features
The minaret is adorned with Stars of David, common in Tunisian mosques, on the doors of houses and in the zaouias (Sufi lodges). This suggests that the Andalusian Jewish community integrated perfectly and contributed to the building of the minaret.
Beneath one of the windows is set a clock face, a rare feature in minarets of this period. The hands turn backwards and the numerals face the centre.
Cultural influence and revival
Town of Malouf
Since 1967, Testour has hosted the international festival of Malouf and traditional Arabic music. The town has known an intense religious life, with illustrious scholars such as Ali Al-Coundi (died 1708) and Ibrahim Riahi (died 1850).
The transcription of manuscripts and the spread of mystical brotherhoods such as the Issawia enriched its heritage. Within the zaouias, this brotherhood combines the Malouf with the noria (waterwheel).
Contemporary renewal
A town of Malouf, of ricotta cheese, of pomegranate trees, apricot trees and olive trees, Testour is gradually reconnecting with its former prestige. Its agricultural vocation has been strengthening since 1982, thanks to the Sidi Salem dam.
Today, a 16-kilometre run set to music, dubbed “Jogg'art,” invites people to rediscover the town in a new light. This initiative reveals exactly what this historic city needs: to be rediscovered, to be given back its rightful place.
A future to build
Testour deserves to have museums, cinemas, theatres, roads and modern infrastructure built there. Young people must play an important part in it. It is the duty of every Tunisian to preserve and promote this exceptional heritage.
This Andalusian pearl of northern Tunisia awaits its renaissance. It has all the assets to become a major tourist destination, blending age-old history with modernity.
Testour at a glance: key dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1492 | Fall of Granada: the start of the Andalusian exodus to North Africa, which intensifies after this date. |
| Around 1580 | Arrival of the Moors in Tunisia; Testour becomes one of their greatest cities. |
| Around 1609 | Founding of Testour, built on the remains of the Roman village of Tachilla. |
| 1610 | Total expulsion of the Andalusian Moors from the Iberian Peninsula. |
| 1630 | Mohamed Targarino builds the Great Mosque of Testour. |
| 1708 | Death of Ali Al-Coundi, a religious scholar of the town. |
| 1761 | Marble sundial signed by Ahmed al-Harrâr, installed in the mosque's great courtyard. |
| 1850 | Death of Ibrahim Riahi, another religious scholar of Testour. |
| 1893 | René Cagnat and Henri Saladin publish “Le voyage en Tunisie” and describe the mosque's minaret in it. |
| 1967 | Start of the international festival of Malouf and traditional Arabic music. |
| 1982 | Testour's agricultural vocation is strengthened thanks to the Sidi Salem dam. |
