The Colours of Tunisia : Discovering North Africa's Most Mosaic Country
Tunisian Mosaics: Reflections of a Multisecular Legacy
Mosaics first appeared on the outskirts of Mesopotamia towards the end of the 4th century,and quickly spread to the Tunisian coast, where numerous Alexandrian artists settled to teach and spread the art. Initially adopted by the bourgeois elite, this new workmanship paved the gardens, living rooms and furniture of thebsumptuous country estates of Sousse, Dougga and Oudhna. From the 2nd century AD. onwards, the ingenuity of mosaic schools aroused the interest of Christian customers to decorate sacred spaces and funerary steles.
It also attracted the Judaizing community of Naro, which was very active between the end of the 5th century and the beginning of the 6th century AD. Discovered in 1883, the Naro synagogue was covered with a magnificent mosaic of several figurative panels. The colorful relics excavated from the Christian tombs and the Naro synagogue have been carefully preserved in the Bardo National Museum, which houses one of the world's largest collections of Roman, Byzantine, Judeo-Christian and Arab-Islamic mosaics. Located in the former beylical palace, the Bardo is much more than a classic museum of cool, silent works; this cultural mecca is brimming with colors, anecdotes and artistic styles from the various civilizations that have succeeded one another over the centuries.
The Many Faces of a Chameleonic Tunisia: Heroes and Dynasties From Elsewhere
Far from being stationary, exchanges resulting from travel, conquest and alliances have considerably influenced the course of the country's history.
These interactions are highlighted by the museum, which endeavours to retrace the path of the ethnic groups and emblematic figures of foreign origin who have contributed to Tunisia's great edifice. The territory of the old Ifriqiya saw the reign of several foreign dynasties, including the Abbasids, the Almohads from the Moroccan High Atlas and the Rostémides from Tahert (located in the center of current Algeria). The arrival of the Umayyads in 670, under the leadership of the Egyptian lieutenant Okba Ibn Nâfi, led to the foundation of Kairouan, considered the first holy city in the Maghreb. These successive occupations have left memorable figures in their wake. Legendary figures populate Tunisia's military and political landscape, including the Berber king Koceïlaand the Kahena.
This warrior, Jewish or Christian depending on the etymological interpretation of her surname, is said to have come from eastern Algeria to continue the resistance against the Umayyad caliphate, and to have taken refuge in the amphitheatre of El Jem during her last battle.
From Echoes of the Past to New Vibrations : Multicultural Challenges in Contemporary Tunisia
Outside the museum, what remains of the polychrome communities that shaped Tunisia's mythical narrative? In 1856, there were a dozen thousand Christians living in the capital. In 2024, only 2,000 were counted. This minority is made up of European Christians, Tunisian Christians and Christian migrants of sub-Saharan origin. The Jewish population, which numbered 120,000 souls in 1956 at the time of independence, now stands at just 1,200. In 2003, a third of them lived in and around the capital, while the remainder live on the island of Djerba, where they settled 2,500 years ago. Despite contemporary challenges in terms of security and representativeness, the Jewish community witnessed the historic appointment of Renée Trabelsi in 2018, the first Minister of Tourism of the Jewish faith, by Youssef Chahed.
Now, even President Kaïs Saïd's very controversial views on migration policy and religious tolerance have failed to alter the essence of Tunisia, which is deeply imbued with its multicultural past. This is clearly echoed in Radio Mosaïque, which is listened to by over 75% of Tunisians, according to statistics from Média Scan. True to its name, Radio Mosaïque broadcasts a variety of international music, from Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram to Charles Aznavour, the famous Franco-Armenian songwriter, as well as English-speaking artists.
The Bardo Museum is not the only one to exhibit mosaics. While the iconic mosaic of Virgil's Alcove can still be admired on site, art lovers and tourists alike will need to explore the rest of the country to discover the cultural patchwork that makes up Tunisia. Indeed, each region contributes to the thousand and one fragments of a historical kaleidoscope that shapes the Tunisia of Habib Bourguiba.
Sources :
Bardo National Museum, Tunis
https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/132783.pdf
https://www.csactu.fr/la-tunisie-pays-des-mosaiques-par-excellence/
https://web.archive.org/web/20070502114736/http://www.magharebia.com/
