P.S.: If you are interrested to read the more about it, you can read the grey lines, if not, you can just read the black lines and move one to the pictures of simcity4.
More informations here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kairouan

The city I made isn't exactly like the real life, and some parts of it are from history (like the canals and the too many water bassins)



One of the few remainings of the once great Islamic civlisation.
Kairouan have been built around 50 Hejri (the Islamic dating), wich correspond to the year 670 A.C. by Uqba Ibn Nafae.
It was built far from the coasts (to be safe from the sea empires, like the byzantine empire), and away from the mountains (to be safe from berbers who lived in mountains).

Kairouan was founded in about the year 670 when the Arab general Uqba ibn Nafi of Amir Muauia selected a site in the middle of a dense forest, then infested with wild beasts and reptiles, as the location of a military post for the conquest of the West. It was located far from the sea where it was safe from continued attacks of the Berberswho had fiercely resisted the Arab invasion. Berber resistance continued, led first byKusaila whose troops killed Uqba at Biskra about fifteen years after the military post was established,[8] and then by a Berber woman called Al-Kahina who was killed and her army defeated in 702. Subsequently, there was a mass conversion of the Berbersto Islam. Kharijites or Islamic "outsiders" who formed an egalitarian and puritanical sect appeared and are still present on the island of Djerba. In 745, KharijiteBerberscaptured Kairouan, which was already at that time a developed city with luxuriant gardens and olive groves.




The city was established on a dense forest, to become a military base, and a post for troops conquering North Africa.
Later it became a very important center for both relegious and secular, reaching it's golden age after a period of power struggles.
It was even larger than the modern day Kairouan.



Power struggles remained until Kairouan was recaptured by Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab at the end of the 8th century. In 800, Ibrahim was confirmed Emir and hereditary ruler of Ifriqiya byCaliph Harun ar-Rashid in Baghdad. Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab founded the Aghlabid dynasty that ruled Ifriqiya between 800 and 909. The new Emirs embellished Kairouan and made it their capital which soon became famous for its wealth and prosperity reaching the levels of Basraand Kufa and giving Tunisia one of its golden ages long sought after the glorious days ofCarthage.
The Aghlabites built the great mosque and established in it a university that was a centre of education both in Islamic thought and in the secular sciences. Its role can be compared to that of the University of Paris in the Middle Ages. In the 9th century, the city became a brilliant focus of Arab and Islamic cultures attracting scholars from all over the Islamic World. In that period Imam Sahnun and Asad ibn al-Furat made of Kairouan a temple of knowledge and a magnificent centre of diffusion of Islamic sciences. The Aghlabids also built palaces, fortifications and fine waterworks of which only the pools remain. From Kairouan envoys fromCharlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire returned with glowing reports of the Aghlabitespalaces, libraries and gardens – and from the crippling taxation imposed to pay for their drunkenness and sundry debaucheries. The Aghlabite also pacified the country and conquered Sicily in 827.[9]




But there are dark times to come, Kairouan have been fully devastated and burned down by some tribes coming from the middle-east, trying to find lush areas to survive.
Kairouan have been destroyed, but it survived and built new walls (smaller walls) and shrunk back to provide more security for the city.


The decline of the dynasty began under Ibrahim II ibn Ahmad (875-902). An attack by the Tulunids of Egypt had to be repelled and a revolt of the Berbers put down with much loss of life. In addition, in 893 there began amongst the Kutama Berbers the movement of theShiite Fatimids to overthrow the Aghlabids. Ubaydalla Said captured the cities of Qairawan and Raqqada and took an oath of allegiance from the people. By 909, the Aghlabid Dynasty was overthrown and replaced with the Fatimids.[3]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aghlabids

It was a rich gene pool, there have been many nationalities and races; europeans, berbers, andalusians, arabs, africans, turkish, etc.. no wonder for a city that had such big importance and history (wich started to fade away by time, and the population diversity declined).

Kairouan today have 4 aghlabid bassins (and alot more either burried or neglected) and canals connecting these bassins to provide the city with fresh water.












Those were it's borders during the Aghlabid dynasty, during it's golden ages.



Ruins from the past scattered around:











The city food market, where sims can buy their food needs (vegetebals, meat, etc..)



In Kairouan and in most of the old arab cities, every market have a specialty (like the leather market, the iron market, clothes market, etc...) (like a mall in modern day).

Today, Kairouan still have a great carpet markets (expensive ones):





I will leave you with more pictures to enjoy


The city is mostly white washed (to reflect the most possible sun light and reduce the heat), and norrow streets (to provide shades).





Some parts of the city have been modernised to provide the cities' growing needs (I'm talking about simcity 4 here)























The city used to have a tunnel system conencting all buildings, to beused in case of a war, to escape from the city, and to bring supplies, pretty much like what palastinians are doing nowaydays.























































Now we are leaving the city walls, and moving to the next entry and the rest of the city:

Looks awesome! Nice work

Great start, I like it!

Thanks
But idk what do you mean by startn the old city part is finished

beautiful architechture

ty

Lovely update, I love the information you added aswell. good read.

Thanks