Grand Mosque Alghfran Alhy Alshrqy

Ghufran, the Arabic noun meaning divine forgiveness, figures prominently in the Qur'an as one of the great attributes by which God is known to His servants, and the neighbourhood mosque called Jami al Ghufran in the eastern quarter of the small Tunisian town of Akouda within the Sousse governorate takes its name from that luminous concept. Akouda itself lies just inland from the Mediterranean coast, a short distance from the port city of Sousse whose medina and ribat are listed by UNESCO as world heritage for the beauty of their Aghlabid architecture and the quality of their Kairouani stone work. Tunisia's Islamic heritage is immense, reaching back to the founding of Kairouan by Uqba ibn Nafi, may God be pleased with him, in the year fifty of the hijra as the first Muslim capital in the Maghreb and the base from which Islam spread across North Africa. The teaching circles of the Zaytouna mosque in Tunis have continued since the eighth century to produce scholars whose works circulate across the Muslim world, and the devotional brotherhoods of the Tunisian sahel have shaped local culture through their dhikr gatherings and their pilgrimages. Architecturally Jami al Ghufran follows a restrained Tunisian village style, combining whitewashed plaster walls, a single dome in the Maghrebi manner finished in terracotta tile, a square minaret whose parapet is crenellated in the Ifriqiyan tradition and a forecourt paved in warm limestone. Inside, the mihrab is framed by painted plaster and geometric zellige in blue, green and ochre, the mimbar rises in three carved timber steps and the carpet is laid in deep red patterned with octagonal medallions. Daily prayers gather villagers and olive farmers, the Jumu'ah sermon is delivered in classical Arabic with Tunisian colloquial passages and Ramadan evenings bring iftar of brik, chakchouka, harira, makroud and mint tea. Eid mornings fill the sandy forecourt with families in fresh jebba tunics and embroidered kaftans. Visitors should dress modestly, leave shoes on the tile threshold and respect the quiet. Nearby lie the ribat and great mosque of Sousse founded during the Aghlabid era, the amphitheatre of El Jem listed by UNESCO and the Kairouani old souks preserving the memory of early Maghrebi Arab civilisation stretching back along the Tunisian hills.