The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-08-17
SACRED CITY OF KBROUAN
A PIOUS PILGRIMAGE TO ONE OF
 THE MECCAS
Of Moha m mmedBnism-How m Its Found CT Drove Away the serpents and Savage Beasts-The Great Mosque of Side Okbn-A Fine Tomb.

Especial Correspondence of the Journa
 and Courier)
 Tunis, Africa. July 12, 1901
 Though travelling in this desert coun
 try taxes to the utmost one's patienc,
 and powers of endurance-being here
 you should not shirk the several piou
 pilgrimages. One of them lead to Fer
 uan, the most sacred city of the Mo
 hammedans after Mecca and Medina. I
 is not quite fifty miles from Tunis, a:
 the crow flies. but you prepare for the
 expedition as for journey around tht
 world. Nowadays you may go most o
 the way by rail- or stick to the ole
 transit of donkey or canal back. Btu
 this is another of the numerous in
 stances where "the longest way around
 is the surest,' and you will find il
 easier, quicker and cheaper to sail out
 of the Gulf of Tunis, down the eastern coast of the Regency perhaps 150 miles
 to SOusa on the Bay of Hammamet
 By local coaster this will occupy day and night, if all goes reasonably well;
 but if a Siracco happens to be blow
 ing-as it generally is at this time of year-only Allah can tell how long it PiONStS Kerouan by private carriage, if fas- tidious-seven or eight hours drive across the desolate plain; or you may patronize the democratic horse tram way, which belongs to the military, but is now open to ordinary travellers.
 In either case, you will want to spend a day in Sousa-or Sousse, according to the orthography of its new masters, stopping, if possible, in the curious cof- fee shop called by the Arabs Khwat El-Koubba, or Cafe of the Dome." It is small building, square in plan up to about eight feet more and surmount- ed by f1uted dome. The cylindrical portion has eight deeply arched nitches, with quaint cornices, springing from semi-circuar pilasters between them; and the whole has more singular eff feet than can be described in words.
 If pretty well up" in classical his- tory, you will remember that this port was the ancient Hadrumetum, Capital of Byzancium which Sallust says was a Phoenician colony before Carthage ljust north of the city of Tunis), was founded; and Carthage, you know, was built eight hundred and fifty-two years DeIUTt C1I1Sl WaS UOIIl. IIdJdH lul iitI this old town into a Roman colony It played an important part in the Punic wars; and like many other cities of that early time, was destroyed by Van dals and restored by Justinian. After the revered Mohamedan Saint, Sidi Okba, had built Kerouan, GA. D. 670), he came back to this point and re- mained year They will show you the house in which he lived, (occording to tradition), but which must have been built at least a dozen centuries after his death Later, when the Turks took up the profitable trade of piracy, Sousa became of their favorite haunts, whence they sallied forth on predatory raids along the shores of Italy. In all the wars between Turks and Arabs, the inn portance of this port as a strategic point was so great that it's possession was considered the key to supreme pow or. Built from the waters edge up the gentle slope of a hill, surrounded by a crenollated wall with square towers anw bastions, it presents most pie turasque appearance from the deck of an approaching steamer. The town is entered by four quaintly decorated SdJGSy UtdIlIlS SuGIl Jd -DIc IcdhlllS names as Bab el-Gharbi ('Western Gate'D and Bab el-Djidid, or New Gate" Inside, the mighty walls have deep arched recesses, which serve as shops and storehouses; and ntop of all is the f<asba, or citadel, which has recently been thoroughly restored by the French and now contains the resi- Ience of the commanding general. | Among many curious structures in Sousa is the Kasrer- Ribat-a square 1 building, flanked by seven round bas- tions, with a. strange high tower rising | from a square base. It was the palace l 3f Ziadet Ullah, third prince of the | Aghlabite dynasty, who ruled here | over thousand years ago A. D. S27, believe. Another remark | able edifice, either Roman or Byzan- fine, with great dome supported on arches, long, narrow valued rooms md many columns, once encrusted with iles or mosaics-is now used as an oil- nil. The modern trade of Sousa is mostly in the hands of the Maltese, who are everywhere in Northern Afri- "a "the most industrious and best be- laved part of the population. They also
  heir karatoni or light carts with wo wheels, to each of which one horse, IF mule, is harnessed. They are the iverymen in all the principal towns, seeping horses and carriages for hire. Tour-wheeled vehicles, by the way, are more recent Innovation in Tunis than n Algiers, and therefore much more l xpensive luxury. Only a few years ago, l. irving in carriage with four wheels vas the exclusive privilege of the Bey, else, even the consuls, hay ng to content themselves with two 9l1eeled carts. or none at all About 1 alf a mile outside the Bab el-Gharbi, r Western Gate, is the ancient Ro- nan Metropolis The prominent feat { re of this gate is something which | ( efnoralizes your appetite for water ! / nd threatens to turn you into wine ibber-at least while in Tunisia. An { rcient marble sascophagus built into ( !. which held the moldering bones of { ome Moslem saint, nobody knows how { lany centuries, is now used as drink ( lg fountain. It is in especial favor z 'ith the lower classes, who hope to inn foe, blessings by the bucket-ful from { s former occupant. ! If time permits and you Jealous l 1ough as an antiquarian. you may ( lake two days carriage trip from i ousa to El-Djem-the ancient Roman [ ty of Thysdrita Colonia, mentioned Z ' Hirtius, Pliny, Ptolemy, and all the V ,st of them Frankly, it Is not worth t Inc ptt ,fi |