Medina of Kairouan

Kairouan, founded in 670, was the first Arab-Islamic capital of the Maghreb and is regarded as a holy city of Islam. Its brick-walled medina, inscribed with the rest of the city by UNESCO in 1988, is a calm maze of whitewashed houses with coloured doors. Inside you can see the Mosque of the Three Doors, whose 9th-century facade carries some of the oldest carved inscriptions in Islamic architecture, and Bir Barouta, a well where a camel turns a waterwheel. The medina is also the centre of Tunisia's carpet trade and of makroudh, date-filled semolina pastries.