The Great Mosque in Kairouan is the most important of all in Tunisia. It is the oldest Muslim place of worship in Africa and is commonly regarded as the fourth holiest site in Islam after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. It was originally built by Oqba ibn Nafi, the Arab commander who founded Kairouan in AD 672. The mosque covers a mammoth area 135 m long by 80 m wide with a vast inner courtyard surrounded on three sides by double-aisled colonnades of antique columns. Non-Muslims are not allowed to enter the prayer hall but the doors are often kept open so you can have a peek inside.

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Mecca is a city in the Hejaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The Kaaba is a small building and the holiest site in Islam located within the courtyard of al-Haram Mosque in Mecca. The Haram Mosque was built around it. All Muslims, wherever they are on Earth, pray five times a day in the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca. They must make a pilgrimage to Mecca, called The Hajj, at least once in their lives.

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