Roofing in Tunisia

Tunisia's roofing traditions range from the domes and painted timber ceilings of the Great Mosque of Kairouan, among the oldest in the western Islamic world, to the fortified houses and mosques of Djerba and the underground pit dwellings of Matmata, where the earth itself is the roof.

Climate and hazards

The north has a Mediterranean climate with winter rain; the south is arid and borders the Sahara. Sudden heavy rain is the main hazard for earth and underground buildings. In 1969, rains lasting 22 days flooded the troglodyte houses of Matmata and caused many to collapse.

Roofing history

Kairouan. The Great Mosque of Kairouan (Mosque of Uqba) was founded in 670 and rebuilt in its present form in 836 under the Aghlabid emir Ziyadat Allah I. Its dome over the mihrab, built around 836 on an octagonal drum, is regarded as one of the oldest and most remarkable domes in the western Islamic world. A second dome rises at the start of the central nave, and a ribbed dome stands over the middle of the south portico. The prayer hall has painted ceilings of planks, beams and brackets; the oldest boards date from the Aghlabid period (9th century), with later replacements from the Zirid, Hafsid and Muradid periods.

Djerba. The island's settlement pattern developed from around the 9th century. Its family estates (menzel) contain a massive dwelling (houch) with no outward openings and angular corner towers. Mosques are short and squat, built for defence, with arrow slits and crenellated roof terraces; coastal mosques doubled as lookouts.

Matmata. In the southern hills, Amazigh (Berber) families dug large pits into the ground and carved rooms into the pit walls, sometimes linking several pits by trench-like passages (see Matmata troglodyte houses). After the 1969 floods a surface village, New Matmata, was built with aid, but most residents rebuilt their underground homes.

Traditional and vernacular roofs

• Domes and vaults: in mosques and other masonry buildings, from Kairouan southward (see Middle Eastern domes).
• Flat terraces: crenellated, defensive roof terraces on Djerba's mosques.
• Troglodyte rooms: rooms cut into the ground at Matmata, roofed by undisturbed earth.
• Painted timber ceilings: plank-and-beam ceilings in major mosques.

Roofing today

Across North Africa, reinforced concrete flat roofs are the norm in new building (see Roofing in North Africa).

Codes, standards and regulation

On Djerba, UNESCO cites Tunisia's Heritage Code (1994) and Urban Planning Code (1994) among the legal protections for the island's traditional building pattern.

Notable roofs

• Great Mosque of Kairouan: 9th-century mihrab dome and painted timber ceilings.
• Djerba: fortified mosques and houch dwellings, a World Heritage site.
• Matmata: pit dwellings; the Hotel Sidi Idriss, a traditional troglodyte building, was used as a filming location for Star Wars (filmed 1976, released 1977).

Local roofing terms

• menzel: family estate on Djerba.
• houch: massive closed dwelling within a menzel.

Sources and gaps

No national household survey or census table on roof materials for Tunisia was found in published sources. No information on domestic roofing manufacturers was found.

Information on modern roof materials, the vaulted houses of southern Tunisia, and Tunisia's building regulations: published information is limited.