Which mosque in Kairouan is famous for its massive square minaret and is one of North Africa’s oldest?

The Great Mosque of Kairouan is the North African mosque famous for its massive square minaret and ancient foundations.

The mosque was founded in 670 by Uqba ibn Nafi, the Arab commander associated with Kairouan’s establishment. Its present form developed through rebuilding and enlargement, especially under the Aghlabids in the 9th century. The complex has a vast courtyard, a hypostyle prayer hall and a powerful square minaret built in stages.

Kairouan became a major center of Islamic learning in the Maghreb, and the mosque influenced later North African religious architecture. Its restrained exterior contrasts with the forest of columns inside the prayer hall.

The building is sometimes called the Mosque of Uqba, after its founder. That name refers to the same monument, not a separate mosque in another city.