The Old Town Market is Kairouan’s beating heart. Since recent terrorist attacks, however, the city full of Islamic archaeological monuments and one of the most major Islamic sites in the Arab world, has been suffering from depression and fewer tourists.

“The effect of terrorism on the market and fewer tourists coming to Tunisia have caused big losses to both traders and craftsmen,” says Nizar bin Helo, a trader of traditional leather products.

The Old Town Market is Kairouan’s beating heart. Since recent terrorist attacks, however, the city full of Islamic archaeological monuments and one of the most major Islamic sites in the Arab world, has been suffering from depression and fewer tourists.

“The effect of terrorism on the market and fewer tourists coming to Tunisia have caused big losses to both traders and craftsmen,” says Nizar bin Helo, a trader of traditional leather products.

Until recently Kairouan was full of tourists who spent their money generously, especially during religious events— they were the driver of the market.

However, successive terrorist operations, the most recent of which was in Sousse this past June, which claimed the lives of 39 foreign tourists, have scared away tourists, and its infrastructure has been badly damaged and left unmaintained.

Sabhi Rayess, a trader of traditional brass products, says since the Sousse operation there have been almost no tourist group visits to the Old Town. Like other traders, he demands that the authorities guarantee security to their city and also make some improvements to the Old Town’s outer appearance in order to maintain its special character.

Tunisian authorities claim to be working on maintaining the unique character of Kairouan, which was built during the Aghlabid Dynasty, and contains 86 mosques, 84 tombs of religious figures, 55 roofed lanes and 62 arcs.

Although TND five million (USD 2.5 million) have been allocated to decorating the facades of the monuments, the city’s deteriorating infrastructure, due to terrorism, have cast the city into obscurity.

Heritage inspector in Kairouan Governorate Jihad Swade says the terrorist attacks witnessed by the country have caused the funds allocated to maintain the city’s major historical monuments to decline.

Imam of the well-known Uqba ibn Nafi Mosque Attayib Gazzi says tourist groups used to generate large funds, part of which would be allocated for the maintenance of the Old Town, an important tourist attraction in previous decades given its standing in the Islamic history. These funds, he says, have drastically declined because of the terrorist attacks.

Swade argues that Kairouan is the only Arab city to fulfill five out of the six conditions stipulated by UNESCO to be included on its World Heritage Site List.

Kairouan, in which Umayyad General Uqba ibn Nafi built the oldest mosque in Maghrib, contains nearly 375 mosques, around 100 of them are in the Old Town and most of them are listed on UNESCO’s list.