Kairouan القيروان (Documentary)

[IL...]

P.S.: If you are interrested to read the more about it, you can read the grey lines, if not, you can just read the black lines and move one to the pictures of simcity4.
More informations here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kairouan

The city I made isn't exactly like the real life, and some parts of it are from history (like the canals and the too many water bassins)



One of the few remainings of the once great Islamic civlisation.
Kairouan have been built around 50 Hejri (the Islamic dating), wich correspond to the year 670 A.C. by Uqba Ibn Nafae.
It was built far from the coasts (to be safe from the sea empires, like the byzantine empire), and away from the mountains (to be safe from berbers who lived in mountains).

Kairouan was founded in about the year 670 when the Arab general Uqba ibn Nafi of Amir Muauia selected a site in the middle of a dense forest, then infested with wild beasts and reptiles, as the location of a military post for the conquest of the West. It was located far from the sea where it was safe from continued attacks of the Berberswho had fiercely resisted the Arab invasion. Berber resistance continued, led first byKusaila whose troops killed Uqba at Biskra about fifteen years after the military post was established,[8] and then by a Berber woman called Al-Kahina who was killed and her army defeated in 702. Subsequently, there was a mass conversion of the Berbersto Islam. Kharijites or Islamic "outsiders" who formed an egalitarian and puritanical sect appeared and are still present on the island of Djerba. In 745, KharijiteBerberscaptured Kairouan, which was already at that time a developed city with luxuriant gardens and olive groves.




The city was established on a dense forest, to become a military base, and a post for troops conquering North Africa.
Later it became a very important center for both relegious and secular, reaching it's golden age after a period of power struggles.
It was even larger than the modern day Kairouan.



Power struggles remained until Kairouan was recaptured by Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab at the end of the 8th century. In 800, Ibrahim was confirmed Emir and hereditary ruler of Ifriqiya byCaliph Harun ar-Rashid in Baghdad. Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab founded the Aghlabid dynasty that ruled Ifriqiya between 800 and 909. The new Emirs embellished Kairouan and made it their capital which soon became famous for its wealth and prosperity reaching the levels of Basraand Kufa and giving Tunisia one of its golden ages long sought after the glorious days ofCarthage.
The Aghlabites built the great mosque and established in it a university that was a centre of education both in Islamic thought and in the secular sciences. Its role can be compared to that of the University of Paris in the Middle Ages. In the 9th century, the city became a brilliant focus of Arab and Islamic cultures attracting scholars from all over the Islamic World. In that period Imam Sahnun and Asad ibn al-Furat made of Kairouan a temple of knowledge and a magnificent centre of diffusion of Islamic sciences. The Aghlabids also built palaces, fortifications and fine waterworks of which only the pools remain. From Kairouan envoys fromCharlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire returned with glowing reports of the Aghlabitespalaces, libraries and gardens – and from the crippling taxation imposed to pay for their drunkenness and sundry debaucheries. The Aghlabite also pacified the country and conquered Sicily in 827.[9]




But there are dark times to come, Kairouan have been fully devastated and burned down by some tribes coming from the middle-east, trying to find lush areas to survive.
Kairouan have been destroyed, but it survived and built new walls (smaller walls) and shrunk back to provide more security for the city.


The decline of the dynasty began under Ibrahim II ibn Ahmad (875-902). An attack by the Tulunids of Egypt had to be repelled and a revolt of the Berbers put down with much loss of life. In addition, in 893 there began amongst the Kutama Berbers the movement of theShiite Fatimids to overthrow the Aghlabids. Ubaydalla Said captured the cities of Qairawan and Raqqada and took an oath of allegiance from the people. By 909, the Aghlabid Dynasty was overthrown and replaced with the Fatimids.[3]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aghlabids

It was a rich gene pool, there have been many nationalities and races; europeans, berbers, andalusians, arabs, africans, turkish, etc.. no wonder for a city that had such big importance and history (wich started to fade away by time, and the population diversity declined).

Kairouan today have 4 aghlabid bassins (and alot more either burried or neglected) and canals connecting these bassins to provide the city with fresh water.












Those were it's borders during the Aghlabid dynasty, during it's golden ages.



Ruins from the past scattered around:











The city food market, where sims can buy their food needs (vegetebals, meat, etc..)



In Kairouan and in most of the old arab cities, every market have a specialty (like the leather market, the iron market, clothes market, etc...) (like a mall in modern day).

Today, Kairouan still have a great carpet markets (expensive ones):





I will leave you with more pictures to enjoy


The city is mostly white washed (to reflect the most possible sun light and reduce the heat), and norrow streets (to provide shades).





Some parts of the city have been modernised to provide the cities' growing needs (I'm talking about simcity 4 here)























The city used to have a tunnel system conencting all buildings, to beused in case of a war, to escape from the city, and to bring supplies, pretty much like what palastinians are doing nowaydays.























































Now we are leaving the city walls, and moving to the next entry and the rest of the city:

[IL...]

If you are interrested in the BATs I mainly used, you can find them here: http://community.simtropolis.com/index.php?app=core&module=search&do=user_activity&search_app=downloads&mid=407556

[eldaldo]

Wow,  What an impressive city!  I love the walls and how well you mixed the old architecture with more modern architecture.  good job!

[rooker1]

Nice work!  A very large and interesting update. 
Thank for sharing.  I look forward to seeing more.

Robin

[IL...]

Nice work!  A very large and interesting update. 
Thank for sharing.  I look forward to seeing more.

Robin

Wow,  What an impressive city!  I love the walls and how well you mixed the old architecture with more modern architecture.  good job!

Thanks

Please read over the rules found HERE.  Do your replies in your following updates as movement through the MD section is by post count. - Robin - Admin.

[noahclem]

Great work    A lovely Arabic style 

[Schulmanator]

Very nice and a great way to showcase the BATs you made.

[IL...]

Thanks everyone 

[Dantes]

Your Arabic style is fantastic.  I like your buildings that you program yourself. Great respect for your work!  You bring even purely an appropriate atmosphere. 

[Kergelen]

I think is not easy to do this kind of region because there are few white houses available, and you have had to BAT many building to achieve a good arabic athmosphere. I like the old-town, but I would change the NAM pedestrian streets for something else, some non-functional with a different texture and without street lights, in case the buildings around are not  growables. I like the city walls and the olves with orchards!

Nice start

[IL...]

Your Arabic style is fantastic.  I like your buildings that you program yourself. Great respect for your work!  You bring even purely an appropriate atmosphere. 

Thanks

I think is not easy to do this kind of region because there are few white houses available, and you have had to BAT many building to achieve a good arabic athmosphere. I like the old-town, but I would change the NAM pedestrian streets for something else, some non-functional with a different texture and without street lights, in case the buildings around are not  growables. I like the city walls and the olives with orchards!

Nice start

Thanks, it's a good idea, but I'm going to make an additional street mod that can fit in old cities, that would replace any need for the pedestrian mall tiles.
Most of the old city part is functional, so I do need to those mall tiles

[IL...]

The city's coasts are full of the sea wonders and natural wild life, with clear beaches all along the way wich made the city almost unique.

The city makes sure that those reefs are kept safe, and that people can enjoy discovering this environement and learning about it, and taking advandage from the sunny beaches.











The city also try to get the most possible use of these refes and waters, without damaging them.
Those are some wave power plants, they collect power from the waves and the sun, to power the nearby tower.









Some sims like to spend their nights on the beache.


Oh look, some turtules are doing each other underwater near the rocks, isn't nature beautifull?
(If you know what I mean.)





The city have many aqua institutions, and aqua farms, it is the future of agriculture.
The city aqua agriculture provide many goods, like different kinds of fish, marine alage, and many others, all that without affecting the native environement.


The principal of the city, is live with nature, not against nature.





It also brings alot of money and tourism...





The other side of the bay doesnt have much of reefs or wild life, so it used for industrual purposes.

[vortext]

Well well, somewhere has a name after all.

And somehow I missed the start of your MD. Looks great, it has a unique look and feel with the custom BATS and flora detailing! Looking forward to more! 

[nbvc]

Great start with a nice city and coast.

[IL...]

Well well, somewhere has a name after all.

And somehow I missed the start of your MD. Looks great, it has a unique look and feel with the custom BATS and flora detailing! Looking forward to more! 

My other somewhere thread have been locked, so I had to post them here
and thanks

Great start with a nice city and coast.

Thanks