Borj El Ksar (
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
: برج القصر) is one of the
fortifications
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...
of the
medina of Sfax
The Sfax medina is the medina quarter of the Tunisian city of Sfax. It was built by Aghlabid prince Muhammad I Abu 'l-Abbas, Abu Abbass Muhammad between 849 and 851. The medina is home to about 113,000 residents, and is dominated by the Great Mosqu ...
.
Location
The monument is located in the north-west corner of the medina,
the other angles being occupied by the
kasbah
A kasbah (, also ; , , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasbah, qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term in Spanish (), which is derived from the same ...
,
Borj Ennar and
Borj Masouda. It can be reached through to
Bab El Ksar.
Feskiet El Fendri is located near to the borj.
[{{Cite web, url=https://www.histoiredesfax.com/201511-%d9%81%d8%b3%d9%82%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d9%85%d8%af%d9%8a%d9%86%d8%a9-%d8%b5%d9%81%d8%a7%d9%82%d8%b3-%d8%a8%d8%a8%d8%b1%d8%ac-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%82%d8%b5%d8%b1/, title=فسقية الفندري ببرج القصر, website=تاريخ صفاقس, language=ar, access-date=2019-03-10]
History
Historians suggest that it was built between the 11th and 12th centuries. The presence of arches very similar to those of the
Great Mosque, the Kasbah and the entrance of
fondouk El Haddadine supports this hypothesis.
Architecture
The fort has three towers: two at the northern face and one at the western one. They are connected by allies and courtyards that have disappeared because of illegal constructions within the medina. It is centered on a north-west / south-east main street where, at the southern end, is a small capped alley called ''Sbat El Ksar''. The latter has two doors separated by a courtyard and which, closed, isolate Borj El Ksar from the rest of the medina.
References
Medina of Sfax