Dar Lasram is one of the palaces of the

medina of Tunis The Medina of Tunis is the medina quarter of Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. The Medina contains some 700 monuments, including palaces, mosques, mausoleums, madrasas and fountains dating fr ...

. It is located at 24 Tribunal Street.

History

The Lasram's, an aristocratic family of Tunis, descend from a Yemeni tribe settled in

Kairouan Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( ar, ٱلْقَيْرَوَان, al-Qayrawān , aeb, script=Latn, Qeirwān ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by t ...

. It is composed of rich landowners. Most of them were ''ministers of the Pen'' ( ar, وزارة القلم, french: ministres de la Plume). One of them, Hamouda Lasram, is a rich landowner and a

khawaja Khawaja (Persian: خواجه ''khvâjəh'') is an honorific title used across the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia, particularly towards Sufi teachers. It is also used by Kashmiri Muslims and the Mizrahi Jews—particula ...

of the

Igawawen Igawawen or Gawawa, mostly known as Zwawa (in Kabyle: Igawawen, in Arabic: زواوة, and in Latin: Jubaleni''Revue archéologique, Société française d'archéologie classique'' (in French), p. 28) were a group of Kabyle tribes inhabiting the ...

tribe (secretary of Berber cavalry regiments). In order to get a large plot and build the palace, he acquired and demolished several neighboring buildings. Its construction lasted from 1812 to 1819. Until the independence and the abolition of the

habous A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or ''mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitabl ...

, his descendants lived in the palace (which was considered inalienable as a habous). In 1964, the municipality of

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

acquired it. Four years later, in 1968, it is allocated to the

Association de sauvegarde de la médina de Tunis The Association de sauvegarde de la médina de Tunis (Association for the protection of the medina of Tunis) was established in 1967 to conserve the Medina quarter in the old heart of Tunis. Its mission is "to strive for the conservation and protect ...

Architecture

Dar Lasram, with a surface area of 2250 m², is a good example of a large traditional Tunisian residence. The ground floor contains the warehouse and the service area, the first floor is reserved to family members while the upper floor is reserved to guests. Nowadays, the palace is divided between the Association de sauvegarde de la médina and the

Tahar Haddad Tahar Haddad ( ar, الطاهر الحداد; 1899 – December 1935) was a Tunisian author, labor activist, scholar and reformer. Haddad, was born in Tunis to a family of shopkeepers and studied Islamic law at the Great Mosque of Zitouna from ...

Club. Détail des arcs du patio du Dar Lasram.jpg, View of the main patio's arches TNdiver 10.JPG, Close-up of a Neo-doric capital of the main patio Détail stucs patio du Dar Lasram.jpg, Close-up of a stucco-work in the main patio Darlasram 01.JPG, Painted decoration in the ceiling of one of the patio's porticoes Les arabesques.JPG, View of a painted ceiling with vegetal arabesque ornament Plafond Dar Lasram.jpg, View a ceiling sculpted with roses and geometrical frames

References

{{coord, 36.8021, N, 10.1681, E, source:wikidata, display=title Lasram