Postes Tunis Grand Mosque of Tunis - 1931

POSTES TUNIS on 15 January 1931 issued an upgrade of its 1926 definitives. This 'new design' of the Grand Mosque Al-Zaytuna had a 20 centime value and was a dull brown colour. Paul Proust was the designer, whereas Institut de Gravure et d'Impression de Papiers-Valeurs, Paris printed it, along with similar definitives of the same mosque design but in different colours and values. Postmark on this postcard originated from Sfax, Tunisia. It shows a street scene (Rue de la République) in Sfax.

Al-Zaytuna Mosque, also known as Ez-Zitouna Mosque, and El-Zituna Mosque ( literally means the Mosque of Olive), is a major mosque at the centre of the Medina of Tunis in Tunis, Tunisia. The mosque is the oldest in the city and covers an area of 5,000 square metres (1.2 acres) with nine entrances. It was founded at the end of the 7th century or in the early 8th century, but its current architectural form dates from a reconstruction in the 9th century, including many antique columns reused from Carthage, and from later additions and restorations over the centuries. The mosque may have hosted one of the first and greatest universities in the history of Islam. Many Muslim scholars graduated from al-Zaytuna for over a thousand years. Ibn 'Arafa, a major Maliki scholar, al-Maziri, the great traditionalist and jurist, and Aboul-Qacem Echebbi, a famous Tunisian poet, all taught there, among others