The Great Mosque (Kairouan)

The prayer hall contains 414 marble, granite, and porphyry columns—part of a massive collection over 500 columns throughout the complex—salvaged from ancient sites like Carthage and Sbeïtla. The mihrab (prayer niche) is decorated with 28 white marble panels and surrounded by over 150 glossy lustre tiles believed to have been imported from Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). The minbar (preacher's chair) crafted around 862 CE from over 300 pieces of Indian teak, making it the oldest surviving minbar in the world.