Funduqs were places for travelers and merchants to stay, as well as a place for them to store and sell their goods. These buildings served an important commercial purpose along the North African trade route. Typically funduqs are two-story structures with an arcade around a central courtyard. The interior courtyard served as a market, and may have been used to house animals at night. Funduqs were built with varying degrees of decoration, sometimes including a fountain, tile work, or monumental stairway.


Sources:

Hutt, Antony. 1977. North Africa: Islamic Architecture. London: Scorpion Publications Ltd, 192.

Islamic art and architecture in Libya. 1976. London: Libyan General Committee for Participation in the World of Islam Festival, 72.

Ramadan, A.M. 1976. Reflections upon Islamic Architecture in Libya. Tripoli: The Arabic House for Book, 160.

Warfelli, Muhammad. 1976. The Old City of Tripoli. Art and Archaeology Research Papers April: 2-18.