Dar Bach Hamba

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Dar Bach Hamba

Location
Dar Bach Hamba is a palace in the medina (old city) of Tunis, Tunisia.

History
- The palace is from the 17th century, built by the Rassa family from Tlemcen during the Hafsid era.
- In the 18th century it was bought by the Naccache family.
- In 1789 Haj Ahmed Bach Hamba bought it during the reign of Hammuda ibn Ali and gave it its name.
- Later, during the French protectorate, French sisters owned the palace and used it as a school.

Architecture
- In the 17th–18th centuries it was a craftspeople’s house and later a first-class residence in the medina.
- It has a classical layout with a central courtyard (patio) surrounded by four richly decorated rooms on each side.
- There are porticoes on the northern and eastern sides.
- A turba is located on Sidi Tijani Street, and an annexed house called Dar Bakir is attached.
- One of the rooms was turned into a chapel in 1932.

Activities
- Until 2015, the palace housed the Orestiadi Foundation’s permanent exhibition of costumes, stuccos, and terracottas from Mediterranean countries.
- Since July 2015, it has hosted the L’Art Rue association, which runs artistic projects promoting local heritage, along with workshops for children, concerts, and artist residences.