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The legend of the Seven Sleepers tells the story of seven saints who fell asleep in a cave, and woke up several centuries later. While originally Christian, this legend is mentioned in the Quran. It can be found, with some variations, in many regions of the world. It is especially popular in Southern Tunisia, where a mosque in the Tataouine region is dedicated to the Seven Sleepers.
The original legend appeared in Ephesus, modern-day Turkey. During the Roman era, seven young Christian men who were persecuted for their faith took refuge in a cave, where they fell asleep. The Roman authorities sealed the cave. The young men woke up several centuries later, when the sealed cave was reopened. The society they were living in had changed in the meantime: the Roman Empire, that had been persecuting them for their faith, was now Christian. Those young men were miraculously preserved by God, to witness the triumph of their faith.
In the Quran, the Seven Sleepers are called Ahl al-Kahf (أهل الكهف), the people of the cave. Surah 18 The Cave (Al-Kahf الكهف) recounts their story. The Seven Sleepers are often presented as universal saints, who bring together different religious traditions around a common ideal.
The legend of the Seven Sleepers is especially popular in Southern Tunisia, where it is a remnant of the region’s Christian past: the Seven Sleepers certainly were already venerated before Islam arrived. Southern Tunisia was one of the last Christian regions in North Africa, the local population remained Christian several centuries after the Islamic conquests.
Several sites in Southern Tunisia are dedicated to the Seven Sleepers. The most famous is the Seven Sleepers Mosque, in Chenini, close to Tataouine. This mosque, which is partly underground, was built upon an older sanctuary carved out from the mountain. At the feet of the mosque are around ten close to 5 meter long tombs. The origin of the tombs is unexplained until today. According to a local legend, persecuted Christians from the area fell asleep here and woke up in the Islamic era, and then converted to Islam, died and were buried there. Their bodies kept growing during all their long sleep, which explains the size of the tombs. (Source)
Other sites can be found in the Tozeur region: inTaqyus (Degache), Mides and El-Ouidane. Those sites are very old: they are often caves or rocks that served as Amazigh of Punic sanctuaries, on which Roman temples, Christian churches and Islamic mosques were later built. Traditional rites around those sites seem to have a pre-Islamic origin.
