The house was built by
Andalusian
Muslim refugees fleeing from the
Spanish persecutions in the 17th century. Since then the house was bought by Farhat al-Jalouli, a military commander from Sfax and a wealthy gun dealer. The son of his grandson, Mahmoud al-Jalouli, was a wealthy businessman as well and he moved to
Medina of Tunis, but five of his sons (Farhat, Hassan, Mohammed, Sadiq and al-Arabi) lived at the house in Sfax as military commanders from the area. The house became their headquarters. The house became a medical clinic in 1934. In 1939, it became an artistic center under the direction of the French university professor Lucien Golvin. To this day the house has been serving as a regional museum of arts and folk traditions. ==Architecture==