The Many Faces of Tunisia
“I read; I travel; I become.” - Derek Walcott.
Tunisia is the northern most country in Africa. bordered by Algeria, Libya and the Mediterranean. Founded by Dido, a Phoenician queen, who fled from Tyre after her brother Pygmalion had her husband killed, Tunisia is the modern-day Carthage.
Along the Mediterranean coast resort towns like Djerba Island, Hammamet and Sidi Bou Said offer an abundance of sun and sea at a very affordable price point. In the South are dramatic desert landscapes, fascinating Berber villages and abandoned Star Wars sets. The UNESCO recognized ruins in Dougga and El Jem are a testament to the Roman footprint and the status of Tunisia during Roman times. The oldest Mosque in Africa is another landmark as is the mausoleum of the Barber.
What I loved outside of the variety of all that I experienced here is how low key this beautiful area is from a touristic viewpoint. Hotels, food, entrances to attractions are so very affordable. We drove 2800 miles over 7 days across excellent roads cutting a wide swathe and getting a flavor of all that is on offer. Thank you, Jamel, for being such a wonderful host and showing us your beautiful country.
Would I go back? In a heartbeat.
The Baths of Antoninus are the largest Roman baths built in Africa and perhaps one of the three largest built in the Roman Empire. A cruise ship was in town, and we arrived here in the morning along with a couple of tourist buses, but the site did not feel at all crowded as we wandered along the ruins with the blue sparkling Mediterranean in the background.
Onto the Roman ruins of Dougga. UNESCO world heritage site, certified as the best preserved Roman small town in North Africa, we walked through the entire town; theater, the market, the forum, a few of the villas, baths, etc.
Since it was our first day, while I had my hiking sticks, I forgot them in the hotel room. I did not make that mistake again.
The water temples of Zaghouan were not quite what I expected. Of course, given that Tunisia is a desert country, water was scarce, so the Romans built these temples in the mountains to collect water from the Atlas Mountains combining multiple sources to bring them 139 miles across aqueducts to Carthage.
The Great Mosque of Kairouan is one of the oldest places of worship in the Islamic world and the largest in North Africa. We wandered through the complex, seeing the sun dial and the minaret and peeking inside the mosque where the devout worship.
Sidi Sahib the barber and Companion of the Islamic Prophet Mohammed is buried here at the mausoleum of the Barber in Kairouan after falling in battle.
Children are brought here for circumcision and the site is revered with pilgrims coming here from near and far. The inner sanctum is only open to Muslim worshippers. As we stood there one of the guards took my cell phone and actually went inside and took some pictures for me.
On an interesting note, the Tunisians did not convert to Islam until they were conquered by the Arabs.
The Berber villages of Chebika, Tamerza, Mides were a day trip from our overnight hotel in Tozeur. Tunisia is as dry as my home state of California, but we got some rain overnight in Tozeur. Not sure if it was the unexpected rain or some other problem but our hotel lost power for 24 hours. We woke up to the darkness and had the fun of showering to the light of our cell phones and had breakfast by candlelight in the hotel dining room.
Not to be deterred we set off on our planned itinerary for the day to the Berber villages in the nearby area. These are great hiking destinations and many people come here to hike.
One day, we switched to a 4X4 and took a fun trip over the sand dunes outside of Tozeur as we stopped to see Ong Jemal or the rock that is shaped like a camel’s neck. At the small stop here, the local kids had a baby desert fox which they presented to us for a photo op. It was so sad to see the beautiful baby animal chained up.
The highlight of our desert ride was the trip to the Star Wars set of Tatooine, home of Luke Skywalker. Our driver was a colorful local who was a 40-year-old child who had so much fun that it was infectious. I have videos that he took after borrowing my phone as we sailed over the sand dunes laughing and screaming aloud for effect.
Chott El Jerid is the largest salt pan of the Sahara Desert. As we drove along it seemed to stretch endlessly. The salt that is extracted from here is exported to Europe to use to salt the roads after a snowstorm.
We headed over towards Matmata and the real Tatooine which George Lucas used as the basis for the planet Tatooine that he created for the Star Wars films.
Berber families in this area dug below the surface of the ground to create these rabbit warrens of homes known as troglodyte homes. The family no longer lives here but they come spend the day here doing tours and selling local products like honey and nuts. As we approached one of the ladies was lighting a fire in a clay over and putting in bread to bake.
I remembered a similar clay oven in my grandmother’s house and my mother making bread the same way. There were a bunch of ladies visiting from Pakistan who were reminiscing about the same thing as they drew water out of the well and tasted the fresh bread.
Ksar Ouled Soltane or the granaries that were established by Berber villages to store their grain, oil etc. Each family had their own location here. As we traversed this area not only did it feel like we were a part of a Star Wars film but in various locations people would come out and point to a staircase in one example and say that was used to access Anakin Skywalker’s home. Props and references to Star Wars are scattered all over this area.
El Jem the roman amphitheater is a UNESCO world heritage site and the largest in Africa and one of the most well-preserved examples of its kind in the world.
There was a local with a beautiful camel tethered here to take advantage of visitors. Our guide told us to beware and have nothing to do with the man since he had tried to cheat his last travelers by encouraging them to take pictures and then held them hostage for money.
The Ribat in Monastir is a prominent fort built on the Mediterranean to guard the coast. I actually had more fun exploring the sea front and taking pictures of the surf and sand than exploring the fort.
After a quick stop in Sousse at a French restaurant for a fabulous lunch we arrived for a night stop in beautiful Hammamet and our Adult only resort hotel with its private beach on the Mediterranean. Alas our trip was nearing its end, and we enjoyed our time here wandering through the beautiful property and taking advantage of all that the resort and spa had to offer.
Full circle, back in Tunis and Sidi Bou Said for a last night in the beautiful Le Demure which felt like home by this time. With their gracious permission, I did a load of laundry and got ready for my next adventure.
Since Tunisia is a relatively new destination for lots of folks, I wanted to provide an overview and skimmed through the highlights of our trip, but I hope to come back and dive in and explore some areas in more details.