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Published: October 18th 2007
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Yay! Africa! We just realized that our new bambino will have been on 3 continents BEFORE birth - not too shabby! That is something to brag about at pre-school for sure.
After a lot of going back and forth we decided to book an excursion through the cruise ship for Tunis. The logistics of planning something on our own proved to be too difficult. We booked the Sidi Bou Said and Carthage tour. Seemed like the perfect mix of quaint seaside town and ancient Roman ruins.
We had a lovely 5:30 am wake up call - can you say groggy? We were only going to be on shore from 7 am to 1 pm - so there was no room for sleeping in. Our bus left at about 7:45 and we were off to our first destination, Sidi Bou Said. Our driver’s name, and we’re not kidding, was Ali Baba! That could only be a good sign.
Our guide spoke English, but not perfectly which allowed for some pretty funny moments. Like when he was describing that Tunisia is different in that even though it is a predominantly Muslim country, their justice system is a bit different. In
other Muslim countries adulterers are stoned and “they kill you to the death”, but in Tunisia you just go to jail. Polygamy is also outlawed in Tunisia. He went on to explain that, “you can buy only one wife…no polygamy, just monotony.” It was good times.
It took about 30 minutes to get to Sidi Bou Said, which is described as “a characteristic village, world famous for its typical blue and white houses, flower-filled gardens and breathtaking views over the Mediterranean.” And boy, did it deliver.
The village is from the 6th century and all the doors are handmade so no two are alike. The window screens are also designed so that women can see out but not be seen. The “white paint is for against the heatness and the blue is for against the mosquitoes.” Fair enough - makes for some great pictures!
We got there pretty early as the shopkeepers seem to spill out of the doorways setting up their wares. The colors are what you first notice. The white walls contrast with all the rich colors and textures of their fabrics, ceramics and metal work. I think the Tunisians invented merchandising. They really know
how to draw you in.
We were able to visit a private residence, which has been turned into a museum so we could see what a typical home looks like. Very ornate and practical. The home is very plain from the outside with the exception of the handcrafted blue door. But the inside is a different story. Each room has hand-painted tile work, hand woven rugs and hand-thrown ceramics. Each intricately detailed and vibrantly colored.
Outside on the streets you are overwhelmed with the beauty of the craftsmanship that surrounds you and is taken for granted by its purveyors. Jen could not resist. The fact that it’s Africa and not Europe makes the pricing far more enticing. Plus, haggling is, as all the books say, compulsory! Now, having grown up a short distance from Mexico, Jen is an old hat at the haggling process. Plus you have to love the fact that the shopkeepers are OFFENDED if you don’t haggle! We left with some treasure for sure. We haven’t figured out how to get it all home, but hey, how often are you in Africa anyway?
The other really cool thing about being in Tunisia is that
the two official languages are Arabic and French. This means all signs are in both languages. And I find Arabic to be very beautiful when written. We took tons of pictures of signs because it is just so cool to see the juxtaposition of our alphabet with Arabic characters.
We trekked back trough the windy streets of Sidi Bou Said and piled into our “train” that took us back to the buses. If you have ever been to an amusement park - you know, where you park 8,683 miles from the entrance and they use those little trams to shuttle you to and from you car - that is the style of train we rode. It was hysterical to try to pile in a bunch of people, all their souvenirs and backpacks into these kiddie-sized seats. It’s amazing we didn’t lose anyone over the side during our steep and windy descent from Sidi.
Back on the bus, it was off to the ruins of the Roman baths of Carthage. Now, you have to hand it to the Romans…there was NO WATER anywhere near Carthage, but it sure is a beautiful place to put your baths. So, they used
aqueducts to bring water in from 132 kilometers away! Unbelievable! That must have been some serious engineering undertaking.
The ruins were immense and seemed to spread over miles and miles. There were mosaic floors and marble statues still in tact after 2000+ years. The longevity still blows me away. We wondered what the ruins would have looked like if the Turks were a little less destructive when they took over Carthage from the Romans. Those pesky conquering empires seemed to have little sympathy for these incredible feats of engineering and took some sick pleasure in destroying them, yet not placing anything on top of them. Weird.
During our too short stay in Tunisia we took over 200 pictures. With such a picture-perfect destination I think it will be a challenge to pick the winners for the photo album. Tunisia is just so different and exotic!
And so we bid farewell to the very tip of the “dark continent” and tomorrow we’re off to Mallorca!
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