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A couple of hours away from Sousse by the metro train is the small town of Mahdia. It helps if the staff at the metro station put you on the right train though! Ours only went as far as Moknine, half an hour short of where we wanted to go. We had to wait a further 30 minutes to get on the correct train, frustrating but not the end of the world.

A few minutes’ walk from the train and you find yourself in the medina. Unfortunately we were there on a Saturday and it was dead. There was nobody around and we were fair game to all of the traders in the touristy shops. On a Friday there is a huge market so no doubt the streets are bustling. With a lack of atmosphere for us to soak up, we were a little disappointed. One highlight was the occasional glimpse into the world of the weavers where they were working on their looms creating cloth to sell in the many shops.

Mahdia is located on a small peninsula jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea. Whilst the medina didn’t impress us, the landscapes we saw as we wandered around the rocky shores did. It was a beautiful place with plenty of opportunities for photographs. The hilltop cemetery and lighthouse sparkled white when the sun came out from behind the dark clouds. It was great to see the fishermen rowing their boats out and to hop around the ancient fortifications. It was also quite moving to see a funeral taking place with seemingly every man in town in attendance. Maybe that’s why the medina was deserted.

What we didn’t find time for was the museum and the fortress. They both close at 4pm in the winter and it was almost closing time when we had finished our wandering. That means we’ll be back, and on an earlier train too!

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