Blogs from Sousse, Tunisia, Africa
September 30th 2011
So, it's been almost 2 years since we first arrived in Tunisia, and it's time to say goodbye. After finishing work, we headed down to Sousse where we rented a friend's apartment for a month. What a month! We didn't do a lot. We went to the beach, swam, got stung by jellyfish, drank lots of coffee, went out for some wonderful meals and caught up with some good friends. We also had visitors! That meant a return to Monsatir and yet more eating and drinking. Yes, it was a good month!!!! Saying goodbye is never easy but it goes with the job. If you move on every year or so, you are always saying goodbye, but it never gets any easier. We will miss Tunisia and all of our friends. Our thoughts will be with ... read more
May 21st 2011
After telling our Canadian goodbye as he left for the airport, dad and I hopped in the car with our new driver and took off down the coast of Tunisia. We drove through small villages and saw a lot of agriculture along our way, including wheat harvest, vineyards, fruit trees and herds of sheep/goats. The countryside is beautiful and some of the estates remind us of France. After driving only a couple of hours, we stopped in Sousse to spend the night. We are staying on the beach with incredible views. We found an old 4 star hotel--paid about 25 dollars each for ocean view suite that included breakfast. There is a nice boardwalk where local tourists and local residents seem to gather. Very popular place. While we were out walking in Sousse, a small rain ... read more
November 25th 2010
Salaam! I am in the southern part of Tunisia where life is much more different than the north. The culture is richer in this part of the country. People seem more genuine and so it is easier to make friends. In fact, I was lucky enough to have made a close friend in Sousse and was invited to his home to celebrate a Islamic holiday with his family. The holiday is called Adic Bill and its when all the Muslims sacrifice a sheep in Allah's honor. It was a pretty bloody celebration though, haha, and the poor sheep was still kicking even after they slit its throat! Eek! There was a 8 year old daughter who was braver than me and watched the whole thing without even flinching. The mom cooked a traditional lamb dish called ... read more
June 4th 2010
HELLO ! ! ! ! i'm 23 yo student, and i'm renting a beautiful studio in Sousse, it's near the beach, near the nightlife, i'm payin 900 for the month of July i'll probably stay here in august as well, if u share it with me u'll pay 450 per month (which is half duh!) we could take turns in sleeping in the kitchen for instance, it's very clean, nice, quiet and a GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT location, as i expect many people to reply, pease send me an email tortonk@gmail.com and say something about yourself. Feel free to ask any question P.S. 450 is a great value for money price, u won't find anything that will ever come close, if u wanna more about me feel free to ask ! PEACE ;) ... read more
February 17th 2010
We have finished work in Tunisia a little earlier than scheduled. The upside is that we now have far more time to travel! So, we took the train down to Sfax, a journey which took just two hours. On arrival we traipsed around almost every hotel in the guidebooks and ended up back in the first one we looked at! The Thyna was the best value we could find but still a bit more expensive than we had hoped for. Still, it was comfortable and very well located. Sfax is not a touristy city and while we were there we didn't see another tourist at all. Despite this, we didn't get hassled, even when we walked through the medina. It was interesting to see the traditional way of life in the souks without the interference of ... read more
January 25th 2010
Not blogged for a while so we thought we would share some recent photos with you from our explorations of Sousse. In the medina you can visit the interesting fish market. Outside it, you can even see the starlings up for sale, a local delicacy at this time of year which we are yet to try!!! You can also get your hands hennaed if you wish or buy a carpet or a camel! Instead we visited an interesting museum where we learned a lot about the traditional wedding ceremony with intricate costumes worn by all. The museum was right in the centre of the medina in the heart of the city. Back home we usually stick to watching the English language TV channels on cable but we were quite taken by "Who Wants to be a ... read more
Kairouan - the fourth holiest city in the Muslim world
Published: January 14th 2010Africa » Tunisia » Sousse
January 10th 2010
Kairouan is an hour's ride on a louage, or shared taxi, from Sousse. It's not a particularly interesting journey but you certainly get a glimpse of the desolate countryside once you get away from the towns and cities in Tunisia. Anyway, the main thing to see in Kairouan is the Grand Mosque. It's quite impressive and for a small fee you can wander around the courtyard and glimpse into the prayer hall. It's just a shame that as infidels we cannot go inside. In Damascus (Syria) it was no problem but in Kairouan you are visiting what is apparently the fourth holiest site in the Islamic world. The rest of a trip to Kairouan is taken up by wandering around the medina, seeing some small mosques and sampling the local sweets - little biscuits made from ... read more
Hergla - a quiet coastal village full of character
Published: January 12th 2010Africa » Tunisia » Sousse
January 9th 2010
About 30 minutes North of where we live is the small coastal village of Hergla. We had heard it was a beautiful place so we decided to go up and have a look. Unfortunately we had just missed the bus which runs every half an hour so Russ but his bargaining skills to the test and got a good price on a taxi. Hergla is tiny but it has great views over the rugged coast and a splendid vista of the new Enfida airport which will soon open. The houses are mostly whitewashed with a brilliant blue trim and it is a treat to wander around its tiny streets observing the local characters. Seeing an old lady walking her donkey through the lanes is a treat for anyone! The little harbour is quite picturesque too with ... read more
December 25th 2009
Merry Christmas from sunny Sousse! Well, not so sunny Sousse here on Christmas day!! It’s hard to believe we’ve only been here a month as we seem to have done so much in that short time. After blogs about our various excursions, it’s time to tell you a little about our day-to-day lives here in Tunisia. We live just a few minutes away from the teaching centre in Hammam Sousse (half way between Sousse and Port El Kantaoui) and, as we only work from late afternoon into the evening during the week, that gives us plenty of time to experience local life. One of our favourite things to do is to visit the farmers’ market in the middle of Hammam Sousse on a Friday morning. That’s where we go to buy all of our fruit, vegetables, ... read more
