May The Force Be With You

Tunis, Sousse, El Jem and Sfax

So finally we made it to Tunisia! My first time in Africa; one step closer to my life goal of settting foot on each of the seven continents of the world (only Sth America and Antarctica to go!). That ever-evasive ferry ride ended up being quite interesting. We met many of the Tunisians who were pushing in front of us at the ticket window in Trapani, and they all happily started talking us. It was a welcome change from their hectic shouting and shoving that we encountered in Trapani. We tried to communicate with them through our pitiful French and even worse Arabic, but they still loved us because we were Australian. Until we left the harbour we would often see some of them and give them the revered and subtle "nod". Some of the Tunisians we met were quite drunk and they kept singing and dancing to these strange-sounding Arabic songs. But this Tunisian dancing was just the beginning as Joel and I would dance the night away at a traditional Tunisian wedding in a small town on the edge of the Sahara desert; one of the most memorable experiences of my travels so far.

In Tunis we luckily met up with Dan without any problem. Our time in Tunisia was to be very rushed given that we had lost about 4 days getting that stupid ferry. As a result we changed from no-worries-laid-back-flexible backpackers to commercial-rushed-one-night-in-each-town Japanese tourists. Our day in Tunis was spent exploring the Medina, and it was a refreshing change to walk around and take in Arabic architecture after Europe. We met a guy on the way who unknowingly and deceivingly forced himself to be our guide, but nevertheless showed us some interesting sides to the Medina apart from its many touristy alleys. Next was Sousse; renowned for its white sandy beaches and it actually lived up to its expectations. The next day we visited El Jem which had the 3rd largest amphitheatre in the Roman Empire, and today it is the best preserved. We all enjoyed exploring it much more than the Roman Colossuem. Here you can really imagine how it was used in those times. The fact that the attraction was effectively empty and that we could also roam and explore these ruins without any rules or restrictions resulted in a much more rewarding experience than in Rome. You can even venture down beneath the arena to where the gladiators and prisoners where kept. But the best thing was that Joel and I got in for free with our ISIC cards, while poor Dan had to fork out 6 Dinars... Straight after visiting the amphitheatre we went to Sfax; an industrial town with no attractions, except that it has the most authentic Medina in Tunisia. Initially we were disappointed as the Medina was quite commercial with shops filled with fake Dolce & Gabana and Versace merchandise (Ziggy would love it here). But eventually we stumbled upon the traditional areas with its spice, fruit and veg markets and its decapitated cows heads and dead sheep hanging from metal racks. Somehow it was still rewarding to finally see some authenticity, despite this contrast between strange and exoctic spices and disgusting, bloody limbs of animals. That night we all went out for chicha where we met many Tunisians; some who were mad and kept talking and shouting to us in Arabic as if we understood everything they said, and others who spoke good English. The chicha somehow lasted for hrs, conversation flowed in multiple languages and we had a relaxed and chilled night out. Later it was time for Dan to leave, and we said a sad goodbye as he went off to Canada via London for a year of exchange.

Jemnah

We didn't actually plan to visit Jemnah, in fact, there is nothing to see in Jemnah at all. It is a very small village/town near Douz. What was supposed to be a 4.5hr journey ended up being about 3.5hrs thanks to our pyschotic driver who dodges cars at high speed as quickly as Neo dodged bullets. On this journey from Gabes to Douz we met a guy called Sadek who actually spoke English (a rarity in Tunisia). He kindly invited us to stay at his home for the night to partake in the celebrations of his cousin's wedding. The no-worries-laid-back-flexible travelling style kicked right back in as we took up the offer immediately. Upon arriving in Jemnah (a poor town right on the edge of the Sahara Desert) we were introduced to Sadek's huge immediate and extended family. They were such warm and friendly people and we felt so welcome in their humble home. After having couscous (an Arabic specialty) the celebrations started at 9pm and went into the early hours of the morning (Joel and I went to sleep at 4am). We met the bride (his cousin) and soon after the ceremony began. Here the weddings are 3-day events, and we were here for the 2nd night. This night was to be filled with song and dance; but first only for the men (the women were to take their turn the next and last night). We were thoroughly entertained watching the strange traditional dancing; moving around on the spot and waving your arms slowly as if they were wings. Yet our secret watching from within the crowds did not go unnoticed, as we were both reluctantly pulled up to join in. It was clear that Joel and I made complete fools of ourselves trying to imitate Tunisian traditional dance, waving our arms, falling over, losing balance; all clearly with no elegance or charm. Some of the young Tunisian males went insane and started running around everywhere, jumping backwards and swinging their arms around wildly as if there was a need to panic. Needless to say I feared for my safety having to duck my head on numerous occasions; but one time I was not so quick. After a while most of the males left, and the females started dancing. For some reason Joel and I were again unwillingly sucked right into the middle of it like jam in a donut. Again I thought we embarrassed ourselves to the point of no salvatation; but I think I must have made quite an impression since I received four marriage proposals the next morning. After sleeping on the roof under the stars, the next morning I felt really sick as I had consumed an unnatural amount of mint tea. Feeling better after taking some Arabic medicine, Sadek took me to visit his grandparents and other family members. The Thespian lying dormant within me finally got its chance to demonstrate its deep well of skill and prowess as I communicated with them via much brilliant acting and colourful hand signals. They were quite captivated! Eventually it was time for Joel and I to head off to Douz. We were so happy that we witnessed such a special event and had an insight to their culture. I think it is testament to the kind nature of Tunisian people to invite two strange foreigners to partake in the celebrations of something as important as marriage.

Douz

Douz is a sleepy town right in the Sahara Desert, and so considering the heat and lack of sights in the town we only stayed there as long as possible to do the camel ride that Joel and I had so longingly wanted to do. This turned out to be overly disappointing. Upon arriving at Douz we were immediately targeted by a dodgy and sleazy Tunisian. We bargained a very good price so we took his offer, only to find out after the trip that he lied to us. We only wanted to go with a small group (i.e about four travellers max including us) but instead we found a pack of camels ready to transport about 12 tourists. The whole deal reeked of commercial tourism. We arrived at an actual complex in the middle of the Sahara where we were shocked and disappointed to find buildings, cars and even electricity. We were then served a resteraunt-quality meal and went to sleep in comfortable beds in big tents they had already put up. It was definitely not the authentic camel trek into the desert that we had been desperately looking forward to. The novelty of riding a camel also wore thin in record time, and I got frequently bored sitting there while my innocent, timid and well-behaved camel Esquilax kept trudging along mindlessly into the desert. It was indeed a forgettable experience. If you want to read what a memorable camel ride is like, read about Michael's incredibly humorous camel ride he did in north India (Michael is Joel's brother).

Matmata, Gabes and Tataouine

Matmata and Tataouine were one of the few locations that George Lucas used to film his intergalactic epic; Star Wars (note that the name of Luke Skywalker's home planet in the movie, Tatooine, originated from the town Tataouine). Matmata is a boring town scattered with Trogladites (homes built beneath the ground). It was this type of home that was used as Luke's Uncle (Lars) home on Tatooine. Although it was pretty cheesy, Joel and I enjoyed looking at screen shots of the movies and then seeing where the real thing happened in these unique homes. Then we headed to Gabes just to stay the night. While we were here we got a hammam; an Arabic cleansing procedure. This involved sitting in a "sauna", after which this guy would bend and stretch our limbs in ways that the human body is not meant to be bent or stretched. I had never even thought it possible for my arms and legs to do that; and I don't think that stepping on my spine or pulling my arms as far back as possible from behind my back is healthy. But in the end I felt as loose and clean as I had done in a long time. After that it was time for Joel and I to go our separate ways after 2 months all up of travelling together. Then I headed for Tataouine where I met in my hotel (a bargain for A$5 a night!) two french guys travelling together. I was quite amused and simultaneously enthralled to find they were named Francois and Francois. Despite looking like textbook nerds, they were really cool guys. We went to the ruins of the Berber village Chemini, after which we thought it would be a good idea to walk to the next village, Douiret. It was not a good idea as we trekked through the desolate desert mountains with no real direction in sweltering heat for about 1.5hrs. Because of this massive waste of time I was not able to see some of the real Ksars (buildings used to house grain and look really really awesome) which were used in Star Wars, but at least I saw the small ruins of one on the edge of the city.

On the ferry back to Italy I met one of the most interesting people on my travels so far; Olivier. First of all he looked almost EXACTLY like Nirvana's lead singer, Kurt Cobain. But he was like no one I had ever met. He hitch-hiked his way all the way from his home town of Paris all the way to Tataouine in the deserts of Tunisia's south (to meet his girlfriend, whom he was hesitant to call his girlfriend as he wanted her to be "free"). After going nearly mad being in the computer business for 4yrs, he dropped absolutely everything and travelled around France and some other random countries (like Belarus and Algeria) with little or no money. What money he has he uses to eat, and the rest he gives to beggar children; he believes that he gets money from God as payment because of what he gives to others. This would be an extremely admirable thing except for the fact that he doesn't actually believe in God but believes in all gods of all religions. He found his clothes on the streets in Paris and his sandals were given to him by someone because they were broken (but he just got them fixed in Tunisia). But this was just a taste of some of the conversations we had. Olivier in a nutshell; as hippie as you can get.

So that was Tunisia! A terrific change of pace, culture and environment from Europe. It was sad to see Joel and Dan go, but I am so happy that I had such excellent times with both. Hopefully it was the first of many major travels together; the world is at our feet! But first my journeys continue (albeit by myself) to the famous medieval horse race; the Palio di Siena.

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