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Published: September 19th 2010
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Tunisia - what can I say? It is a beautiful country with major garbage issues, breathtaking sceneries, nice beaches, traffic chaos, a lot of mosques, friendly people, the Sahara desert, 4 types of deserts altogether (sand, salt, mountain, and stone desert), the oldest mosque in Northern Africa, the 3rd biggest amphitheater in the world...
I am going to write about the highlights of our trip, which were the 1100 km bus ride through the southern part of Tunisia, a visit to Port el Kantaoui and the medina of Sousse. But before I start, I would like to thank my brother who accompanied me, since the actual travel plans were screwed up and I nearly had to go to that nice country all by myself (would not have been a problem, but he was an uncomplicated travel buddy).
Staying outside the hotel - or an organized 2 day trip on the beaten tracks We arrived at our hotel in Sousse on Wednesday, Thursday was a day to explore the hotel and its surroundings. And we booked the bus trip to southern Tunisia which meant we had to get up at 5.30 am the next day. With our bags packed and
a good breakfast, the day could start. Our first station was
El Djem, a Roman amphitheater. It was built between 230 and 238 AD. El Djem, a World Heritage site, is better preserved than the Colosseum in Rome but some of the tribunes were reconstructed for present shows. We strolled a little bit through the amphitheater and while doing so we met a very confiding kitty. Probably it was hoping to get some food, obviously it was pregnant. Being used to visitors it was very photogenic but it always tried to walk right into my camera lens. Sweet being. Btw: Did you know that the movie "Gladiator" was shot in El Djem? Too bad we had not enough time to visit every part of the amphitheater. But at least we were able to climb the stairs up to the highest point where we had a very good view over the whole theater and the city of El Djem. The stairs were right where the entrance was, just in case you want to go up there, too.
Afterwards and around 2,5 hours later we arrived in
Matmata, a Berber village. In a hotel we had our lunch. First, they were presenting
Beautiful door in Kairouan
I heard the door represents the wealth of the owner of the house. Or at least it represents the owner. bread and tomato/ cucumber salad. Well, we ate it, it was tasty, but we thought: is that everything? For lunch? Really? --- No, not really. Little by little they brought more, spinach packets, potatoes, chicken wings, and couscous. Not so bad, after all. After lunch, the hotel "Sidi Driss" (parts of "Star Wars" were filmed there) and the Berber caves were our next station. These "caves" are more like cones dug into the earth to keep their occupants cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It was said that this kind of building is ideal for these mountains. To show that they are up to date they put a solar cell and an antenna on the roof (which were not connected to anything). The caves were interesting to see but it was very touristic, you had to pay for every movement the ladies did (only the cat did not want to get any money from us 😉 ), and it did not feel authentic. I was a little disappointed (I would rather see an original Berber cave).
I was glad as we left the place behind and went on to
Douz, the so-called "gate to the Sahara desert".
Directly after arrival, our group did the dromedary ride which meant: riding 1 h on a dromedary into the outer part of the Sahara desert. I heard you can get seasick because the dromedary is "swinging". Do not be afraid! I did not get sea sick, so you won't, too 😊 Fortunately, the weather was not too hot (actually it was colder than at the coast!), but there were clouds in the sky. It even rained a little (very little). What I do like most about the desert? It is quiet. Very quiet. The sand is very very fine, nearly like dust. But to explore the desert you need way more time.
On our second day, we had to get up at 3.40 am! Too early, Zzzzzzzz. The reason for this little torture was the sunrise at
Chott-el-Jerid, an (at the time we visited it) dried-out salt lake. We watched the sunrise, went to one of that fancy outhouses, took photos, and were wondering about that crosswalk on the street. I mean, how many cars are passing by? It is right in the south, in the middle of nowhere. So come on! And, be honest, would any car stop at
a crosswalk? For a pedestrian? Not really, mmh? Back to the next station.
That was Tozeur, where we had a look into the city and were waiting for our 4x4 ride up to the Atlas mountains. The Landcruiser brought us to
Chebika where a very nice guide led us through the side. Chebika is a mountain oasis very close to the Algerian border. The new village was built near the old one which was abandoned after catastrophic inundations in 1969. "The English Patient" was shot there. As you see Tunisia offers a lot of diverse landmarks to produce movies. Close to Chebika was a panorama canyon as part of the mountain desert. Impressing. And very interesting for Geologists as you can see the succession of layers very clearly.
Our last stop on the tour was
Kairouan where the oldest mosque in Northern Africa was built (Sidi Ogba Mosque - Great Mosque). As a non-Muslim, I knew that I was not allowed to enter at this time (prayer). But even from the outside, the building was very majestic and plain at the same time. Too bad we did not have time to visit the medina and the souks.
"The" artificial town and the real souks - Port el Kantaoui and Sousse
On one of the following days, we walked to
Port el Kantaoui, situated about 4 km north of our hotel. It was artificially constructed and built as a tourist center in 1979. Furthermore, it is a popular golfing destination with its 36-hole PGA-approved championship course. Many fancy hotels. A lot of yachts were moored in the port. But not that interesting for me.
What I liked was
Sousse, or to be more concrete, its medina and the souks. First of all, I was fascinated by the old city walls and the mosque. Then we entered the souks: I was beaten by colors, aromas, narrow streets, and streams of people who were pushing you forwards. The souks are subdivided into specific alleys: here you can buy silver, over there in the spice alley you can get everything you need for a tangy meal, and look, right on your left-hand side they sell leather bags and jackets. You will find your way through. Watch out so that you do not get lost. So far I had not seen any tourists there. So we, as tourists, kind of stuck out.
But, contrary to what I thought, the sellers were not as officious. We passed through the souks and got to the Bab el Khabli, one of the gates to the medina, went right, and arrived straight at the Kasbah (fortification). We turned right, and after another turn to our right-hand side we were on the Rue Souk el Caid. We passed roofed market halls and ended up, after leaving the medina behind, at the Sousse harbor.
What else do you need to know? - Always bring enough water with you when you do not want to end up thirsty, close to drying out.
- Tunisia is the 4th biggest producer of olive oil.
- Tunisia is too beautiful to just spend your holiday at the beach.
- Be polite: tip your waiter, tour bus driver, guides, and room maid
- Dromedaries have 1 one bump, camels 2.
- Cross-walks do not mean anything so do not rely on the car drivers!
- Do not be shocked by the garbage lying around.
- Very sweet: the kids in the villages greeted our tourist bus (I guess it will happen to every tourist bus).
- You are not allowed to take
Tunisian Dinar out of the country.
- If you collect passport stamps: you will get two of them (one for the entry - one for your leave).
- Bring a little bottle with you if you like to collect the Sahara sand (and protect your camera, the sand feels like dust!).
- Do not drink tap water: generally it should not harm you, but: it is strongly chlorinated and tastes disgusting.
So, thanks for reading the blog and enjoy the photos! 😊
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