Mediterranean Cruise (Day 8 & 9)

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The next day on our cruise we were at see, so like the other day at sea, we just sat by the pool and relaxed.

Our next port of call was Tunis, Tunisia in Northern Africa. Since we had never been to Africa before and we weren't quite sure what to expect, we decided to take an all-day tour that included all the major sights of Tunis, Carthage and Sidi Bou Said. We sure picked a good day to go to Africa! Our tour guide said that it was one of the hottest days in Africa in the summer...45C!!!!!!
Our first stop on the tour was the ancient city of Carthage. Around 814 BC it was a large and rich city and a major power in the Mediterranean. Our tour guide talked about the history of Carthage and we were able to wonder around the ruins.
After Carthage we went to a nice restaurant for lunch and we were served a variety of local specialties including couscous and mint tea. Right across from the restaurant we had a beautiful view of the Roman aquaducts.
After lunch we went into the center of Tunis and went to a zouk, which is an African market. It was an interesting experience to be in the stores and be bombarded with sales people trying to bargain prices with you. If you even looked at something, a sales person would rush over and try to make a deal with you. I had some luck bargaining down a beautiful pair of camel skin shoes from $120 to $40!!! Some people disliked the zouk because the sales people were very persistant, but all you had to do was keep saying 'no' and then they would eventually leave you alone.
From the zouk we made our way to the town of Sidi Bou Said, which is a blue and white village. It was a lovely little village up on a hill and all of the doors and windows had to be painted blue. The reason for the blue is because mosquitos and bugs don't like blue, so it repels them away from the house. We spent some time in Sidi Bou Said and then headed back to the bus, which brought us back to the cruise ship.

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