Morning at Medina (Tunis)

Tunis gets ready for Eid.

Finding breakfast in the Medina on a Sunday before a bank holiday is not easy: all bars and restaurants are closed. On the other end, starting my day without breakfast is not easy either. So while we walk amid the noisy crowd under a boiling sun I feel very uneasy.
Walid maintains that if I knew the Arabic language it would be easier for me. I think he's right, it is a culture clash and the first expression of a culture is its language. I start to appreciate the ancient wisdom of Arabic culture, its care for people, the tenderness in the words, the understated compassion of people.

We finally found a coffee, by the way the freshly brewed Tunisian expresso is excellent! A pack of biscuits and breakfast is eaten.
The Medina is made of tiny streets and old porches, white houses with tourquoise doors. A stratification of architectural styles which reminds me of Napoli.
I have to stop by the house of the Tunis Mayor, which by the way is a woman! One of the many contradictions of this country where the new generations live a conflict between their education and their inner aspirations.

A kind carpet seller offers us a toilette in exchange of a beautiful hand-made berber carpet for my mum. In turn, we gain an oustanding view from his terrace. I am pleased my friend Walid has the chance to see alternative views on the city thanks to my physiological needs. But our smiling faces would stop soon...Leia mais