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September 2023
10 days in Tunisia, our first new country post-COVID! Read more
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  • TravelerTunisia Time
    Day 1–3

    Sidi Slickers

    September 7, 2023 in Tunisia ⋅ 🌙 73 °F

    Greetings from North Africa!

    It's been a long time- three and a half years and a pandemic, to be precise- but we are finally exploring a new country: Tunisia! Just a ninety-minute flight from Barcelona, this region is a crazy, beautiful blend of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern culture.

    Fun fact: Tunisia was originally called "Ifrīqiyyah," and from that name the Roman conquerors called the region...Africa.

    And speaking of Roman conquerors: Here in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, is the former site of ancient Carthage! So we woke up this morning to a gorgeous sunny day, and went to pillage these ancient ruins. (Or just view them. We'll see how it goes.)

    I'm going to sheepishly admit that I didn't realize Carthage was actually real- much like Pompeii or Atlantis, Carthage seemed to be stuff of legend (and yes I know Pompeii was real too. I broke my new smartphone there, on the volcanic rock. Stupid Mount Vesuvius). But the Carthaginian Punic empire, founded in the 9th century B.C., was a rich and powerful empire for 500 years, until the Romans sacked and destroyed Carthage in 146 B.C. This conquest cemented the Romans as the big dog empire, and the rest is (literally) history.

    The historical site is massive, and includes an amphitheater, a forum, a cemetery, a Roman theater, and villas. Weirdly, one of Tunisia's swankiest suburbs sprawls around and within the archaeological site (it's a curious neighborhood). There's not much left of the Punic ruins, as most of what you see are Roman post-conquest ruins. But it's a stunning site of antiquity- the Antonine Thermal Baths are the largest Roman baths outside of Rome.

    After spending the morning in the Carthage Archaeological Park, we jumped on a train back to Sidi Bou Said, the picturesque seaside town nearby where we are staying. And when I say "jumped on the train," this is literally what we did- as it was pulling out of the station, we ran along the platform, jumped on, and assumed we'd buy a ticket onboard. Our assumption was incorrect, however, and we couldn't figure out how or who to pay- so we can now add Tunisia to the infamous Going Copenhagen-Style list (https://americanjoneswolfinlondon.wordpress.com…).

    We spent the afternoon wandering the lovely streets and admiring the views of Sidi Bou Said. This hilltop town is famous for its whitewashed buildings overlooking the Bay of Tunis, with brilliant blue and pink colors everywhere. Painters like Matisse came here to paint the gorgeous Mediterranean seascape. If I didn't know I was in Tunisia, I'd think this was Santorini or Mykonos in Greece. It's simply beautiful.

    ....but it's also grossly overpriced, overrun with tour groups, and a bit of a tourist trap. So we ordered (exorbitant) mint teas at the famous Café Delices, overlooking the sea, took some photos, and departed before we were fatally trampled by a wild herd of tour groups. We relocated ourselves to a tiny restaurant near our guesthouse that serves spicy Tunisian stews on plastic tables in a parking lot, made by a Tunisian grandma. Paradise!

    So our first full day in Tunisia finds our stomachs full of spicy stew and couscous, and our brains full of Punic and Roman history. It's a lot for a first day, and tomorrow we head south to the beach town of Hammamet.    Read more

  • TravelerTunisia Time
    Day 3–5

    Stop! Hammamet Time!

    September 9, 2023 in Tunisia ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    This blog title reminds me of a guy I dated in college. He had an absolute beater of a car- the doors couldn't latch closed, so when he took a sharp left turn, the passenger-side doors would swing open. On his dashboard, he kept a wooden mallet, which he used for "percussive maintenance" : His electrical system would seize up if it idled too long at a stoplight, and he would hit the dash with the mallet to restart it. I will never forget the first time I saw his car seize up; he grabbed the mallet, yelled "STOP! HAMMERTIME!", and pounded the mallet full force onto the dashboard. And then we calmly proceeded through the intersection.

    Anyway! Good times.

    So today was a travel day, giving us plenty of time to chill after the frenetic pace of yesterday.

    We left Sidi Bou Said on the 10am train to Tunis- WHICH WE PAID FOR, thankyouverymuch- and then puzzled out the Tunis transport system enough to catch a tram to the bus station, communicate in our shit French that we wanted to go to Hammamet, figure out their byzantine coin assortment to buy the tickets, and then push through a scrum of passengers to snag two adjacent seats. Wheee!

    The hour-long bus ride to Hammamet drove through Tunisia's Cap Bon winelands, whose existence is a bit of a paradox: While Tunisia is Muslim and sort of dry (to buy booze at a grocery, you must enter via a special shame-entrance, and only during certain times and days), its centuries of Carthaginian, Roman, and French rule resulted in a strong winemaking and distilling heritage. Tunisian wines are surprisingly good, specializing in rosés. Who knew?

    We arrived in Hammamet in the afternoon, and found our little guesthouse down an alley in the medina (old town). The guesthouse is a classic Tunisian "dar"- much like Moroccan riads, dars feature Moorish tiling, rooms surrounding a central courtyard, whitewashed walls, a hammam (a Tunisian sauna), and a rooftop terrace and pool with views to the sea. It's quite luxurious, and not at all how we're used to traveling. Did I mention that Tunisia is really cheap?

    We spent the majority of the afternoon relaxing in a café, and walking along the beach. Hammamet is Tunisia's beach resort capital; Brits and Europeans who visit Tunisia are pretty much only coming here. But it's for good reason- the Mediterranean water is even warmer than in Barcelona, and prices are a fraction of France's Med resorts. I love the strange mix of Barcelona beachy vibes and Middle Eastern coffeehouse culture.

    We spent the evening on our dar's rooftop, just reading and drinking a Tunisian rosé (we braved the shame entrance to purchase a €3 bottle). Tomorrow we plan to spend all day on Hammamet's golden beaches.    Read more

  • TravelerTunisia Time
    Day 4–6

    Beach, please

    September 10, 2023 in Tunisia ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Today was a beach day! Given that two of my favorite activities are going to the beach and traveling, I will obviously jump at the chance to combine them into one glorious day of hedonism.

    After breakfast at our guesthouse, we went to the grocery's Door of Shame to buy beer to mix with lemon soda to make claras- because it's a law in Spain that any beach day, regardless of location, must be hydrated with claras (it's not a law) (it should be).

    At 10am it was already blisteringly hot as we walked to the plage (beach). Plage Hammamet is a white-sand public beach outside the medina, and very popular and crowded. So color us excited to see when we arrived that an entire row of beach palapas (beach umbrellas made with straw and wood) were vacant. We promptly claimed one, but then noticed there were no chairs to rent. A single beachgoer sat in a chair under the only other occupied palapa; so I asked in my shit French how to rent the palapa and chairs. I'm pretty sure he told me the rental place was closed, but just help myself to the chairs stacked behind us. Like I said, I'm fairly certain that was his general message; regardless, this is how we ended up with a prime surfside location for free. Score!

    After a lovely day of playing in the surf and napping on the sand, we walked back to our guesthouse to share a bottle of Tunisian wine and watch the sun set from our rooftop. It was gorgeous, but despite the many nearby rooftops, it was only us and the numerous street cats admiring the view.

    We hadn't eaten since breakfast, so we decided to have a late dinner at a Tunisian restaurant that is very popular with the locals. Unlike the nice beach restaurants with a view of the sea, this place was a twenty minute walk in the opposite direction, and was packed with locals eating at plastic tables with paper place mats. The menu was a bit inscrutable, given that our French is barely passable and our Arabic is nonexistent- so we ordered a tomato and merguez (spicy Tunisian sausage) stew, a chicken dish, a salad, and a brik (sort of an empanada) to share. The waiter asked us something unintelligible in French, to which I could only respond with a blank stare. He shrugged and walked away, which is when we realized that we had no idea what we just agreed to, or what food would eventually materialize.

    To our surprise, the waiter brought soup. Then a basket full of baguettes. Then four different salads. And THEN he began bringing our actual order. We weren't certain if we had ordered incorrectly, if the waiter confused our order, if we were getting rolled, or if the locals were offended by our American-sized food order. But we did notice that many other tables had the same ridiculous amount of food; apparently this is the Tunisian version of the Full Meal Deal. I nearly choked on my couscous when I saw the bill was barely 32 dinars (€11).

    After that monster of a meal, we walked back to our guesthouse for our last night in Hammamet. Tomorrow we go south to Sousse!    Read more

  • TravelerTunisia Time
    Day 5–9

    Mi Casa Es Sousse Casa

    September 11, 2023 in Tunisia ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    We packed up and headed out of Hammamet after breakfast. Our next destination was an hour south to Sousse, one of Tunisia's largest towns, and a base for many sites we plan to visit.

    We had arrived in Hammamet by bus, but we were told the best way to get to Sousse is by louage (in French, literally "a rental"). A louage is a minibus with eight seats, and when the seats are filled, the louage takes off like a bat out of hell. This is a pretty standard and cheap way of travel in Asia, Africa, and parts of South America, but unlike every other minibus/louage we've used, Tunisia's fares are set by the government. So, there's no sketchy dude trying to roll tourists for ten times the locals' fare.

    The louages fill up quickly, and we reached Sousse before noon. Our AirBnB is in the medina again, and I have now realized I've made a crucial error by staying in the medinas. Unlike virtually every other medina or old town we've ever visited, there are almost no places to eat in Tunisia's medinas, and they're utterly deserted at night. It seems most Tunisian life happens outside the old city walls. But for this trip, I guess it's just us and the 500 or so stray cats.

    There's quite a bit to see in Sousse, given that it's been inhabited by the Phoenicians since the 6th century BC, and the Romans since 2 AD. Most of the historic structures remaining today were built around 800 AD.

    We started exploring at the Rabat, or Islamic Monastery, of Sousse. The structure of the Rabat, and the lifestyle of the Muslim knights who lived here, were the inspiration for the Knights Templar...which is a bit ironic when one notes that the Christian Crusaders admired the architecture and organization of Islam, but not so much the people or religion itself.

    Anyway.

    The Rabat dominates the medina, and for just 10 dinar (about €3) you can walk in, and all over it. We braved a very steep, very narrow, and very claustrophobic spiral stone staircase to reach the top of the watchtower, but the views over Sousse to the sea were amazing.

    We visited the Kasbah (we did not, as one might assume, "rock it"), the former palace of Sousse. It's one of those gorgeous ancient buildings that has been repurposed into something else- in this case, an archaeological and mosaic museum and garden, and a mosaic artisan workshop. We've seen some of the most impressive Roman-era mosaics in Cyprus, but in my uneducated opinion, these were just as impressive. One particularly amazing piece was a complete, intact submersible baptismal font covered in mosaics; it resembled a massive, Roman-tiled hot tub.

    We headed out to eat around 8pm, and discovered that most nearby restaurants only serve "fast food"- Tunisian kebabs and sandwiches. So after fruitlessly searching for real food, we gave up and ordered ojja (like a tomato pasta dish, minus the pasta) and a salad. We've not been able to find much of the "famous" Tunisian food we'd been looking forward to eating, like shakshouka, chickpea soup, or tagine. Even couscous isn't that popular anymore- more locals eat pasta now. One thing we have found everywhere is tea; and here, their mint tea is served with almonds or pine nuts in it. At first I thought "Why the fuck are you putting nuts in tea?" but after four days I wonder "Why doesn't everybody put nuts in their tea?" I can't explain it, I think it's something in the water.    Read more

  • TravelerTunisia Time
    Day 6

    An Archaeological Jem

    September 12, 2023 in Tunisia ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    After breakfast at our private dar (it appears we are the only guests of the entire 3-storey, 4-bedroom dar), we caught a louage one hour south to Tunisia's most visited site: The amphitheater of El Jem.

    The Amphitheater of El Jem is simply astonishing. Built in the 2nd century AD, it's the largest Roman building still standing in Africa, and the third largest Roman amphitheater on earth, after Rome's Colosseum and the Capua Amphitheater in Catania, Sicily. But unlike the great Roman ruins of Italy, the Amphitheater of El Jem is...utterly empty.

    The Amphitheater of El Jem sits, quite nonchalantly, at the end of the El Jem's main street. In fact, if you weren't visiting this small town specifically to see this ancient wonder, you might be surprised to see this hulking amphitheater in the midst of an ordinary, tiny Tunisian town.

    El Jem's amphitheater is stunning for many reasons, the most obvious being its sheer size. At its peak, it held 30,000 to 50,000 spectators, and rose to a level of 40 meters (120 feet) with three levels of seating, each level containing thirty arches. Only two-thirds of the outer wall and arches remain, but that doesn't make it any less ginormous.

    Unlike Rome's Colosseum, with its hordes of tour groups and pre-reserved ticketing system, El Jem is utterly devoid of tourists. During the current high season, we saw maybe twenty other tourists the entire afternoon. And because there are so few visitors, we were allowed to walk everywhere, including the arched hallways, the amphitheater seating, the floor of the arena itself, and the underground tunnels where tigers and other wild animals were caged alongside gladiators and prisoners before their bloody battles. Walking these tunnels, it was impossible not to think: What must those condemned prisoners have been feeling as they walked through these tunnels to the arena, to certain death by tiger mauling? While thousands of spectators gleefully watch?

    Matt, on the other hand, wondered if it was OK to run out into the empty arena and yell "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?" (apparently this is a "Gladiator" film reference. The movie was filmed elsewhere, but its arena was based on El Jem's.) (And yes, I felt this to be perfectly acceptable,)

    It took about 45 minutes to walk through the entire amphitheater and take photos. But our interest in El Jem's Roman history was piqued enough to make the fifteen-minute walk across town to see El Jem's Archaeological Museum (also, the museum entrance was included in our 12 dinar/€4 amphitheater ticket, and the Joneses do require full monetization of one's admission). We weren't expecting much, but to our surprise we found a lovely Tunisian home, with airy arcades and rooms, filled with mosaics from the town's excavations- even with English explanations. The back of the museum was the "Africa House" excavation, fully in situ. Rather than digging up artifacts and presenting them in a museum setting, instead the house and small town beyond it was left as-is, so visitors can walk the "streets" and fully experience the ancient town's layout. I loved it.

    We intended to view another in situ Roman home excavation, but I got distracted by a Tunisian patisserie and we completely forgot. In my defense, NUTELLA BAKLAVA.

    After our explorations, we stopped for a mint tea at a small café. The café was located directly behind the Amphitheater, so I can confidently say that it was the finest view I've ever had with my tea. (The few local men drinking tea in the café could not have cared less, however; it's just another day in a small town, I suppose).

    We took a louage back to Sousse, and spent the remainder of the evening on our dar's rooftop, reading and drinking Tunisian wine.

    Side note: While Tunisia has pretty good rosé wine, I cannot say the same for its whites. Just saying.    Read more

  • TravelerTunisia Time
    Day 7–11

    She Tells Sea-Tales by the Sousse Shore

    September 13, 2023 in Tunisia ⋅ ☀️ 95 °F

    Today we had planned to take a louage one hour inland to Kairouan, to see Tunisia's famous 7th century Great Mosque of Kairouan. For Muslims, visiting this mosque counts as a hajj to Mecca- it's that important.

    We, umm, never made it.

    In my defense...we'd spent all day yesterday in the dry, dusty, hell-hot sun visiting El Jem, including two hours round-trip in an un-airconditioned louage. And when the weather is so hot and sunny, and the Mediterranean Sea is so blue and inviting, one can't be expected to resist its siren call.

    So we spent an entire glorious day on Sousse's Bou Jafaar Beach, reveling in an utterly perfect beach day (claras included). And it gave me time to reflect on our Tunisian adventure, as we approach the halfway mark of our trip.

    So far, Tunisia has utterly confounded my expectations. In Sidi Bou Said, I was startled to realize that the town was so similar to Santorini in Greece- so much so that I would forget I was in Tunisia. From the blue and whitewashed buildings, to the endless cats sunbathing in the streets, to the café culture...this region seemed more Greek Island than Africa. (Well, until I saw the prices. Santorini ain't gonna sell me a tea for €1, unless it's 1978.)

    In Hammamet, I was surprised by how prosperous and Mediterranean the town felt. Granted, it was made for (European) tourism, but it felt more like a Spanish seaside town than North African. I wasn't expecting an elegant dar with a rainforest shower, a rooftop pool, and air conditioning, for barely €50 per night. It almost felt like a Disney-fied representation of Tunisia.

    Ironically, given that Hammamet and Sidi Bou Said were more Western than I expected, I was then surprised that Sousse was exactly what I'd assumed a Tunisian city to be...but somehow fulfilling my original expectation was not at all expected. (Was that confusing? Apologies, my mind has been blown.)

    The medinas have been not at all what I expected either. I had envisioned an old town that buzzed with activity from early morning to late at night. But even though many residents live within the medina's walls, the coffeehouse and tourist nightclub culture happens far outside the walls. I'm not gonna lie, the medina's utter emptiness at night is really disconcerting. It feels like Barcelona's Gothic Quarter in the midst of the pandemic. If given another choice, I wouldn't stay within the medina's walls (though the legions of stray cats are adorbs).

    The people of Tunisia have been a welcome surprise. Unlike Egypt or Morocco, where I felt like both a zoo animal and a walking ATM, Tunisian people have been warm, friendly, helpful, and respectful (well, except that one asshole grocery clerk in Sidi Bou Said who tried to jack me out of 5 dinar, assuming I didn't understand their fucked-up coinage- but I called him on it, so he doesn't count) (also, fuck that guy). But even the touts and vendors in the souk have been low-key and chill, with very little of the nonstop "madam madam you come buy I have best price" nonsense that makes me stabby. It's refreshingly unexpected.

    The food has been a bit of a surprise as well. I had expected that alcohol wouldn't be readily available- and granted, most restaurants and shops don't sell it- but discovering Tunisia's not-half-bad rosés has been a bit of a shocker. And while shakshouka and chickpeas are nowhere to be found, we have discovered bamboulini: A giant ring of fried dough, coated in sugar, that is Tunisia's answer to the doughnut. And bamboulini is even sold by random guys on the beach, the way one can buy beer from sketchy dudes on Barcelona's beaches.

    So, thus far midway into our first new country post-COVID, I'm remembering the fun of discovering the inside workings of another culture, and seeing and experiencing new things for the first time. It's kind of fun.

    Tomorrow we head to the seaside town of Monastir. This time we're really going, I promise.    Read more

  • TravelerTunisia Time
    Day 8

    3 Louages, 2 Cities, & Indiana Jones

    September 14, 2023 in Tunisia ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    Given that we spent yesterday in a state of beachy hedonism, we (and by "we" I mean "I") felt compelled to explore a bit more...aggressively today.

    We plotted a route that seemed entirely plausible, using louages, taxis, and a bus, which would allow us to see Kairouan, 90 minutes west of Sousse (and yesterday's intended destination before the beach sucked us in), and the seaside town of Monastir, just 30 minutes south.

    We got started early, and caught an 8:30am taxi to the louage station, and a 9am louage to Kairouan. At 10:30am, we arrived in Kairouan, the fourth most important city in Islam. One visit to Kairouan counts as 1/7 of a pilgrimage to Mecca.

    The main reason to visit Kairouan is to see The Great Mosque, the oldest and most important mosque in North Africa. I was told that if I'm interested in history and architecture (which I am, duh) Kairouan and its 7th century mosque were not to be missed.

    But honestly: As I'm not at all religious, and the mosque is a massively barren space, there wasn't much to see or connect with (though they do have some adorable kittens). To me, the Great Mosque of Kairouan is one of those places that shouldn't be missed, but yet never feels quite worth the effort to get there (Blarney Castle, Madrid's Prado Museum, and the entirety of Berlin are also in this file).

    The other major site of Kairouan is its entire medina. It's huge and sprawling, and filled with the café and shopping energy that is so missing in Sousse. We spent a few hours wandering the streets, having mint tea in cafés, browsing the souk (outdoor shopping vendors), and seeing its gorgeous architecture. We visited the Zaouia (shrine) of Sidi Abed, one of the world's finest examples of Arabic tiling, and Maison du Gouveneur (Governor's House), a nondescript doorway that opens into a former governor's stunning 18-room house (to house his 4 wives and 24 children, of course). It's gorgeous, but it's also a fucking carpet shop now, so there's that.

    We walked through the medina to the Mosque of the Three Doors, and the area felt...familiar. And it indeed is. In 1980, this street was used as a stand-in for Cairo in "Raiders of the Lost Ark," including that famous scene when a man threatens Indiana with fancy sword work, and in response, Indiana just shoots him.

    After mint tea at a café near the mosque, we set out to catch the 2pm bus to Monastir. The buses looked...a bit rough, and we had an hourlong wait in the stuffy, sweaty bus station. On a whim, we walked over to the louage station, despite being told repeatedly that no louages run between Kairouan and Monastir. So imagine our glee to discover that there actually was one, and it was leaving in five minutes. And for just 8 dinar (€2.75)!

    Monastir is a lovely seaside town, famous for its 8th century Rabat- it's even more famous than Sousse's rabat because it was used as the castle for Monty Python's "Life Of Brian." It's utterly stunning, sitting on a hill overlooking the sea, surrounded by palm trees. (Though Sousse's rabat walls were used in the film as a stand-in for Jerusalem.)

    We visited the 1963 tomb of Habib Bourguiba, Tunisia's first president post-French independence. It was...interesting. It's insanely opulent, with a massive chandelier hanging from a huge domed cupola, over his marble tomb. It's weirder when you discover that this guy DIDN'T EVEN DIE UNTIL 2000, so apparently he was responsible for this understated design.

    After a marathon seven hours of exploring through two cities, two filming locations, two medinas, and multiple mosques, we caught a louage back to Sousse for well-earned naps. Indiana Jones would be proud.

    Tomorrow we head to Tunis!    Read more

  • TravelerTunisia Time
    Day 10

    Dougga Or Dougga Not, There Is No Try

    September 16, 2023 in Tunisia ⋅ ☀️ 91 °F

    Yesterday, we had intended to take a train from Sousse to Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. However, upon arrival at the Sousse train station, we were told that the only train of the day was an hour late (insert big unhelpful shrug here); there didn't seem to be a ton of confidence in its timely arrival, or even its arrival at all (insert more shruggies). So we said screw the train, and got on a louage to Tunis.

    Our louage driver was quite motivated to reach Tunis, and managed to make the two-hour trip in just 80 minutes. This is what happens when one goes 95 mph and does not ever, for any reason, apply the brakes.

    We checked into Dar Ben Gacem Kahia in Tunis, considered one of the top five dars in the entire country. It goes without saying that the Joneses do not generally find themselves in such fine accommodations, and upon seeing our opulent room, immediately began to wonder if they'd allow our common, louage-riding selves to stay. We'll see.

    For our final full day in Tunisia, we intended to visit Dougga, one of the finest sites of Roman ruins in North Africa. Dougga is an entire Roman city, covering nearly a full square kilometer, and includes a Roman Forum, temples, an amphitheater, boulevards, monuments, and homes. The site sits atop a hill, overlooking a small Tunisia town.

    We weren't certain we wanted to make this trek, which requires a taxi to the louage station, a 90-minute louage ride to the small town outside Dougga, then another taxi to take you the rest of the way to the site, wait for you to explore, then do it all again in reverse. Normally this would be an annoyance, but not an obstacle. But today, the temperature was about 102°F/39°C, and not only are those louages un-airconditioned, the Dougga site sits on a huge, dry, dusty, hell-hot hill.

    We decided that Indiana Jones wouldn't let a bit of heatstroke stop him, so we packed lots of water, hats, slathered on the sunblock, and set out in the early morning.

    We arrived at 10:30am, and like every other site in Tunisia, we had it all to ourselves (with the exception of a kitten who followed us everywhere). It is truly spectacular- the temple overlooks the entire site, and almost feels Disney-fied in its perfection. Some part of me believes that some bored, rich dude built this in 1945 or so, and people took it seriously as a site of antiquity.

    Dougga (or Thugga, as it was known) was built around the 4th century B.C. (note: this is earlier than 1945), by a Berber society. They merged with the Punic Carthaginians, and then with the Romans, and as a result, Dougga is one of the only places on earth that showcases all three cultures in one place. The main viewable buildings are a temple (with its etchings still very clearly visible), the forum, the town homes, the amphitheater, and several smaller ruins scattered around the hillside. All were utterly deserted during our visit, so obviously we managed some amazing photos.

    (Haven't you always wanted to sing on a massive Roman amphitheater stage? You know you do. And the acoustics are astonishing- even without walls, any word quietly spoken on the stage sounds as clear as if someone is sitting next to you.)

    After several hot, dusty hours, our taxi driver picked us up and returned us to the louage station, and we headed back to Tunis. Upon arrival, we celebrated our successful hell-hot adventure with a massive late lunch at L'Ali, a fabulous Tunisian bistro in the medina. Despite our sweaty, smelly selves and dusty clothes (our shirts even had white salt stains from all the sweat), we were still welcomed into their fancy-pants linen tablecloth dining room. We had a feast of Tunisian salads, brik, chicken tagine, and lamb with apricots. I don't think I've ever been so happy to drink lemonade in an air-conditioned room.

    Tomorrow we explore Tunis before our evening flight home.    Read more

  • TravelerTunisia Time
    Day 11–13

    Tune-Town

    September 17, 2023 in Tunisia ⋅ ☀️ 99 °F

    Today was our final day in Tunisia- our flight departs at 8pm, so we had an entire day to explore the capital city.

    Our day began with yet another amazing breakfast in our gorgeous dar. Tunisia is known for its hospitality, and it definitely shows in their homemade breakfast feasts: Omelets, cheeses, smoothies, fresh fruit, pastries, spreads...Also, I realize that I seem like one of those douchbags who sits at the bar and eats the cherries and orange slices directly out of the bartender's garnish tray, but I admit to eating the halva directly from the condiment dish (halva is a chunky, sweetened sesame and tahini spread that I refer to as "Tunisian peanut butter"). I can't stop myself.

    Anyway.

    Our day's first stop was at Tunis's world-renowned Bardo Museum. First off, I will say that we never expected to visit this incredible museum, which is home to some of the world's most intact Roman and Carthaginian mosaics, housed in an 18th century Pacha's palace (a Pacha is second in command to the Bey, or king). Back in 2021, the Tunisian President staged despotic coup, and sealed the Parliament building and rewrote the constitution...and the Bardo is unlucky enough to be located inside the Parliament building. (Colorfully, local media describes the closure as "maintenance related." How very...Fox-Newsy of them.)

    But weirdly, the day before we arrived in Tunis, the museum suddenly reopened. When our dar hosts told us, we were stunned at the timing, given that long-awaited reopenings tend to happen JUST AFTER we depart (the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, the L'Orangerie in Paris, virtually every basilica in Sicily...).

    The Bardo Museum is two massive floors of ancient mosaics (ground floor) and a palace museum (top floor). There are SO MANY mosaics, and they are all so huge and in excellent condition, that "amazing fatigue" set in pretty quickly. It's an embarrassment of riches, to be sure.

    The top floor's palace museum was much more my jam. The lushly painted ceilings and tile work were simply gorgeous, and unlike other Tunisian rooms we've viewed.

    After our morning o' culture, we explored Tunis's New Town. Tunisia was colonized by the French in 1881, and the French designed the "New Town" with a très Parisian influence: Graceful, tree-lined boulevards, European architecture, and sidewalk cafés. The new town boulevard ends at the medina, and so we decided to wander the medina for a few hours. We quickly realized Tunis's medina was FAR huger than any other medina we've visited on this trip; it's so twisty and labyrinthine, that I began to wonder if I needed Theseus's ball of yarn to find my way out.

    And yes, I realize I have made a Greek mythological reference when everything here is Roman, but in my defense, everything I know about myths was gleaned from Disney's Junior Woodchuck Guidebook comics. (sadly this is true)

    By late afternoon it was over 100°F/38°C, so we had planned to escape the heat with a long, luxurious lunch at the medina's fancy-pants Dar Jeld, one of Tunis's most elegant cafés. However, for reasons that eluded us in this very Muslim country, EVERYTHING CLOSES ON SUNDAYS. So we found a cooler spot in the medina and enjoyed lunch, some mint tea, playing with the café kitties, and our final shisha (water pipe) before heading to the airport. And I'm happy to report that enduring the douchy vaping trend of the last few years has not diminished the simple pleasure of a medina café shisha.

    So this concludes our Tunisian adventure; between the Roman ruins, the café culture, the beaches, and the people, I can't recommend this country highly enough! I will miss the insanely cheap prices, the legions of kitties, and mint tea (but probably not the hell-hot, dusty heat).    Read more

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