Tunis, Tunisia

 

Double click to enlarge for reading what Viking has planned for the day. 

My sister did the included tour that took her to a souk. Here is the description of the tour I did: Best of Tunis - A Comprehensive Tour of the Treasures of Tunis.  This full-day excursion helps you make the most of your time by exploring all the highlights with an expert guide.  At Tunis’s Bardo National Museum, housed in the palace of a former bey, or chieftain, browse a fine collection of mosaics and artifacts from Carthage. Explore a living museum in the Tunis medina, an entrancing maze-like district of shops, mosques, palaces and residences. You will have free time to peruse the many stalls of this souk. In ancient Carthage, stroll among the remarkable Punic and Roman ruins of the 3,000-year-old capital of the Carthaginian Republic. Its vast port was once crowded with 200 warships. You will also journey to the Moorish village of Sidi Bou Said, perched on the cliffs overlooking the Bay of Tunis. Enjoy a guided walk among its houses painted in white and blue and perhaps sip a mint tea at a local café or enjoy the panoramic views

The port is at La Goulette.  They run everyone through a shopping boulevard on the way to and from the port. 

 Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa, covering 63,170 square miles (roughly the size of Florida). Its northernmost point, Cape Angela, is also the northernmost point on the African continent. Tunisia is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. It is dominated by Arabic speakers. 

Over 12 million people make their home in Tunisia. Tunis is the capital city.  Both the ancient city of Carthage and some of the Sahara Desert are located in Tunisia. Some people still live in underground housing in an area called Matmata.

Fake boat art on the way out of the port.  Talking about leaving the port, the bus had to pass through three security checks after it started moving. 

We passed by the the Radès, AKA La Goulette bridge, on our way into Tunis. This cable-stayed bridge built in 2009 spans a channel of the Lake of Tunis, as well as the expressway and the Tunis-Goulette-Marsa train line.  The strip of land the expressway and train line occupy separates a freshwater lake from the saltwater Bay. 

The first of three downpours for the day happened while we were arriving in Tunis.  Really hard to get good photos out of blurry windows.  Built to commemorate former President Ben Ali’s assumption of power on 7 November 1987 (hence the name of the surrounding plaza), this 38m-high clocktower forms a gilt-topped landmark at the eastern end of Ave Habib Bourguiba. Part obelisk, part mid-century-style lampshade, its mashrabiyya (lattice screen) is illuminated from within at night.

President Habib Bourguiba Victory Day Monument. Habib Bourguiba became the first President of the Kingdom of Tunisia after negotiations with France successfully brought an end to the colonial protectorate and led to independence.  

  He held office from 1957-1987. President Bourguiba left office after a successful coup held in 1987. The next president was Ben Ali who ruled until 2011 when he was overthrown by the Arab Spring Uprising. President Fouad Mebazaa held office for a few months after the uprising as the drafting of the Constitution went on. In December 2011, Moncef Marzouki took over the office under the new constitution. He served as president until 2014 when the current President Beji Caid Essebsi took over. Thus, Tunisia has had only five presidents so far.

It was market day, and the rains weren't keeping people away.  Our guide says people sell a variety of merchandise, but it is mainly used clothes and animals. Bonus, we also get to see what a Tunis taxi looks like. 

Still raining as we approach a parking lot where the buses have to go through this narrow arch. 

We exited the bus and walked for a distance before stopping alongside some government buildings to hear about the Medina, which means Arab City. It is also referred to as the Kasbah.  This old section of Tunis, occupied since the 12th century, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Medina contains some 700 monuments, including palaces, mosques, mausoleums, madrasas and fountains.

The Medina contains many souks (market streets) full of a wide variety of merchandise.  The octagonal minaret is on the Hammouda Bay Mosque built in 1655. 

Since it was a Sunday, many of the stores were closed. 

In most Western cultures, people wear black clothing to funerals. However, in countries such as South Africa, Ghana, and Tunisia, red is the color symbolizing mourning. Other countries have varied practices. For instance, the color of mourning in Thailand, Myanmar, and Iran are purple, yellow, and blue respectively.

Mostly just my bus load of people here.

Our guide had us stop at a shop that sold handmade wool hats called chichia (Tunisian headgear which is now only worn by the elderly).  They sold for $20. 

The shopkeeper explained the manufacturing process.

They also made some ladies hats, and I saw a couple on heads later. 

Another style resembled ball caps. 

There were tables and chairs for the people getting food from the various vendors. 

Ahead is the 141' minaret on the Ez-Zitouna Mosque.   This mosque, with an Islamic university, is the oldest in Tunisia.

A rug shop had stairs to the roof so people could look out over the kasbah.  First a woman demonstrated how to make a rug, a very time-consuming activity.  All rugs are made by women, mainly of camel hair. There were no handrails on the stairs, and some had open sides and high steps.

Once on the roof, we had a better view of the minaret of the Hammouda Bay Mosque 

And the minaret of the Ez-Zitouna Mosque.  There are an estimated 5400 mosques in Tunisia, 20 are underground and over 100 are in Tunis.

Looking down on one of the souk hallways.

After looking at the view, we were escorted halfway back down the stairs and into a large room surrounded by benches with rugs hanging on the walls.  

Once everyone was seated and offered mint tea, they started laying out rugs and telling us what they were made of. 

Most were gorgeous.

The silk one changed color at different angles.  Quoted cost was $2,500.  I think he said there were around 1,000 knots per square inch on silk rugs. 

We were shown both sides of this rug. 

Because it is a larger thread, camel hair rugs have less knots per square inch.

The colors make this look like a SW US rug. 

Once out of the souks, we headed back to our buses.  Of course there are cats everywhere. 

The National Monument of the Kasbah is a memorial monument and a prominent symbol of several events in Tunisia. It is located in the center of the Kasbah Square in Tunis, facing the Town Hall

The Town Hall 

Buses waiting in the parking lot behind the Town Hall.

Arabic, French and English are taught in the schools. 

I think they were serious about stopping as there is both a stop light and a stop sign. 

Looks like this man was selling things in the median. 

Street signs. 

Our next stop was the Bardo Museum where we had to check in with the police before parking. 

The National Musuem of Bardo is one of the most important museums in the Mediterranean region and the second museum of the African continent after the Egyptian Museum of Cairo by richness of its collections. It traces the history of Tunisia over several millennia and across several civilizations through a wide variety of archaeological pieces.  The museum is housed in a 15th century beylical palace which also serves as the seat of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People, Tunisia's Lower house. 

The museum houses one of the largest collections of Roman mosaics in the world, thanks to excavations in various archaeological sites in the country including Carthage, Hadrumetum, Dougga and Utica.   As we walked in the door, this large, 3-story mosaic was directly across the room. It is from the 3rd century.  

Close up of some of it.

The mosaic is from a villa in Sousse and is called the Triumph of Neptune.  It depicts the god of the sea surrounded by the four seasons. Measuring over 100 square meters, it is one the largest preserved mosaics from the ancient world and hangs in the museum's entrance hall.

The entrance hall is large. 

On March 18, 2015, an Islamist terrorist group attacked the museum and took tourists hostage in the building. The attack, which killed 22 people including 21 foreign tourists, was claimed by ISIS.  This memorial lists the names of all the people killed. 

As the museum tells of the history of civilization in the area, it starts with the oldest know, the Punic.

You might have to click on this to enlarge it for reading. 

220 BC

Trade

We didn't get information on most of the mosaics we passed. 

Many were quite large. 

Where they didn't have all the mosaic, they showed us a dull image of what it probably looked like. 

Some mosaics we even walked on. 

The area we were entering was one that had been reserved for women when the building was a palace. 

Beautiful walls made of stucco

Zodiac mosaic

Dating to the third century, the mosaic was discovered in a villa at Sousse and depicts the poet writing his famous epic, The Aeneid, flanked by the muses of tragedy and history.

Walking on more mosaics

Hare and boar hunting

Ceiling

5th century baptistry

Our guide told us that the country overthrew the Islamic government in 2015.  Now they are a democratic country having elected a new president four years ago. 

From the Bardo, we headed back to La Goulette area for a meal.  Here we are passing the airport. 

We didn't get any choice on the meal but were just handed plates of chicken, vegetable and couscous. 

This restroom had toilet paper, but it also had this sprayer hose you could use.  Some places didn't have toilet paper. 

Glad the bus driver knew where to go.   The guide told us that there are 100 million olive trees in the country and produce a lot of olive oil.

The average winter temperature is 13°C (55°F) and the average summer temperature is 27°C (80°F).  

He also told us that the United Arab Emirates are building a city by Tunis. 

The Carthage amphitheater is the 3rd largest in the world.

It is from the 4th century and could hold 300,000 spectators. 

Carthage was founded in 814 BC.

Since the monument has been raided by looters, the stone and metal have been levelled to the ground. Thus, only the arena remains open in the middle of a grove of pine trees

Yea it's pouring again just as we get to the next Carthage stop.  Most of the people stayed on the bus.

Information panels are housed under some shelters, so we check those out while the guide talks.  It's hard to get any photos of the panels as people are huddled next to them out of the pouring rain. 

We vacate the shelters and head up the walkway to check out the Punic era necropolis. 

At least we had a hard surface to walk on.

The walkway led us to an overlook of the Baths of Antoninus or Baths of Carthage, the largest set of Roman thermae built on the African continent and one of three largest built in the Roman Empire. 

The baths could cater for a multitude of visitors and contained a number of rooms and chambers standard to such ancient bath complexes, including the Frigidarium (cold room), Caldarium (hot room) and Tepidarium (hot bath). There was once also an enormous seaside swimming pool as well as a Gymnasium for physical activity.

The baths were destroyed by the Vandals in 439 AD, and the stone was reused by the Arabs during the construction of Tunis.

To the southwest a huge semi-circular construction was discovered with around 80 seats, which archaeologists first thought to be a theatre, before realizing that it was, in fact, a communal latrine!

The Baths of Antoninus were particularly remarkable due to their opulence and their size (close to 300 meters in length). A few columns from the upper level have been preserved; one of them, 15 meters high, supported an arch with a peak height of 30 meters. The lower level consisted of spaces for relaxation and service.

The cats didn't like the rain either.

Next stop, the town of Sid Bou Said - after we got by all the vendors. 

 Brilliant blue-painted doors and trellises reminded me of the blue and white buildings on the island of Santorini, Greece.

Slice of the Mediterranean Sea

Vendors were quite insistent here. We were told to offer half the price of whatever the vendor told us. I did purchase some jewelry for $30 after the vendor initially told me a price of $250.  

We stopped for a view of this mosque while we were heading back to the ship. 

Police vehicle as we approached the port.  Of course it was raining, and the wind was blowing the rain horizontal as we walked back through the security checkpoint.