tunisia

Tunisia 90 degrees

Had a great day in Tunisia. our first port after leaving Barcelona. While the ship tour for what we did was $100 plus tip/ person with a busload of people, we got a van with 9 of us for a cost of $27/person including tip and entrance fees. Delightful guide, Mohammed, who has 4 daughters. I wonder if Muslim men have a difficult time if they have no sons!
First went to the ruins of Carthage, which are in the most upscale area of town. We could see the home of the president of Tunisia from the ruins. The homes in the area are white with blue trim, and multi-hued bougenvellia cascading everywhere. Carthage was once the commercial center of the Med, possibly founded in 800 BC by the Phoenicians, destroyed by the Romans in the third of the Punic (or as one of my middle school students wrote on a test) Pubic Wars. The Romans rebuilt it. The Arabs destroyed it. It had a small museum with an exquisite white marble urn. I thought it less beautiful when I learned that it contained the bones of babies, which the Carthegians sacrificed. Not too far away were the remains of the Roman baths, a HUGE and very beautiful site overlooking the Med.
We were fortunate to get into the President’s mosque, only 8 years old but magnificent with colorful tile work, glass chandeliers, immense wooden doors with a traditional-sized smaller door in the middle. Our guide showed us the room where the men wash before prayer. At the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, they wash outside sitting on small, low benches using faucets from the wall. This one was very modern with divided compartments almost like urinals, paper towel holders, soap dispensers.

We next visited the Santorini of Tunisia, the town of Sidi Bou Said. Again we lucked out with our tour. The large buses had to park far from the main area. In our smaller van, we drove right up. The town again consists of white houses, trimmed with blue with winding streets up to a panoramic view. Many small stands selling Tunisian ware (pottery, tiles, leather goods, fake purses, silver) line the streets. There were a zillion variations of “The hand of Fatima,” which looks exactly like a hamsa (a small hand worn by both Arabs and Jews).

On the way to Tunis, the capital, we drove by the American cemetery, which looks like a smaller version of the one at Normandy, and a Roman water system, unlike any I’ve ever seen with covered humped shape structures over the water.

Tunis is a bustling, modern city with a wide tree lined boulevard, which reminded me of Nice. Women are allowed to wear modern dress as long as it’s not too bare. Probably 2/3 of the women wear the head covering The Medina houses the souk, which is a large bazaar. I bought 2 gifts after a lot of bargaining. The shop keeper told Dan that he had a “tough” wife. Dan said, “I know. I know.”

In general, Tunis is much less third world than I expected. I had heard the economy is poor, but there is a tremendous amount of construction going on and a lot of new buildings.

Tuesday...Malta high 80’s, humid. Beautiful. Reminded me a lot of Dubrovnik. Very old civilization beginning around 5700 BC. Colonized by Phoenicians, then Greeks, Cartheginians, Romans, Byzantines,Arabs, Normans, Spanish, French, British. Important strategic site for the NorthAfrican campain during WWII. Received heavy bombing. Valletta, the capital, is a walled city. We walked straight up to see some gardens that had a beautiful view, visited St. John’s Cathedral known for its 2 Caravaggio paintings, including his famous Beheading of John the Baptist. Caravaggio was a painter’s painter, influenced the other major artists of his day. He was known for chiarscuro (not sure of spelling)his use of light. We watched an excellent movie on Malta’s history, went to the Archaeological Museum, and wandered the streets. I would definitely come back here! At sea tomorrow. Next stop: Crete







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