Tunis

Sunday, July 8 — Wednesday, July 18: Tunisia

I came up with an ambitious itinerary for Tunisia: four nights in Tunis, two nights in Bizerte, two nights in Ain Draham, and two nights in La Kef. Since I quickly gave up my idea of venturing into the desert at this time of year (temperatures soar into the 100s and it is only possible to go on night camel caravans at this time of year), all of the destinations were in the “cooler” northern part of the country. I wasn’t quite sure how we were going to get from place to place, but as it turns out, it is quite easy to get around Tunisia using buses and louages. Louages are shared vans that have set routes linking various cities and are a very economical way to get around. The only down side is that they do not leave until they are completely full, so you may end up waiting 20 minutes to over an hour for it to fill up before getting on the road. Also, they are not air conditioned so it can be a little hot at times.

Leaving the airport in Tunis, we got in line for a taxi to take us to our hotel. We had read in the book that taxi drivers are notoriously unscrupulous in trying to overcharge tourists and some have tinkered with the meter boxes. A ride from the airport to the hotel should be around 8 dinar, which includes the 50% markup for rides in the evening. Lo and behold, by the time we get to the hotel the taximeter is reading 20 dinar. Before we even step foot in the city, we get to practice our haggling skills. The taxi driver was pretty adamant about the fare. He even followed us into the hotel lobby and milled about while we were checking in. I finally handed him a ten-dinar note and said “Shokrane.”

Tunis is home to 90% of Tunisia’s population and has two main parts, the old city (the 7th century Arabic medina) and the new city or Ville Nouvelle (the 19th century French colonial area). These two areas abut each other and can be easily navigated on foot. We spent a day wandering through the congested, twisting alleyways of the medina that are overflowing with souks, tea and shisha houses, mosques, medersas, and homes to the 15,000 people that still live there. All alleys in the medina lead to the Zaytouna (Great) Mosque that was built in 732 AD and that includes 184 recycled columns in its central prayer hall from Roman Carthage. In the afternoon, we strolled down the new city’s main thoroughfare, Habib Bourguiba to view the French influence and architecture.

All cities, towns and villages in Tunisia have a street or avenue or both named Habib Bourguiba and a square or monument named Place du 7 Novembre 1987. Habib Bourguiba was Tunisia’s first president after Tunisia was granted independence from France on March 20, 1956. Habib Bourguiba was a socialist who wanted to create a secular nation by adopting a policy of Westernization that included the abolition of polygamy and divorce by renunciation and restricted arranged marriages by setting a minimum age of 17 for girls—policies that support the title Habib Bourguiba gave himself of “The Liberator of Women.” Bourguiba also regarded Islam as a force that was holding back the country and closed religious schools, abolished Islamic law courts, and used military force to deal with the Islamic opposition. Under Habib Bourguiba, Tunisia banned the hejab (women’s headscarf) in schools and public administration in 1981 (20 years before France did the same thing).

November 7, 1987 marks the day Ben Ali became Tunisia’s second president by way of a bloodless coup that ousted Habib Bourguiba by having a team of doctors declare him physically and mentally incapable of carrying out his duties. Ben Ali has continued his predecessor’s goals of trying to create a secular, moderate, and pro-Western country. Some of Ben Ali’s policies have been the subject of intense scrutiny by human rights groups when he had thousands of suspected Islamic fundamentalists imprisoned in the 1990s. Since 9/11, this scrutiny and criticism of Ben Ali’s policies towards fundamentalists has eased significantly. The government does continue to restrict political parties, censor the press and Internet, limit religious freedoms, and engage in the surveillance and harassment of intellectuals, opposition activities, and journalists. Despite these downfalls, some regard Tunisia as a model of how a moderate, secular, Arab nation can control fundamentalism. The last “election” took place in 2004 with Ben Ali receiving 94.5% of the vote, although the accuracy and “democracy” of the election is contested.

No visit to Tunis is complete without a visit to the Bardo Museum, home to an extensive collection of Roman mosaics dating from the 2nd to 6th centuries AD. The Museum was the former official residence of the Husseinite beys (provincial governor in the Ottoman Empire) and became a museum in 1888. The Romans used the mosaics, that depicted hunting scenes and everyday life, to decorate public and private spaces and to show their wealth. Some mosaics can still be seen in situ in a few areas in Tunisia, including Bulla Regia. We took a day trip to visit Bella Regia during our stay in Ain Draham.

We spent the following day exploring the ruins at Carthage in the morning and relaxing in the seaside town of Sidi Bou Said in the afternoon. The Phoenicians (from present-day Lebanon) founded Carthage in 814 BC. After two wars with its rival Rome, Carthage fell around 140 BC with 50,000 Carthaginians taken away as slaves. A century later, Augustus reestablished the city and it become a provincial capital in 29 BC. After the Roman Empire fell, the Vandals, the Byzantines, and the Arabs ruled Carthage successively. Under Arab rule, Carthage returned to its agricultural roots. Remains that can be toured today include Byrsa Hill (the heart of the city during Punic times that still contains the foundations of temples, a library, basilica, and piazzas), the Roman Theatre and villas, the Antonine Baths (the huge seaside Romans baths that include a circular caldarium (hot room) flanked by smaller saunas, a smaller tepidarium (warm room) that allowed access to the huge frigidarium (cold room) at the center with two palestras (gymnasiums) on either side where Romans could engage in naked wrestling and other sports), and the Sanctuary of Tophet (a sacrificial site and burial ground where it is believed that Carthagian children were sacrificed to the deities Baal Hammon and Tanit; numerous stelae are visible and 20,000 urns have been discovered each containing the ashes of a child (mostly newborn but some as old as four years)).

After walking around the ruins of Carthage in the blazing sun, we took the public tram to the seaside, cliff-top village of Sidi Bou Said. Here we relaxed at a local tea/coffee house and people watched before visiting Dar el-Annabi, an 18th century traditional family home that includes vibrant tiling, beautiful courtyards, a prayer room, a reception room, a library, and many other traditionally decorated rooms.

After Tunis, we took our first louage to the seaside town of Bizerte, an old port city that was founded in the 8th century by the Phoenicians. This town’s charming old port is dotted with colorful fishing boats bobbing in the water. Running south of the old port is the busy and vibrant outdoor market, place Bouchacha, selling everything from produce, clothes, chandeliers, beauty products, and framed Quranic verses. We bought freshly fried sweets covered in honey from a vendor. They were so good that we went back there the following day to get some more for the road.

From Bizerte, we took a public bus to Ain Draham, a hill station located in the Kroumirie Mountains. We woke up around 4:30 am to walk to the bus station in the dark before the sun even started to rise. The picturesque drive from Bizerte to Ain Draham allows panoramic views of the valleys, forests, and the sea as the twisting road climbs from the coastal plains into the Kroumirie Mountains. The Kroumirie Mountains are home to a vast cork oak forest. After checking into our hotel, we took a hike through the cork forests. We also dined on the local “fast food” of merguez (spicy lamb sausages) sandwiches, salade mechouia (roasted peppers, garlic, and harissa (fiery red chili sauce)), and rotisserie chicken and chips. Canned tuna is also a staple of the Tunisian diet and can be found in everything from salade mechouia to pizza.

While staying in Ain Draham, we took a day trip to the ancient Roman village of Bulla Regia famed for its underground villas. To get there, we took a louage that connected Ain Draham to Jendouba. Where the road turned off towards Bulla Regia on the way to Jendouba, the louage driver stopped and said that we could get a taxi to take us the 5 kilometers to Bulla Regia. Upon existing the louage and after the driver sped away, it was clear there were no taxis to be found. We started walking down the deserted gravel road towards the ancient city. The sun was beating down on us and you could feel the heat radiating off of the road and bouncing back up to assault us a second time. It was a long, hot walk, but we finally made it.

Bullla Regia reached its peak under Roman rule in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. Here, visitors can see complete, intact Roman villas that were built underground as a way to deal with the unbearable heat. The underground villas are complete with colonnaded courtyards open to the sky, beautiful mosaics (some are in the Bardo Museum in Tunis, but many remain in situ), and central air conditioning and heating systems constructed of strategically placed openings in the stones and ceramic tubes covering the stone ceilings to allow air to circulate throughout the structure. The site also includes the Memmian Baths, an above ground structure that served as the Roman bathhouse.

Our final stop in Tunisia was Le Kef, a city founded around 500 BC by Carthage and located only 40 kilometers from the Algerian border. After the fall of Carthage, Le Kef came under control of the Numidian (Berber) King, Jugurtha, and was a stronghold of the Numidians in the fight against the Romans.

After checking into our hotel, the hotel receptionist arranged for a driver to pick us up and drive us to the ancient 2nd century Hammam (bathhouse) Mellegue. The driver was a middle-aged Tunisian man who chain-smoked and drove a beat up pickup truck that seated exactly 3 people, unless one wanted to get adventurous and ride in the open cab in back. John squeezed in next to the driver and I was situated between John and the passenger window. The driver got the truck going by allowing it to coast down the hill he strategically parked it on. The drive to the hammam took about an hour and the only road there is a winding, potholed dirt road that is best traversed by a 4-wheel drive truck.

Much of Hammam Mellegue is in ruins, however, the caldarium (hot room) remains intact and in use and is fed by 35C hot springs. The pool is drained by gravity by removing the wet rags that are stuffed into its ancient drainpipes and is refilled by pipes connected to the spring. There is a separate room for men and for women. John and I were the only non-locals there and upon entering the hot room for women, I was greeted by a grandmother, several middle-aged women, and several young girls. They were all sitting or laying about in the hot water with buckets that they used to pour water over themselves. As I did not have a bucket, the grandmother shared hers with me. At one point, one of the ladies started to sing traditional Berber music.

In typical Tunisian style, the driver tried to overcharge us for the ride to the hammam, but the hotel receptionist confirmed the price we had been quoted. The driver then left with a very sad and defeated look that has been perfected over the years.

The next day we set out to explore Jugurtha’s Table, a flat-topped mesa that rises 1271 meters into the air. The Table was the base for the Numidian King Jugurtha’s seven-year campaign against the Romans (112-105 BC).

To get there, we had to take two louages, register at the National Guard in Ain Senen, and take a taxi to the bottom of the Table. We set out early in the morning to avoid the intense midday heat, however, the registration at the National Guard took over an hour with most of the time spent sitting around waiting for something to happen. Once we made it to the bottom of the Table, a guide took us to the top by the only available means, steps carved into the side of the mesa. The climb up is intense with the heat and the elevation, but once on top, the view is magnificent. From here, the Algerian border and surrounding countryside can be seen for miles. After descending the Table, a police escort was waiting to take us back to Ain Senen. Again, we were the only tourists in the area. The National Guard and police were very friendly and accommodating and it was clear they wanted to make sure we got out of there safely and soundly.

Getting back to Le Kef proved a bit difficult. We had to wait for almost two hours in the stifling heat for the louage to fill up before we could leave. Eventually, we did make it back and were rewarded with a well-deserved shower.

The next day we relaxed at the hotel before taking the public bus back to Tunis. Little did we know, but the bus we chose was not air-conditioned. The ride back to Tunis was brutally hot. After arriving in Tunis, we took a taxi to the airport and waited in the airport from noon until 10 pm at night before we could check in for our flight to Cairo, Egypt on Egypt Air.

Once check-in started, we got in line only to find out that our name was not in the system. We gave him our receipt, which clearly said it was an eticket, but because our name was not in the system, it was like we didn’t have a ticket at all. It was totally crazy. After speaking to countless agents and managers, we were told we would be put on a “waiting list.” We had to stand around while everyone around us was issued a boarding pass and left to go through security. We also noticed many people coming who didn’t have tickets, but nevertheless, they were being issued boarding passes. Not being Arab or speaking Arabic was definitely a disadvantage during this ordeal. At one point, the ticketing agents disappeared and we were still standing around. Finally, John went to talk to the manager again and the manager told his assistant to give us boarding passes. The entire process was unbelievable, but we did make it onto the plane.

The plane ride was great fun. Either a Tunisian soccer team or just avid fans all wearing the same sports jersey were on the plane and they sang rhythmic, Tunisian songs the entire plane ride from Tunis to Cairo. We arrived in Cairo around 3:30 am.