SIDI BOU SAID - Tunisia

I had visited Sidi Bou Said in 1986 and remembered it as a beautiful sleeply little town with houses all in white and blue. People came there to admire the archtecture and walk through the little streets.

When we stopped in Sidi Bou Said, this time the town town itself had become a big tourist attraction full of stalls before you enter the town and full of shops in the town. All kinds of souvenirs (some not even remotely connected to Sidi Bou Said and sometimes not to Tunisia itself) can be bought in the main street. So for me it was quiet a disappointment. But for those who had never seen it before it is still worthwhile to walk through the little town. You can read more about the town  here.










Little streets with houses all in white and blue.

We then visited an upper class house which was open for tourists and was still owned by the family. Nothing had changed except the Souvenir shop which had been added in one part of the courtyard !



view into the courtyard with a little well, still working



steps leading to the upper floors



Places to rest in the courtyard





a comfortable little corner to sit down





Tea was served by a family member



Beautiful decorated open fire



artful mosaic everywhere






The upper floor staircase leading to the courtyard





an overview of the courtyard



inside the house



and how the rooms were used. The classical lady garments of the past centuries




and the men.

It was such a nice house that I really wished to live in there !



and when we left a friendly Yasmin bouquet seller said "Good Bye"


July 22, 2012

ROUND TRIP THROUGH TUNISIA 4 - Sbeitla, Kairouan

Our fist stop after Tozeur was 330 km (205 miles) later at Sbeitla.
Sbeitla is a small town in north-central Tunisia. Nearby are the Roman ruins of Sufetula, containing the best preserved Forum temples in Tunisia. More of Sbeitla here







The ruins were amazingly well preserved if you consider that they date from the year 300 !



The top of a column



and the remains of a baptismal font.

I noticed that wherever I go the Romains have been there before, even when I was on holidays in Egypt

We continued our trip direction Kairouan, the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia. Referred to as the Islamic Cultural Capital, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was founded by the Arabs around 670.  it became an important centre for Islamic and Quranic learning, and thus attracting a large number of Muslims from various parts of the world, next only to Mecca and Medina. The holy Mosque of Uqba is situated in the city. It is considered by many Muslims to be Islam's fourth holiest city. The holy Mosque of Uqba is situated in the city.  (more about history here)





We just could take a glimpse inside, I didn't want to take pictures of the people who prayed. I don't like unrespectful tourists.

Again some of us were not dressed to visit a mosque which is also a church. They were asked to cover their shoulders and those in shorts had to wear a kaftan or a large scarf.



which gave this amazing fashion show.

After this short visit, of course in the afternoon heat, as our guide had mixed up the visits, we finally visited the the Barber's mosque which is a veneration place for a companion of the prophet Mohamed, who, according to a legend, had saved for himself three hairs of Mohamed's beard, hence the edifice's name. The sepulture place is accessed from a cloister-like court with richly decorated ceramics and stuccoes. History here Barbers Mosque



The inside court



with beautiful tiles and mosaics



The guardians room



and the room where the 3 beard hairs are kept. No guarantee, because our rather ignorant guide told us this.



I discovered a wedding in a corner of the enormous court yard and asked if I could take some pictures. The women were very friendly and invited me to take as many pictures as I wanted. The bride was surrounded by the female family members and friends,



Her head was covered, but that didn't bother the others, they just lifted the hood to give her a kiss. And I could take a picture of the bride. They even asked me to stay after the ceremony for the wedding feast !  Unfortunately I had to follow my group, to watch a boring carpet presentation !



While the bride waited, the notary prepared the wedding contract together with the family males, fathers, brothers and the groom ! It all was very relax !

We finished our visits with the Aghlabid Basins, that means we just jumped out of the bus to take pictures, and read later what it was. Because of the heat, our catastrophe guide was "out of work" forgot to explain and slept the rest of the trip peacefully with the microphone as pacifier in his mouth. The Tunisian Travel Service had made a big deal with him.



We saw the two basins called the Aghlabid Basins which were restored in 1969. These two pools (originally there were more) stored water for the Aghlabid palace which occupied the site of the present-day cemetery which we haven't seen. The water was brought by an aqueduct 36km/ 22mi away. The smaller basin was a settling tank, from which the water flowed into the larger one, which had a capacity of 50,000cu.m/11 million gallons. I don't know for what it is used now, as I suppose a cimetary doesn't need so much water.



Before we finally arrived exhausted in our hotel, we had to visit again a carpet shop (business is business) , which fortunately was very beautiful and I admired more the architecture than the carpets. Here again, we were offered tea and air conditionning !

The day ended with a nice supper in a beautiful hotel.

ROUND TRIP THROUGH TUNISIA 3 - Chott El Jerid, Tozeur

Chott el Djerid is a large salt lake in southern Tunisia and lies in the middle of Tunisia, close to the Algerian border. It is the largest salt pan of the Sahara. Due to the extreme climate with annual rainfall of only 100 mm and temperatures reaching 50 °C (122 F), water evaporates from the lake. In summer Chott el Djerid is almost entirely dried up, and numerous fata morganas occur.

Earlier, many caravans were lead astray by the mirages out on the chott. Souvenir stalls and cafés are found all along the causeway.

Chott el Djerid was also used as a filming location for the Star Wars series.



It was a fabulous view all along the road to the place we stopped.




Little shops and a "Normal Toilet" I think it was meant that it is a toilet we are used to and not a hole in the floor.



The views reminded me the "Death Valley" in the States which I had seen many years ago, but on a far smaller scale !



This man had a little desert fox for taking pictures with the tourists. I didn't do it, I pittied the little fox.



and then we saw the salt



From far away our bus in front of a range of souvenir shops.





Then I discovered sculptures made of things the artist had found in the desert



it looked quiet amazing







The sculptures were extremely well done and very creative !



There was a huge choice of sea roses (desert rose) and other souvenirs, but bones and dried animals weren't so much my taste. It would have been much nicer if our Tunisian guide hadn't mixed up the program or I don't know what he had in mind instead of arriving early we were there around 11 am when the sun was burning and we had 50°C (122 F) in the non existing shade !

********

Tozeur in ancient times, before the advent of motorized vehicles, is an oasis and was important for the transportation through the Sahara, which took place in caravans. It also was an important Roman outpost.

In the medina (old city) of Tozeur, one can find traditional architecture, fashion and workmanship.
The old town is an exquisite example of the local brickwork. Mandated by the local government, the narrow streets, walls and facades were decorated with bricks, resulting in one of the most distinct and beautiful architectural styles of Tunisia. This work took more than 10 years to complete and really worthwhile to see.

You don't need to have a well filled wallet to find some cheap summer interesting find some cheap summer interesting getaways ideas !





Just after lunch, our guide took us to the Medina (old town) to also see the market. His sunburnt brain had forgotten that markets are only open in the mornings and all shops were closed because of the heat ! Again around 50°C !



The entrance where two curious locals admired the crazy tourists walking around in this heat !





We didn't see a single soul, not even a cat !



but the brickwork was just gorgeous. The museum was closed too of course.



The senile guide asked one souvenir shop owner to open his shop ! There were lots of things to buy and he even sold beautiful carpets, but we only went in because the shop was airconditioned and we got a free cup of tea while we had to attend a carpet display. Nobody bought anything, we only wanted to go back to our comfortable bus and drink water ! I think I never drank so much water, I felt like a camel.



We stopped for a drink at this beautiful place where it was not so hot, it also was an olive oil museum, but honnestly I didn't go, I prefered to rest with the others under the palm trees.

To be honest mid June is already too late to visit the South of Tunisia because of the heat !



Click on logo to join other participants