Cow heads, sheep heads, goat heads, camel heads, a lot of bread, and a religious pilgrimage for my geeky head (Star Wars)….

Click here for Return to Tunisia in October 2015

Click here for Djerba Hood Street Art

People have probably heard of Tunisia from the country where the Arab Spring first erupted.  It quite possibly is the only country that democracy has actually worked out in the Middle East/North Africa.  I came here just a couple weeks after the shootings at the Bardo Museum left the world in complete and utter shock.  But this country recovers quickly and the people welcome you with a friendly hand everywhere you go.  It has a different feel than other Arab countries I have visited as people are more vibrant and happy. You will not hear the typical “Inshah Allah” here as people I feel, take control of their own destiny

IF EVERY MIDDLE EASTERN/NORTH AFRICAN CITY WAS LIKE TUNIS, I WOULD STAY HERE THE REST OF MY LIFE!!!!!

The Capital Tunis has somewhat of a European feel to it with lovely trees and cafe’s that are situated along a boulevard that mirrors the streets of Paris.  There are literally thousands of people out along the main boulevard and also the Medina, all going about their own business and watching people as they file by.  Something that you notice here is how clean and pristine the streets are kept even with the thousands of people strolling around with their families….This City looks more European than many European cities…

HOTEL TIBA (TUNIS) Located right off the main drag in Tunis, this is a small boutique style hotel that has great customer service. People are always willing to give a helping hand to you and suggest what to do or where to go….price is extremely reasonable.   One guy in particular who helped us out at the front desk was Issam, who speaks a variety of languages and is extremely friendly and cordial.

Due to our lack of Arabic and French, we decided to get a driver and rent a car.  That was probably the best move we made as it cost us for six days only 200 dollars each.  Our driver named Ahmed was extremely patient and intelligent about the land and knew just about everywhere to go as he had been in the business for decades!!!!  The company we went through was: Greencar.

If you are looking for a tour here, I believe the best one to go with would be Tunisia Tours.  Jack Wilson the owner is a top notch man and he can help you to customize your tours at an affordable price.  He will set you up with the best hotels, and you will surely get the best value for your money.  Thanks Jack for all the info!!!!

The people I traveled with is the same people I went to Burma and Thailand with during Winter Break of 2014-2015.   Barbara, Kevin, and Cruz are always a thrill to travel with as each of us all have our own little crazy quirks, but in the end we get along and do not want to massacre each other by the end of the trip……If it comes down to it, I would surely travel with them again over and over again……

Our trip went something like this….

When I mention a religious pilgrimage for me I am speaking of course about the Star Wars sites that were used for the movie on Luke’s home planet of Tatooine….Most of the sites are found in south Tunisia and some have become dilapidated due to sand storms, but it was still some sites to see.  Seeing these sites has always been at the apex of my travel list as now finally I can rest in peace (yea right) with traveling.  The robes we are wearing are from the local people who wear them to keep warm.  George Lucas may of taken the idea for the Jedi Robes from them although this is still an unproven theory…Pictures in the video were taken from and around Tozeur, and near Tatooine at various places.  Lucas picked some difficult places to reach to film his scenes…..

I got some great shots of the people here.  In all regions, they have a unique dressing style so I tried to document that as much as I could.  I got shots of people on the streets and also in the local Medina’s (walled market places) within each city or town.  The people here very very amazing and open to have their photos taken.  Please click below to see the many faces of Tunisia

The Faces of Tunisia

The food was amazing (albeit too much bread). The food has a bit of a Middle Eastern flare with most of the style coming from Italy and France.  I often at lamb, goat, camel, or beef everywhere we went.  The served bread with every meal with olives and a spicy red sauce ground from red chile.  They also have a specialty called Brick which I could live off of, which is a Crepe type food that is fried with egg, or tuna, or vegetables inside of it.  Truly a delicacy in my opinion…..

Pictures of lovely Tunisian Cuisine

We also had the opportunity to see something we have never seen before and that was whenever a butcher in towns has fresh meat, they set out the Cow, Goat, or Camels head in front of their shop.  This was to convey the message to any people that the meat had just been slaughtered and the proof was in the head   It was odd at first, but it grew on us as we started photographing it. Sure it may be weird to westerners, but if you think about it, do you really know how old your meat is when you get it at the store? This head of the mammal often shows you that the meat is fresh as within the hot sun, the cow head will decay within two days!!!!

The Bardo Museum has the largest collections of Mosaics from thousands of years ago to the Muslim Empires.  You can see pretty much anything here, and most of the mosaics are Greek and Roman from their time of occupying this land.  There was not a lot of tourists here for obvious reasons (the shooting), but it was nice to be here without tour groups being jam packed.  A lot of the mosaics are in very good shape and/or redesigned to an almost perfect degree…..

No trip is complete to Tunisia without a trip to Carthage.  Carthage was an old Phoenician Colony that became a power of the ancient world before Rome destroyed it.  It was made famous by their leader Hannibal, who attempted to cross the Alps with Elephants. Rome destroyed most of it during the Second Punic War, but Tunisia has done a great job preserving most of it.  As you can see the sites are not that exciting but reading about it and teaching it over the last seven years gives a new meaning to seeing it in person  We decided to pretty much make a loop of all the famous sites in which we walked for about six hours which was nice, and yet again,  PEOPLE WERE EXTREMELY FRIENDLY…..

We then headed down to Bulla Regia and Dougga. I have been to many Roman sites around the world, but these may be some of the most impressive and complete that I have ever seen.  First of all tourism was at a minimum so you do not have that feel of being rushed or people trying to jump in your pictures. The sites have not been tampered with all that much and pollution is at a minimum. You often get a feeling of what it was like in Ancient Times on the streets of these magnificent cities without mobs of tourists, and I can tell you, it was the most relaxing experience I have witnessed while every visiting ancient sites…..

Pictures of Bulla Regia

Pictures of Dougga

The driver Ahmed took us around the rest of the country as our French was at a minimum and our Arabic was even worse…..We took off from Tunis and drove to the small city of Tozeur which straddles the border of Algeria.

We took a quick stop in Kairouan which is quite possibly the oldest Mosque in Africa that was built in the year 670.  This is about 40 years after the death of the Prophet Mohamed so it shows how fast Islam spread during its early days.  The town was very nice to walk around as it is one of the top four most holy sites for Muslims in the world following Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem, we had a chance to check out the walled city and buy some carpets that were made by hand.  If you notice the pictures it echos similarities to the Greek Island of Mykonos….

Pictures of Kairouan

As we reached Tozeur we noticed how this small idyllic town had very interesting architecture.  It is a town that is not far from the Atlas Mountains and is a staying point for many desert safaris.    We ended up taking excursions to the Oasis which our guesthouse was situated against and we also went up in the Mountains to another Oasis and a small community that lives there.  Notice how the landscape resembles that of Arizona or New Mexico as some of the beauty here rivals some famous national parks…

Pictures of Tozeur and the Beautiful Oasis and Landscape

RESIDENCE LOUED (TOZEUR)-This quaint little guesthouse is straddles one of the Oasis’s in and around Tozeur. The architecture is like that which is seen around town of bricks that pop out of the building in a unique style. It is truly a great value for the price and a very quiet place. The owners are very friendly and will assist you with anything you need……Quiet, Oasis, and Unique Architecture…What more do you need?

Leaving Tozeur, we headed east along the way seeing many lovely landscapes including a red salt sea from the elements in the water and  the home where Luke lived on Tatooine (See above Star Wars Video).   We saw some old Troglodyte houses and had a chance to stop in a small town to some some bargaining on camel made goods.  The scenery on this ride was simply breathtaking…..We then had a lovely (fill in sarcasm) two and a half hour wait for the ferry to get to Island of Djerba…..

MAISON LEILA (MIDOUN, ISLAND OF DJERBA)- Unless you can speak French or Arabic or have a driver, this place is extremely hard to find as it is off the beaten path literally. However its seclusion makes it an ideal place for a guesthouse with no noise at all. The rooms are ornate Arabic style with so much color. The breakfasts are some of the best I have ever eaten and are very filling. Most of the rooms are situated along a small courtyard with a beautiful running fountain. If you let the owner know ahead of time, she will prepare you a nice Italian style dinner, most filling for the cheap price. The guesthouse is also reasonably priced. If I had a honeymoon ever, I would most definitely stay here!!!!!

We stayed for 2 nights on the Djerba Island which was mostly a base for our southern travels to see of course more Star Wars sites.  We did see more villages including Chenini which is an old Berber village that was built high in the Atlas Mountains.  The view here was breathtaking and the landscape was amazing.  It was something out of the Serengeti in Africa.  A few pics are of Djerba and the main town of Hammet Souk….

 Pictures of South Tunisia-Beautiful landscape

Boats and Fishermen around Djerba:

We did not do much in Djerba as it was cold and none of us are beach bums, but we did happen to run across some great street art in the small town of Erriadh.  I believe this is some of the better street art I have ever seen. Many Artists from around the world have come to spray paint murals on the buildings and I could of used another four hours there to see the art.

Erriadh, Djerba Street Art Spectacular

After Djerba, we took the long road along the coast up to Mahdia. We saw many towns along the way and stopped in a couple of them to see the marketplaces. When we got to Mahdia, it was after 8, and I could of spent a few days longer here. We stayed at a huge resort hotel which costs only about 100 dollars a night. Me and Cruz ended up getting called up for some crazy show in the bar , which had a guy that laid in glass, and also had us try to push a knife in his stomach. The next day we saw the Medina, and we were on our way to El Djem….

Mahdia-Look like a pretty cool town?

IBEROSTAR ROYAL EL MANSOUR (MAHDIA) situated along the Mediterranean Sea right near the beach, this hotel is 5 Star and well worth the cheap price of 100 dollars we paid for it. The only reason we stopped to stay here is to divide up our trip from Djerba to El Djem, but we found out quickly how nice it was for such a cheap price.

El Djem is probably the most impressive piece of ancient architecture still intact that I have ever seen. This is more impressive that the Coliseum in Rome or Baalback in Lebanon. The sheer size of it will make other buildings around it, seem like tiny play houses. It is a massive amphitheater which parts of the movie Gladiator were filmed. The site was dead with hardly any tourists running around making noise, and again I had this feeling of how things were in ancient times.  Equally impressive was the museum that was built on the site where an old house stood complete with mosaics:

Tell me this is better than Rome!!!!!

This trip will rank up there as one of the better ones to a relatively quiet tourist destination for people.   If you take into account what this country has been through and how they are able to recover, then you will sympathize with me on why this place was so special. I most certainly be back to this country to vacation a little more as the combination of a European feel fused with a Middle Eastern flare, should make this a fantastic tourist destination for all. However too many people follow the media, and think it is a backwards place with terrorists. All I have to say, is look at the pictures on this post and you will start thinking very differently……

As I stepped onto the plane, sat in my seat, I knew that my body was going back to Cairo by the constant rambles of “Inshah Allahs” that were spoken from the people behind me. However my heart and soul was left somewhere in a galaxy far far away in the land they call Tatooine…uhhhhhh Tunisia!!!!!!