Tunisia

Having come back from Luxor a few months prior; I was intrigued to see what Tunisia was like as a comparison. It was not a place I had thought to visit but as a way to broaden my knowledge on the destination I thought it was wise to find out, the pros and cons of the location. Especially as the trip gave quite a wide area to explore. I had been missing out and was not aware of the heritage of the country.

So where did I go and what did I experience?

-Hammamet, is in the Cap Bon Peninsula with long sandy beaches and is well influenced by the European invaders. With the blue painted doors and the ramparts of the 15th century fort, the winding alleyways which leads you to boutique shops and unique arts and crafts ware, which are well worth a perusal for great gifts at reasonable prices.

-Hammamet Yasmit, appeared to be more for the upmarket clientèle featuring up market hotels, a long promenade and marina. With modern restaurants, cafes and bars adorning it.

-Sousse, this resort is not to be missed with a long history and marked by its many battles as a being conquered by Rome, Spain and France all leaving monuments in their wake.  It is amazing the ramparts are so perfectly conserved.

The Medina is a buzzing area with high walls that surrounded the town, the history of the area was interesting and the architecture is impressive. If you take a tour there are some excellent stories told about treasure hunters putting holes into the walls, and being imprisoned for finding treasures beyond their wildest dreams, they also explain about markings that are found around Tunisia which indicates where treasure is hidden, however they need to smuggle it out of the county if they find any, otherwise it is prison for them.  This area is good for shopping as a lot of the shops are close and some even have prices on them to give you an indication of how much you are expected to pay, unless you are brave enough to barter. Don’t look at the gold though as I have never been to a place where the cost is so high, I was told that the tax on it was extreme and that is why men tend to be older when they get married.  I enjoyed my time here however I would preferred to stay in one of the other areas, and do a couple of day visits to this area. The other locations have the seaside feel about them.

Sidi Bou Said

Is a beautiful busting village, with picturesque panoramic views of the coast line from the top of the hill. There are fine examples of the large blue doors in the village which you need to stand in front of to understand the size of them, imagine a man on a horse striding through and you got about the right size. The history of the doors and the reasons for the colour, was informatively told by the guide. Visit to find out why!!!

Port El Kantaoui,

This in my opinion was one of the prettiest marina I have seen, very clean and picturesque. The area has a zoo in close proximity however I don’t feel this is the most family friendly resort and it was quite quiet. There is also a Golf course close by which is are excellent and used for competitions including Tunisia’s annual open tournament.

Monastir has two main beach resorts Dkhila and Skanes I went only to Skanes but both are meant to have excellent fine sandy beaches, Skanes is about 20 km away from port el kantauoi and is located in the central region of Tunisia

What else was about?

In Tunis is Carthage this was a powerful port built by the Phoenicians in 814 BC, with strategic importance to the Mediterranean in the Roman empire days, so much so, Rome conquered and rebuilt it, the site now has remains of villas, theatres and Baths. This makes a good day out and time to explore the ruins at your own pace. Afterwards visit Sidi Bou Said as it is close by.

-El Jem

Having been to Rome two weeks prior and having visited the colosseum I was delighted to visit another. What surprised me was how well conserved this was in comparison to Rome’s. You could also visit the area where they kept the animals/prisoners and see how they were able to get them into the arena.

They use this area for concerts and performances throughout the year, if I was ever to return I would try to see anything here to experience the atmosphere, even if I could not understand it.

A lot of the artefacts from El Jem are in the museum at Sossue (the museum near the khalef tour)

On approaching El Jem was a row of shops, so I braced myself for the onslaught of tradesman as per Egypt, but found this to be very relaxed and I happily breezed through. So refreshing!

There was many more sites and locations I could have seen in Tunisia so please do not think that you are limited to these highlights as Tunisia is one of UNESCO richest heritage countries.

Overall thoughts:

Loved that the time zone is the same as the UK, odd to wake up to bright daylight at 7am. Makes for long sunny days.

The areas including the monuments needed to be cleaned a little better, but my understanding is there is not a local government to arrange this. Which was a shame.  El Jem was clean though. Along with the more upmarket resorts of Port El Kantaoui and Hammamet Yasmine.

Some of the resorts were a distance apart so unless you tend to hire a car, there are tours available that will allow you to experience Tunisia including dessert stays. I would recommend visiting more than your own resort, as there is so much to Tunisia, and the resorts are so different from each other you would miss out.

Surprised by the amount of heritage and the cultural in Tunisia, with so many conquering counties there is a true mix of race and creed, but all are Tunisians. Also the nightlife was good in Hammemet.

If I with my husband I would stay somewhere around Port Kantaoui as I loved this area and thought of it as a more upmarket mevaggise (cornwall), with excellent modern cafes and bars facing the marina.

 I was also taken by the flora as it was very much similar to that of the Uniked Kingdom with Vibrant Roses and Sweet smelling jasmine along with the continental mix of the lemon, olive and palm trees you feel like you are on continental Europe rather than the Mediterranean coast of Africa.

Returning with my whole family- I would go to the Selima Club as this offered better facilities for the whole family and is reasonably priced. Even though I travelled in April when it was out of season the weather was good and this hotel had a lively atmosphere with numerous actives offered.

Whist shopping in the medina I also found some beautiful wooden bowls, boards and spoons ect, at an unbelievable low price, I wish I filled my suit case up with it. I later found out when I was in the UK that John Lewis sells the products from there but as you can imagine at a much greater price.

With thanks to the following hotels and tour operator;

El Mourade Gammarth

El Mouradi Beach

El Mouradi Hammamet

El Mouradi El Menzah

El Mouradi Port El Kantaoui

El Mouradi Palace

El Mouradi Madhia

Selima Club- reasonable priced family hotel.

Just Sunshine