BEING THE JOURNAL OF A TRIP TO TUNISIA, A PLAYFORD DANCING HOLIDAY, FOLLOWED BY A JOURNEY INTO THE SAHARA
Sunday 9 November
On arrival at Monastir we had to complete landing cards and go through immigration before collecting our bags and going through customs. We then took part in the most amazing sorting-out of people into the correct coach for their hotel. It was on a par with the St Leger mustering process at Dover. We left Monastir rather later than planned and drove the hundred or so kilometres to Hammamet and the Sol Azur hotel.
Here we were welcomed by Alan Davies and Hilary and had a welcome drink in the lounge. We were then given our keys and shown to our room. This is a nice, comfortable room with all the usual facilities.
Up early tomorrow for our visit to Carthage, leaving the hotel at 8.45.
Monday 10 November
By 08.45 we were clambering aboard the bus ready for the journey to Carthage, which is about a 90 minute drive from Hammamet.
The city of Carthage was very efficiently sacked by the Romans with the result that much of it is now either lost or in ruins. We did, however, see the place of sacrifice, where all first-born Carthaginians were ritually slaughtered within 24 hours of their births. Then we saw the rectangular commercial port and the circular military port before moving on through the modern suburb of Carthage to the Antonine Baths. These, too, are now just ruins but enough survives to give an impression of how impressive a complex of buildings it had originally been. We had to be careful taking photographs because the Presidential Palace is next to the site and photography of the palace or its guards is strictly forbidden. From the baths we drove towards the current city of Tunis (Carthage is on the outskirts) and saw the remains of a vast underground reservoir complex fed by the longest aqueduct system in the Roman empire when it was at its height (apparently 136 miles or so). Waste water was of course discharged to the sea. Our final stop before lunch was Byrsa Hill where the deconsecrated cathedral sits on a commanding hilltop overlooking the site of the original Carthage and our guides told us the tale of the eight cow hides which were given to Elyssa.
We drove into Tunis for lunch at the Four Times Restaurant where our choice was omelette or brique (it consists of mince and egg in a crepe, then fried).
From the restaurant we drove to Sidi bou Said, the very famous village, a few miles down the road from Tunis which is extremely picturesque. All the buildings are painted white to reflect the sun and all the doorways are painted the same shade of blue which is allegedly to repel the flies, although there is no evidence that this is effective. Nevertheless it is a very pretty place with lots of opportunities for whizzy photographs and retail opportunities too. Whilst walking through the village many of us sampled a doughnut (bombaloum, a local speciality).
From Sidi bou Said we set off on the return journey, passing back through Tunis, a crowded city, the rather whizzy bypass for which is being built by a Japanese company. As Tunis is a port, this involves a high-level bridge over a waterway. Although we were not in any rain it was obvious that it had rained over part of our route home. We arrived back in Hammamet at the projected time of 17.00 hours. Down to dinner and once again, the food selection available was excellent and plentiful.
The dance began at 20.00 hours .
Tuesday 11 November (Armistice Day; 90th Anniversary of the end of the Great War)
Ready to leave at 08.45 although that did not apply to everyone in the group. It seems that departure times are, for some people, something of a moveable feast. We set off for Monastir, calling first at Sousse. The journey to Sousse takes about an hour and on arrival we had a guided tour of the most interesting Grand Mosque. Before the tour of the mosque we had an opportunity to do an hour’s shopping in an interesting fixed price department store.
The trip round the mosque was interesting as it was rare for non-Moslems to see inside such places. We returned to the bus and moved on past, amongst other things, a couscous factory to the restaurant (Les Palmiers) where we were to stop for lunch. The restaurant had laid the necessary tables but seemed slightly taken by surprise when we arrived as the meal was some time in appearing. Nevertheless, it was worth the wait. Leaving the restaurant we drove the short distance to Monastir on the coast, a town most famous for having been the birthplace of the country’s first post-independence president Habib Bourguiba. During his lifetime he had spent a lot of time and money transforming his birthplace from a humble fishing port to a large modern town, complete with international airport. Our first stop was at his mausoleum, which was a most impressive modern building; he had died in 2000 so the building had been completed after his death and the marble was very ornate. In addition to Bourguiba’s sarcophagus, various members of his family including his parents and his first (French) wife are also buried in the same mausoleum. We hadn’t expected to be impressed with this building but we most certainly were. After viewing it we walked to the Ribat (fortress) of Monastir which has been quite considerably restored over the years. It featured in the film ‘Monty Python’s Life of Brian’. It was a glorious day and everything we did proved most enjoyable.
We arrived back at the hotel at 17.10, with sufficient time to prepare for dinner at 18.45. This was up to the usual standard, with a large variety of very tasty buffet options.
After dinner, Hilary did a one-hour workshop but chose a very tricky dance to do and a lot of us struggled with it. After a break at 21.00 Alan did the second half of the evening which included some rather better-known dances such as Barbarini’s Tambourine and Fandango. We ended with a three-couple longways triple minor which many of us knew and was a jolly dance with which to end the evening.
After the dance, Paul the accordionist suggested we meet in the bar so we did this and had a drink along with Paul, Hilary, Jean and one of the other dancers. Eventually, however, it was time to write this and get ourselves organised for the morrow.
Wednesday 12 November
We left the hotel at 08.45 and drove to Tunis, where we were dropped by the coach in the Avenue Habib Bourguiba outside the International Hotel, opposite the theatre. Our guides announced that the first surprise of the day was imminent and very shortly afterwards we found ourselves in Tunis covered market; an amazing experience. The fresh fish was astonishing both in terms of variety and display and it was great fun to see. We moved into the fruit and vegetable section, which was extremely colourful and, again, displayed in a very artistic manner. Kathy bought an enormous quantity of fresh dates for something less than 50p. The only produce we did not see being sold was fresh meat, presumably sold elsewhere. From the market we walked to the original site of one of the gateways of the old city of Tunis, it has subsequently been rebuilt and resembles the Arc de Triomphe. Our guides announced that they would take us through the souk that was reserved for products intended for sale to tourists. We were slightly disappointed with this decision, but went along with it and half-way through the group stopped for tea, coffee and a comfort break in a little market café. This was an intriguing experience in itself. At the end of our walk through the tourists’ souk, we found ourselves outside the Grand Mosque, which is still in use and thus we were not permitted to enter. To our pleasure, we were then taken back through the souk which is frequented by the populace; much more interesting and with very little hassle. It was instructive to see the local population going about their business in narrow thoroughfares and tiny shops. Eventually we re-emerged by the same city gate and walked back to the bus, which was now parked outside the Cathedral.
Although early, our guides had elected to have lunch, which we took at the same place as on Monday (Four Times restaurant) on the outskirts of Tunis. This time we all had a small baguette with salad, cheese and slices of some sort of tinned meat, which was in fact much nicer than it sounds. We made our way back to the bus which then crawled through the very busy Tunis traffic and out to the suburb of Bardo. Here we went to the Bardo museum and I was disappointed to learn that it was not about Bridget but instead the archeological history of Tunisia.
The building is a former royal palace, occupied by the Tunisian king until about 1884. It has since been used to display many of the finds from an enormous variety of archaeological investigations throughout the country. The most striking feature of these remains is undoubtedly the huge number and completeness of the mosaics, some of which are enormous. Although the labelling was not good, our guide showed us round the building, explaining the more important finds. As the building had been a former royal palace, the rooms in which the artefacts were displayed had many important features of their own; most notably the ceilings, some of which were amazingly ornate.
For me, one of the most fascinating aspects of the afternoon was the finds pertaining to a shipwreck of a large trading vessel sailing from Greece to Rome, but (somehow) blown off course and shipwrecked on the Tunisian shore. As well as the usual component parts of the vessel, much of its cargo had survived, either wholly or partially intact, and proved to be a shipment of goods ready to fit out an upper-class Roman villa. There were a vast number of items and it was displayed very nicely. It was obvious from the captions and from what our guide said that the finds had shed a vast amount of light on that period of history. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a good guidebook covering this museum.
Back at the hotel we signed on to the Internet and checked our e-mails, giving our spare time to Paul the accordionist to clear most of his. Dinner was the usual success and Kathy and I both enjoyed the dancing. The official photographer took the official group shot during the evening and we purchased a couple of the action shots which he took yesterday.
Another 08.45 start tomorrow for the Cap Bon excursion.
Thursday 13 November
Today our destination was the Cap Bon peninsula, a tongue of land on the north-east coast of Tunisia, between Hammamet and Tunis.
Our first port of call was the town of Nabeul, famous for its pottery. Not surprisingly, we stopped at a working pottery and were able to see the process of manufacturing pots from hand-throwing on the wheel right through to painting and glazing and the final firing. Much to our delight, although there was certainly a sales opportunity, there was absolutely no pressure involved. We moved up the coast to the fishing village of Kelibia, where we spent a short while looking round a fishing port; a fleet was in harbour and we saw maintenance jobs being tackled.
From there, we drove the short distance up to the fortress, which was heavily restored but had an interesting history. We were able to walk all the way round the perimeter walls which afforded spectacular views over the whole area. Apparently, our guide, Borhen, lives in this town.
On the way we passed through a small town famous for its stone masonry and were fortunate enough to be able to visit a Koran school for youngsters between the age of 3 and 6 who were being taught to learn the Koran by rote.
Our last port of call before lunch was Kerkouane, which was a famous Carthaginian seaside resort. Very little remains of it now and what is left is only about a metre high in most places. It was apparently only rediscovered in 1956. The site has been excavated and some of it is quite remarkable, for example the remaining mosaics are stunning as is the plumbing, especially the individual baths situated within each villa. This all shows a very high level of sophisticated living and it would appear that the site was occupied by wealthy Carthaginians.
After we had explored the actual site, we were able to visit the small but very impressive museum of archaeological finds. We went to the northernmost town on the Cap Bon peninsula, El Haouaria, and had lunch at Restaurant Les Grottes. This consisted of fish soup, followed by tagine, steamed vegetables and a very plentiful supply of chips. We also had local beer with the meal. This ranks as one of the best lunches we have had on this holiday so far.
From here we drove down the north-western edge of the peninsula to the town of Grombalia and onto Bou Argoub where we stopped for a wine-tasting at Chateau Bacchus. Unfortunately, the wine was not up to much, being rather dry in general but it was a nice experience and nobody tried the hard sell. The wines, although drinkable, were not really worth buying and taking the trouble to transport back to the UK.. We did, however, buy a pot of harissa and pots of cumin and cinnamon.
Dinner tonight is at 18.45. Kathy had downloaded some of the photographs before dinner and the meal itself proved to be up to its usual standard. As we had both had a large, late lunch neither of us was particularly hungry, but we nevertheless managed three courses each. Pudding was an English-style bread pudding which Kathy declared to be the best she’d ever tasted. After the meal we prepared to go off to the dance, at the beginning of which Kathy spent time with the official photographer up in the gallery discussing the photos he might take of the group.
Hilary did the dances with Paul playing the accordion and as everyone was a) tired and b) required to get up very early tomorrow, the session finished early at 21.00. Everyone retired early to bed. Our alarm clocks were set for 05.45 and, although not particularly tired, we turned in early.
Friday 14 November
After almost two hours of travelling we made our first stop, for a cup of coffee and a comfort break before another drive of almost two hours to Bulla Regia. This site, in north-western Tunisia is not often visited, which is a shame because it has a great deal to offer. Along with the usual Roman baths and theatre there are several absolutely stunning villas, all of which are situated underground. That in itself makes them remarkable, but what is especially astounding is the survival, almost intact, of some impressive mosaics. These look good in ordinary daylight, but when dampened with water the colours stand out as if they had been completed only yesterday. We were able to spend a considerable time at this site and were even able to see a villa with central heating and a Christian basilica. We left Bulla Regia for another lengthy drive to our lunch stop, part of this was on a good class main road but the second half was on a narrow road, part of which was under repair. This held us up quite considerably. The second half of the road was a switchback to Teboursouk, where we had lunch at a smart hotel. This consisted of a brique followed by wild boar with vegetables and rice. Mandarin oranges made a very pleasant dessert. We set off immediately for Dougga, allegedly the best-preserved Roman ruins in north Africa and they are certainly very impressive. At least one complete day would be necessary to do them justice but we only had about 90 minutes. It was, however, enough to get the flavour of the place and we were delighted to have seen it. It gave a very good impression of what a Roman town would have been like in its heyday. We left Dougga rather later than planned, I think, as we have another whistle-stop halt planned for Thuburbo Majus. It is unfortunate that this site is linked by poor roads to Dougga and as we write this journal the light is fading and we may arrive too late for photographs. It is already 17.00.
Sadly, this prediction came true. Considerable roadworks on these minor roads slowed our progress even further and despite Mouldi’s best efforts it was dark by the time we arrived at Thuburbo Majus. The team wisely elected to abandon this stop and drove a little further to El Jef where we had a short stop for coffee and to use the toilet facilities. We were still on minor roads and by now it was raining heavily so the final leg of our journey to Hammamet was slower than ever, but it was enlightened (literally) by a spectacularly rising full moon accompanied by a full-blown electric storm to the north of us.
We arrived back at the hotel after 7.30 and were requested by management to have our dinner as soon as possible. We were happy to oblige. The choice was good (as always) and, although I wasn’t particularly hungry, Kathy was, and made short work of a plate of Tunisian dishes. Friday night may well be Traditional Tunisian night, as there was an accompaniment of various musical instruments and dancing.
Our dancing began at 21.00 and we were joined by the (now off-duty) Tunisian dancing girls and the hotel managers, our waiter and the French-speaking photographer. As they were new to our style of dancing, Alan called straightforward ones so that they could join in without difficulty, and to their credit they did so very enthusiastically. We did several very nice dances this evening and ended with Mr Beveridge’s Maggot, Kathy’s all-time favourite dance but done in a slightly different version from that which we know and love. Nevertheless, it was a lovely end to a lovely day and we retired to our room to finish this and for Kathy to download her photos. Tomorrow will be an easier day as we are not scheduled to leave the hotel until 09.45.
Saturday 15 November
After the very pleasant lie-in we had an equally pleasant breakfast and, as the dining room was crowded, we sat next to a delightful German couple who were very friendly. At 09.15 we set off for Zaghouan, which meant that we retraced our path along the same road as last night. It was very different seeing it in the light of a sunny day rather than a spectacular thunderstorm in the middle of the night. The mountain of Zaghouan is spectacular, rising as it does from a level plain in the middle of nowhere. Because of its height and position, it receives considerably more rainfall than the surrounding countryside and for that reason has always been an excellent source of particularly good fresh water. This being the case, the Romans elected to use the water supply as the source for Carthage’s water needs and consequently constructed an aqueduct that ran approximately 132 km between the two sites. The geography meant that part was underground and part above. It was impressive to see it at Zaghouan; all the more so because we had seen the cisterns at Carthage some days before. The site had been heavily restored prior to a visit from the current president and is still in fact undergoing archaeological investigation. The café did a good trade in fresh fruit juice and coffee as a result of our visit.
After leaving Zaghouan we set off down some minor roads towards the coast, stopping briefly at a Berber village perched spectacularly on a rugged hill-top. We left en route for lunch, which was preceeded for some by a donkey ride! We have become used to good lunches on this holiday but today’s was probably the best so far. We were shown a demonstration of Berber wheat-grinding using a quern and then the making of Berber bread in a bread oven. Although very simple, it produced surprisingly effective bread, made only from flour, water and salt. We had some of this bread with our first course, chicken, vegetable and pointed grain (?) soup. The next course was a brique, triangular in shape rather than the usual semi-circle and which was extremely tasty. Thinking this was all, we were perfectly happy, only to be stunned when presented with a huge bowl of couscous, chicken, sausage and vegetables, all of which were wonderful. There was even a dessert; pomegranate in rose water followed by mandarins.
We left and drove back to Jasmine Hammamet, where those who wished went to the Hammam. This was an interesting experience, and one which must be particularly welcome to the Tunisian girls – a rare respite from the drudgery of their normal life. From there we returned to the hotel for dinner and the final, farewell dance. A very early start tomorrow means an early night is scheduled this evening. We take only one case into the Sahara with us.
As we are to leave early the dance was kept very short and we only did a small number but they were good fun and we enjoyed them. Kathy made a ‘farewell and thank you’ speech in Arabic, which was very well received by the hotel management. Other various speeches were also made and an envelope of money for the restaurant staff was presented. Shortly after 21.00 hours we said farewell to those who were leaving for the UK tomorrow and went our separate ways. We went down to the bar and signed on to the internet, cleared all our important e-mails, had a drink (Kathy tried the date liqueur, which was OK but doesn’t need to be tried again) and went to bed.
Sunday 16 November
Time to depart company with those who are travelling back home and the remainder of us who are travelling into the desert.
