Tunisia Info
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 Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 4:41 am Post subject: TUNISIA TOURISM GUIDE / TOURISM IN TUNISIA |
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TUNISIA TOURISM GUIDE
TUNIS
The Tunisian capital - home to one in 10 of the population - combines a modern, European-style city of tree-lined avenues with a vibrant, atmospheric medina listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The main entrance to the medina is through an arched gateway known as the Bab el Bahr (or Porte de France) on Place de la Victoire. To the right is the handsome green and white frontage of the British Embassy.
The main thoroughfare through the medina, rue Djamaa Ez-Zitouna, is often bustling with tourists but more authentic souks (markets) can be found in the myriad of surrounding alleys. Originally, each souk specialised in a single trade. Among the oldest is the 13th-century Souk el Attarine (the perfume-makers' market), which still sells scents and essential oils. If you get lost, the major landmark is the Zitouna Mosque (Great Mosque) - the largest in Tunisia. It is the only mosque in the city which can be visited by non-Muslims, although access is restricted to a viewing enclosure overlooking a polished marble courtyard.
The National Bardo Museum is a major tourist attraction, housing one of the world's greatest collections of Roman mosaics. Situated in a former palace belonging to the Husaynid beys who ruled Tunisia in the 18th and 19th centuries, the museum includes archaeological treasures from the Carthaginian, Roman, early Christian and Islamic eras. The Roman section is the undoubted highlight with mosaics covering entire floors and walls, many of them almost completely intact. Common themes include hunting and farming scenes, Greek and Roman gods, sea battles and family life.
Another popular museum - the National Museum of Carthage - is located on the outskirts of the city near the airport. It is best visited immediately prior to exploring the ruins of Carthage itself.
Close to Carthage, Sidi Bou Said is often described as Tunisia's prettiest village. Its cobbled streets and whitewashed houses with light blue window grilles and studded doors has made it a popular stop on any excursion to the Tunis area. Despite its popularity, it has managed to retain its charm. The Café Sidi Chabanne is one of the best places in Tunisia to sample the national drink, mint tea, which is served piping hot and topped with pine nuts.
Other suburbs of Tunis include Gammarth which has fast become a fully-fledged resort of luxury hotels, including the 5-star La Residence, often described as the best hotel in Tunisia.
La Marsa is another upmarket beachfront suburb with a palm tree-lined corniche and long sandy beach.
La Goulette is noted for its excellent fish restaurants which attract crowds from Tunis, especially on warm summer evenings. Once a pirates' stronghold, the town is at the mouth ('the gullet') of the Tunis canal and remains a busy cargo and ferry port. It is linked to Tunis by a suburban rail service, the TGM (travel time - 30 minutes).
NORTHERN TUNISIA
Although bypassed by most British holidaymakers, the area north of Tunis and along the northern coast is a delightful part of the country with dozens of quiet beaches and one of the most fascinating towns in the country. The region can be quite cold in winter with occasional snow flurries. In summer, it provides a welcome escape from the heat of the capital.
Bizerte
Easily visited on a day trip from Tunis, Bizerte has been a major port since Phoenician times when it was known as Hippo Zarytus. Under French rule in the late 19th century, it became a naval base and has remained Tunisia's biggest military centre ever since.
At the heart of the town is the wonderfully picturesque Vieux Port (Old Port), surrounded by shops and cafes and usually dotted with dozens of multi-coloured fishing boats.
Despite its Byzantine appearance, the Kasbah dates mainly from the 17th century. Within its walls is a mini-town of narrow, winding alleys.
On the southwestern approach to Bizerte is the Monument of the Martyrs commemorating the Bizerte Crisis of 1961 when French soldiers clashed with Tunisian troops leaving more than 1300 dead.
Jebel Ichkeul National Park
About a 40-minute drive from Bizerte, it is one of only two water-based conservation areas in the world to be designated by UNESCO as Wetland World Heritage Sites (the other is the Florida Everglades).The Park is an important bird sanctuary and between October and February provides a major stopping point for waterfowl migrating between Europe and Africa. It is also home to one of Tunisia's most colorful birds, the purple gallinule, and among its animal life are water buffalo, wild boar, jackals and otters.
Tabarka
Situated in northwest Tunisia close to the Algerian border, Tabarka was supposed to be Tunisia's flagship resort on the north coast. During the 1980s and early 1990s, the Tunisian government plowed millions of pounds into creating a purpose-built holiday town with its own international airport. Although it is quite popular in the peak summer months with Continental visitors, it has still to win favour with the British market and is completely dead in autumn and winter. Its future may lie in promoting itself as a diving destination. It offers some of the most exciting dive sites in the Mediterranean including Tunnels Reef - an extraordinary complex of caves, caverns and gullies.
CAP BON
Known as the Garden of Tunisia, the Cap Bon peninsula combines sleepy villages, rolling green fields and vineyards with the biggest and most cosmopolitan resort in the country.
Hammamet
Situated 64km (40 miles) southeast of Tunis, Hammamet has been attracting package holidaymakers since the 1960s. Known as the Garden Resort for its eucalyptus trees, citrus groves and flowering shrubs, a local bylaw prohibits hotels being built higher than the tallest surrounding palm tree.
A much more relaxed attitude has been taken towards the expansion of the resort. It now extends almost as far as Nabeul in the north while 8km (5 miles) to the south, a massive new sister resort Yasmine Hammamet is being completed.
The focal point of the town is the Kasbah which was first built in the 15th century but heavily restored since. It provides the main entry to Hammamet's small medina which is packed with souvenir shops selling leatherware, clothes, pottery, stuffed camels and bird cages.
Hammamet is well served with restaurants to suit all tastes and pockets. Most of the major hotels are set alongside the town's sandy beach - with many also offering indoor and outdoor pools.
Beach activities include sailing, windsurfing and parascending. Most evening entertainment is hotel-based and includes discos and folklore evenings.
Hammamet is a popular centre for golfers with two major courses including the Citrus Golf Complex which offers two 18-hole championship courses and a 9-hole practice course. Among Hammamet's few tourist sights is the International Cultural Center located in a villa once described by Frank Lloyd Wright as the most beautiful in the world - which perhaps overstates its charms. Guests have included Churchill, Rommel and Anthony Eden. In recent years, it has been the venue for Hammamet's annual summer cultural festival.
Nabeul
Although overshadowed by Hammamet 10km (6 miles) further south, Nabeul has spent the last decade trying to exploit its own tourism potential and now boasts a string of large beachfront hotels. The town's biggest claim to fame is as the centre of Tunisia's pottery industry which dates back to Roman times. The distinctive and very collectable blue and white pottery can be bought all over Tunisia but Nabeul offers one of the widest selections. Tourists who dislike the idea of haggling can buy items at two official tourist shops in the town where prices are fixed.
Every Friday Nabeul plays host to a so-called Camel Market which seems to draw considerably more tourists than it does camels - but it is a good opportunity for shopping and hunting for bargains.
El Haouaria
Best-known for its annual June falconry festival. On the outskirts of the village opposite the island of Zembra is a spectacular series of Roman caves. The nearby caves, Les Grottes des Chauves-Souris, are home to thousands of bats.
Kelibia
Kelibia is a picturesque and thriving fishing port which makes a good base for exploring the more rural parts of the Cap Bon region. A massive sixth-century fort overlooks the town and offers spectacular views.
CENTRAL TUNISIA
Includes four of the most popular package-resorts as well as Tunisia's holiest city. Also known as The Sahel, Central Tunisia is a rich agricultural area with hundreds of thousands of olive trees.
Port El Kantaoui
A hugely successful purpose-built resort constructed around a picturesque marina fringed with shops and restaurants. It opened in 1979 and has been expanding ever since.
Its hotels resemble giant, whitewashed palaces and are set in gardens awash with bougainvillaea. Most holidaymakers love the resort because of its familiarity and security. Critics point to its lack of authenticity. Port El Kantaoui offers a 27-hole golf course, home to the Tunisian Open and the PGA Seniors Tour.
Sousse
Tunisia's third-largest city, Sousse lies 8km (5 miles) south of Port El Kantaoui and could not be more different. It is packed with atmosphere and hundreds of years of history. Very much a working city, it has a thriving port and busy fishing harbor which is best viewed early in the morning when the previous night's catch is being unloaded from a flotilla of small boats.
Still emerging as a holiday centre, a string of hotels has been built fronting the city's elegant corniche. Sousse was one of the Phoenicians' great coastal cities but it fell to Arab invaders in the seventh century. In AD 790, the foundations of a new city were laid and several remnants of that time still remain, including the Great Mosque and its Ribat - one of a chain of fortresses which stretched along the Mediterranean coast. Both are located within Sousse's bustling medina where a cluster of souks sell everything from food and clothes to perfume and jewelry.
The Kasbah Museum houses an impressive collection of third- and fourth-century mosaics. It also offers commanding views over the city.
Monastir
Like Port El Kantaoui, Monastir is another largely purpose-built tourist town of pristine streets and lavish landscaping. It has an attractive marina and an old fishing port. Most of Monastir's tourist hotels are situated 5 to 6km (3 to 4 miles) west of the town center at Skanes close to Monastir-Skanes Airport - Tunisia's main international gateway for charter flights. Monastir's most impressive landmark is the golden-domed Bourguiba Mosque - the final resting place of the founder of modern-day Tunisia and its first president, Habib Bourguiba.
The town Ribat supposedly dates from the eighth century but it has been restored so many times that little of the original structure is left.
Mahdia
Mahdia is one of Tunisia's newest tourist towns which has been expanding rapidly since the creation of a tourist zone 5km (3 miles) west of the town centre. It is where the best beaches can be found. While Mahdia struggles to cling to its old way of life which revolved around weaving and a thriving fishing port, nearly every shop and stall in the medina is now geared towards tourism.
The Great Mosque may look ancient but it was only built in the 1960s as a replica of the 1000-year-old original.
Kairouan
Easily visited on a day trip from Port El Kantaoui, Sousse, Monastir or Mahdia, Kairouan is the most sacred city in Tunisia and Islam's fourth most important centre after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.
Within its medina, there are more than 50 mosques, the Great Mosque of Sidi Oqba being the star attraction. Originally constructed in AD 671, the existing building was built by the Aghlabids in AD 863. Sadly, non-Muslims are barred from entering the prayer hall with its 400 marble pillars and one of the world's oldest pulpits with 250 carved wooden panels. Rather incongruously, as well as being a spiritual centre, Kairouan is also a frenetic market town and the epicentre of Tunisia's cut-throat carpet-making industry.
Kerkennah
A small group of islands situated off the coast of Sfax, Tunisia's second city which is rarely visited by holidaymakers. There are two main inhabited islands, Chergui and Gharbi which are joined by a causeway.
Regular ferry services operate between Sfax and Kerkennah. The travel time is just less than an hour. Kerkennah makes a pleasant day trip, and for those seeking to get away from it all it is also worth considering staying several days.
DJERBA & THE SOUTH
Southern Tunisia has much to offer including the island resort of Djerba and some fascinating towns on the fringes of the Sahara Desert.
Djerba
A popular choice among holidaying Tunisians, Djerba is connected to the mainland by a causeway. There are also ferry services which operate between Ajim on Djerba and Jorf on the mainland. Although it is only 30km (19 miles) wide by 27km (17 miles) long, Djerba is said to have 354 mosques - one for every day of the Islamic calendar.
The main centre, Houmt Souk, is on the island's north coast, only 6.5 km (4 miles) from the airport at Mellita. Houmt Souk means 'marketplace' and this remains the town's primary purpose although it also benefits from tourism.
While most tourists stay at the big beach hotels within Djerba's tourist zone 10 to 11km (6 to 7 miles) east of Houmt Souk, accommodation in the town itself includes simple and comfortable fondouk hotels. Most have been built around old courtyards and are very atmospheric.
Midoun - Djerba's second-biggest town - springs to life on Fridays when its sprawling market attracts a large crowd of local people and tourists. It is worth arriving early as everything is over by lunchtime. Guellala is a big pottery-producing centre which uses local clay quarried from the hills above the village. Its main street is lined with shops piled high with pots and plates.
The El Ghriba Synagogue at Erriadh (also known as Hara Seghira) is one of the holiest Jewish shrines in North Africa.
The Chott El Jerid
The focal point of Tunisia's desert tourism industry, Chott El Jerid is one of a series of large salt lakes which lie lifeless in summer but evaporate during the winter to create inland seas.
Several oasis towns have sprung up around Chott El Jerid - notably Tozeur - now an established resort with a wide range of hotels - most of them situated in a designated tourist zone 3km (2 miles) from the town centre. Tozeur's Palmery comprises thousands of date palms watered by 200 springs. The old town district known as Ouled El Hadef comprises a network of narrow alleys which have changed little since the 14th century. Their distinctive pale yellow brickwork with geometric motifs is considered a marvel of Islamic art. There is a small airport at Tozeur served from Tunis by the domestic airline Tuninter with up to five flights a week. Nearby, Nefta is another oasis town best-known for its Corbeille, a deep gully filled with palm trees which can be explored on foot or by donkey.
Douz
Sometimes called 'The Gateway to the Desert', Douz is best visited on its Thursday market day which attracts traders from a wide area selling everything from dates and spices to sheep and camels. It is also a major centre for desert trekking - either by camel or in 4-wheel-drive vehicles.
Anyone planning a desert safari needs to inform the National Guard and ensure their vehicle is equipped with a full tool kit and handbook, spare tires, fuel and water, a compass and emergency rations. It is also advisable to hire a local driver.
The Douz Museum explores the history and culture of the Tunisian desert.
Douz also hosts an annual Festival of the Sahara (held in November or December each year), which includes camel and greyhound racing, folk dancing and poetry recitals.
Matmata
Has become a popular stopping point en route between Jerba and Tozeur since the making of the Star Wars movies; in the opening sequence of the original Star Wars movie, Matmata's troglodyte houses were featured.
The cave dwellings that date from the fourth century BC are built on two levels, consisting of storage rooms above with living accommodation below. Some are still inhabited and can be visited by arrangement with the owners. One or two have been turned into hotels - which makes for an unusual night's stay.
Another strange type of building found in the deep south of Tunisia are ksour - most often seen around Medenine and Tataouine. Made from mud and stone and three or four stories high, they were built around a courtyard and used as secure storage units for grain. One of the best-preserved is the Ksar Ouled Soltane, 24km (15 miles) east of Tataouine. Buildings in its first courtyard are more than 400 years old while the inner complex dates from around 1850.
An interesting day trip from Tozeur or Nefta is exploring the mountain villages of Tamerza, Chebika and Mides. The original village of Tamerza was abandoned after catastrophic flooding in 1969 but visitors can still walk through its eerily empty streets. |
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