Tunis | Zigzagging with Bill and Paige

I’ve had an immense fear of flying (crashing) which has improved a lot in the past few years but it’s always there.

We’ve been flying Egyptian Air while in Egypt because they are the only game in town. Their safety record isn’t that good (4 out of 7).

We needed to get from Cairo to Tunis, Tunisia and the only direct flight was on Egyptian Air. Four hours. I couldn’t do it so instead we flew Royal Jordanian Air (7 out of 7) from Cairo to Amman, Jordan to Tunis flying east to fly west adding an additional five hours of flight time to the day. Poor sweet Bill…

My mother and sister had a cruise stop in Tunis right after 911. While my mother was looking at trinkets the shopkeeper said to her “Death to America”. So for 24 years that’s all I’ve known about Tunisia.

Warranted or not before I was a tiny bit reluctant about going. Perception is reality, right?

Tunis felt like a European city – especially after all the countries we just explored. It’s the capital and located in Northern Africa bordered by Algeria, Libya and the Mediterranean.

Carthage adjoins Tunis and was a powerful city in times of antiquity. In the mid-2nd century they fought many wars with Rome. Rome destroyed the town of Carthage and ruled for next 500 years. The Romans just moved further up the hill above Carthage, and the typical amphitheater and wee-preserved villas remain. In the 7th century the Arabs converted the Berbers to Islam and in the late 19th century it became a French colony. The country gained its independence in 1956.

I tell you this because they seem to inhabit these cultures. They speak, Berber, Arabic, Tunisian Arabic, and French. English is not on their radar and only some hotel workers speak it. Arabic is their primary language with French spoken on the news and in their government.

It’s interesting to me, after coming from more stringent Muslim countries, that for a country that’s 98% Muslim women’s clothing ranged from abayas with hijabs to no head covering, tank tops and shorts.

We toured what’s left of Carthage. Now just ruins and a UNESCO World Heritage site. History runs deep here. In the classical world it was one of the most affluent cities and one of the most important trading hubs in the Mediterranean.

Lucky for us and unplanned, the Medina (another UNESCO site) was closed for their traditional Sunday holiday from work. A few shopkeepers and cafes were open but we got to stroll unburdened by crowds. Feral cats and trash covered the ground while exquisite doors and beautiful bougainvillea garnished the walls. It was great fun getting lost within the narrow alleyways. We need our GPS to find our way out. It’s full of shops, mosques, palaces, cafes, restaurants, homes and madrasas.

Counter to the quietness of our Medina visit was the overcrowded (rightfully so) and beautiful seaside town of Sidi Bou Said, reminiscent of Greece with white washed buildings with blue trim and doors.