A Trip To Tunis

The weather in Delhi is great these days…alternating between bone chilling  cold, showers of hail ( this January a lot of records are being broken, the numerous news channels tell us)  and the glorious sun. It is the weather which reminded me of my visit to Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, some years back, around this time of the year….  one of my numerous visits to promote Indian tea. And I hope it is just a coincidence that all these places I visited ended up in turmoil later…..believe me I had nothing to do with it !!

Tunis was a delight…and my delight lay in the bright blue Mediterranean, the roman ruins and  the quaint narrow cobbled alleys of the Medina. The Medina, founded by the Arabs in the 17^th century was once all that Tunis was, till the city oozed out of it into a bustling town. Today Medina is a Unesco world heritage site with its architectural marvels, the maze of alleys, arched winding streets lined with tall mansions, palaces, local markets with souvenir shops ……the beating heart of Tunis.

 

As one made way through the Place Du Gouvernement, into the souqs filled with touristy stuff…glittering Alibaba-Marjina costumes, Tunisian head gear, pottery, jewellery, Arabian trinkets, lucky charms, blue eyes (nazarbattus)…. one couldn’t resist peeping into some of the old houses on the way. Tried my luck and asked one of the locals at the door of one such mansion if I could see it from the inside. Friendly guy…was most accommodating. We went through a small ante room and reached an open courtyard with a beautiful tiled facade and then up the narrow stairs which seemed to be going up in a turret suddenly opening into a large rooftop terrace. And what a rooftop ?!!...the walls and pillars were covered with painted blue Andalusian tiles, the hues shining brightly in the sunshine….I cannot really describe it… the photos should help.

                                              

 

The houses all seemed to be joined at the rooftop level….much like our very own Chandni Chowk in Delhi. You could perhaps go for a rooftop walk, from one house to the other…the skyline only broken by the towers of the Zaytouna mosque. The entire Medina seemed to be either emerging from or converging at the Zaytouna mosque….the mosque was like an oasis of calm in the bustling souq area, built and rebuilt over the years    since 734 AD.

All my travels seem to take me to all these fascinating countries round the Mediterranean, with a rich history, the remnants of which are seen as a living part of the city…not merely as tourist attractions which are ticketed and overrun with camera wielding men & women of all ages and sizes. Not that I have anything against tourists…after all one is part of them too. But the virgin, unexplored hinterlands are something else altogether, where the sound of the waves and the stones seem to be speaking in the silent environs…one is transported to that era, feeling part of the history itself.

One of such locations near Tunis was Carthage, the ancient Phoenician city which challenged Rome, in the ninth century BC. The first settlers here were people from Tyre in Phoenicia. According to legend their leader was a princess named Elissa, who was forced to flee from Tyre after her brother, king Pygmalion, had killed her husband. After founding Carthage, she committed suicide to prevent a war against the native population. Well that is legend…but according to historians the founders of Carthage were more likely merchants and farmers, who found this great place for the city where it controlled trade between the eastern and western parts of the Mediterranean, and had access to good agricultural resources. The city ultimately fell to the Romans, but even the defeated Carthage remained an important city commanding the trade route.

One took this opportunity of visiting the remains of Carthage, largely those from the Roman period including the baths, amphitheatre, the aqueducts and the St. Louis chapel that stands on the Bysra Hill. The district, when I visited seemed very affluent, with elite schools, big chalets and President's Ben Ali’s own seaside residence. Don’t miss the snap I clicked with the rainbow ending on the President’s house (the white building behind the greenery) which I am told looked like a bag of gold from the inside. I wonder what the area looks like now after the Arab spring which saw the last of the ill fated President.

However, the best part of my visit to Tunis was yet to come. The beautiful, fascinating, breathtaking, stunning..….please add a few more of similar  adjectives….seaside hill town of Sidi Bu Said. I don’t think I need to say any more than the adjoining photos would speak.

            The entire town is located on top of a steep cliff, which overlooks the Mediterranean Sea. The spotless white walls of the quaint houses contrasting sharply with the bright blue windows, on the narrow cobbled streets, with the Mediterranean in the background…this is what a fairy tale village must look like. The entire town is simply beautiful, flowers draping from almost every wall and doorway, and beautiful flowing vines hanging throughout the entire area. Little cafes spring on you at the most unexpected of places. We landed up in one such café at the edge of the cliff, with its terraces looking down on the Mediterranean. One can still remember that evening vividly…….the fragrance of the coffee, the apple flavoured hookah (sheesha as the Arabs call it), the sun setting into the sea ….. The view from Sidi Bou Said is absolutely phenomenal. The beauty has attracted many artistes and writers who have taken up residence here.

            With my work ending in Tunis, I reluctantly had to leave still wanting to explore more…..but I have been singularly lucky I must say, having the opportunity to visit such countries which may not find mention in every tourists list of ‘must see’ places, but which believe me are much more fascinating and yet unexplored, than the oft travelled trails of Europe and the USA. Perhaps I will write next time of my visit to the coffee lands of Colombia, in South America….