Tunis, Tunisia: (NOTE: 30 photos tonight. Very tired. Very late. Again, forgive typos/errors.) The Explora II docked in the port city of La Goulette early this morning and Dave and I were up at 6:30a, readying for an 8-hour tour of Tunis - the Capital of Tunisia and home to nearly 3 million people. The weather has finally changed, the skies were clear and the temperatures were in the high 70s.
31 fellow cruisers joined us on a very nice coach. We had a driver, Ali, and a tour guide, Mohammed, and a very silent, unnamed security guard who shadowed us all day, probably due to this? Our first stop was to the Bardo Museum, but we had no fear today as the Prime Minister of Egypt and his wife, were also visiting the museum. Lots of black Mercedes and men in black suits.
The Bardo displays mosaics found locally. They were carefully removed from the floors, walls, or pool bottoms, by digging under the mosaic, the filling the gap with cement and lifting the murals out in one piece. Fascinating. Most of the mosaic pieces are smaller than a finger nail.
When touching the surface of the mosaics, they are completely smooth.
Mohammed explained how many of the mosaics were used to tell a story or honor a person. The above mosaic tells the story of hunting for a wild boar (in three levels, beginning at the bottom and working up), but not killing the boar - but pouring hot wax on it to blind it (thus the dude with a bucket), then they could take the boar back to the village and eat it whenever they wanted.
Speaking of wax... another mosaic tells the Greek myth of Odysseus having his sailors plug their ears with beeswax, then strapping hisownself to the ship so his ship could sail past the Sirens. This way his crew could not hear their enticing song, but Olysseus could, but would not be able to steer the ship to the Sirens and his certain death.
This mosaic shows the four seasons and Poseidon, with several symbols of Christianity in the center. Mohammed told us this mosaic was found at the bottom of a pool, so was not worn by foot traffic.
The building housing much of the mosaics was once the royal palace, and the palace architecture and decor is nearly as interesting as the mosaics.
the poet Virgil with two muses
Lion headed woman...
And that was our first stop! Very interesting. We also learned about how the the country taught blind people to be musicians, so the wives of the King could dance without another man (the musicians) seeing them dance.
Next stop was to the Tunis Medina, or old city, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This confusing maze of little streets and market stalls, restaurants, but mostly family homes... where three generations can live together, was fascinating. But first our bus parked at the kasbah - referred to as a fortress, but is now official national offices.
As we entered the Medina, we could see two different styles of minarets - or towers associated with a mosque.
The third type of Minaret is the domed style of Turkey.
There are two very interesting things about these huge doors. The first is that they are large and heavy and very difficult to open/close. Please notice a cut-out on the right door - like a secret little door? It is not even five feet tall, so most people would have to duck to enter the house, but it is certainly easier to open than the big doors! The other thing you may notice are two sets of metal door knocker rings - one up high and one below. Why? The taller, larger knockers are for men to use, and the lower pair are for women. Our guide demonstrated and the larger ring made quite a louder knock than the lower. This is so the Muslim lady of the house would know if a man or a woman was on the other side of the door, if it would be necessary to pull her headscarf on if it was a man knocking.
Mohammed gave us 30 minutes to shop in the medina, but we were at a loss. There were two types of shops - jewelry shops and tourist souvenir shops. The Jews of Tunis (1% of the population) run the gold market, and it was Saturday, so nearly all were closed. All the other jewelry shops sold much of the same things - silver - and the souvenir shops all sold the same things: pottery, shoes, leather bags, olive wood bowls... Nothing we needed nor desired. The market was very busy and very crowded on a Saturday and though we were the only cruise ship in port, there were many other tour buses at the medina. Not sure if they were on a package tour? (NOTE: at every port we have visited on this trip so far, the Explora II has been the only cruise ship in port.)
Are you still awake? Still with me?
Next on our tour today was a visit to a very nice/fancy hotel/spa restaurant on top of the hill where a big Catholic church was standing guard. (A cathedral devoted to King Louis of France.) We had no idea where we were being led for lunch, but were pretty surprised to dine in such splendor. Since the crowd was TWO tour buses with 30+ people, we were asked in advance if we wanted fish or beef. DT opted for the fish, but since I am allergic to shellfish and was not sure, I opted for the beef. When seated (with a man from Los Angeles, and a lovely couple from Mexico City), a nice Caesar salad was at our place setting. Then we were offered wine.
While driving in the bus today, Mohammed explained that the number one driver of the Tunisian economy was agriculture. Fruit. Dates. Cactus flowers used in Chanel No.5 perfume. Foods of all sorts and wine. Wine? He answered our question before we all could ask it: How does a 99% Islamic country make wine? He explained that as France colonized Tunisia for so many years, and brought their vines and cultivated grapes, the Tunisian muslims kinda started drinking wine. Yes, there are muslims who go to the mosque five times a day and never drink alcohol, but most of Tunisians do drink wine... and according to Mohammed, they drink quite a bit.
I will be truthful - I was highly suspect of north African wine, but was really impressed with the white served today. It was light and dry. Our Mexican friends enjoyed the red, and they were also very surprised at the quality.
The beef was super tender and served with some-sort of cream sauce with a hint of lemon. I think. Veggies were just steamed. DT had a small whole fish that was filleted. His veggies were roasted. Dave was also served a bowl of flavored rice - saffron, something citrusy, with green peas. Dessert was a very nice shortbread cookie with a lemon topping, fresh strawberries and a sprig of mint. A very lovely lunch. As we left the restaurant to board the bus, we saw groups of men in the hotel lobby bar smoking. How long has it been since we have seen someone smoking indoors?
Our last two stops were in the Carthage area: the very interesting Roman Baths of Antoninus ruins and Sidi Bou Said. Tunis has been built on-top-of for centuries and they are always unearthing all sorts of buildings, temples, and Roman ruins of every sort. If you can believe it, the Romans built an aqueduct from a mountain-top spring 100+ kilometers from Tunis) to bring fresh water to the town in AD 128, to baths, to public fountains in town, and even to some private homes (of really rich people). Present-day scientists are amazed at the math required to build this water system - engineered without the aid of calculators or computers. Slaves kept fires going under the baths to keep the water hot.
on top of the hill
This small bay/inlet hid an entire navy of ships from enemies. A cleverly designed canal allowed the ships to sail into the Mediterranean Sea, but the port was unseen by enemies.
Our last stop was to the old city of Sidi Bou Said, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, where years ago the town agreed to paint all the buildings white and paint all the trim blue. The streets are one-car wide and meander into another maze of humanity. We were able to walk the streets and shop, but again, nothing interested us and the shopkeepers were so aggressive, it really did not make for a pleasant experience, where everywhere else, the shopkeepers had been so pleasant.
on the right side.
(Not sure how this door is yellow? Rebel?)
We were dragging when we arrived to the ship at nearly 6p. Not a lot of steps today - 10,890 - but I had such a difficult time getting on/off that dang bus! The two steps into the coach were over 1 foot tall! Short Lady Problems. (Where is OSHA when you need them?)
Dave and I didn't go to dinner until 8p, dining at one of the "main" dining rooms, Fil Rouge. We each had Caesar salads (second one today!). I had rotisserie chicken with a bit of mashed potatoes and green beans. Dave had the steak frites. The service is so wonderful in the restaurants, you are always called by name, your wine glass is never empty and you are chastised if not ordering dessert. Such great staff on the Explora II.
Tomorrow is a sea day and boy-o-boy are my legs looking forward to a day of rest.
Monday: Sicily!
Until my next update, I remain, your souvenir-free correspondent.
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Love the Duck mosaic! Beautiful.