Tunisia

Tunis

Bienvenue a Tunis. What a great surprise, what a nice and interesting city. The capital of Tunisia, which is located in the north of Africa between Algeria and Libya and so close to Italy: just one hour by plane from Rome. Tunis is a spread-out city, with no tall buildings, a little hilly in some places. It is certainly a place to discover. The city is divided between a French part and in an Arabic part‎. Both are very interesting. The French part has several Art Nouveau buildings.

The Medina

In the Arabic part the beautiful Medina is still very well conserved. It is more than a thousand years old and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It offers a lot of local products and has old local charm. ‎It is open until 6 pm every day. ‎You can walk through its labyrinthine streets, starting in the Arabic part of the city and finishing in the French part in the Place de la Victoire, where the ex-British Embassy stands. In 1662 a treaty made by King Charles II led to the opening of a diplomatic legation, which existed until 2004. Today it is a hotel. 

The Medina of Tunis has a large souks which in fact is made up of more than 20 souks. The Arab souks, different to the European markets, are also residential and are where the merchants live. ‎They represent the economic centre of a City. In Tunis the most important area for commercial activity is near to the Grand Mosque. This is the most prestigious area. 

The souk is very large, sprawling over many streets. It is full of colour and aromas, especially in the area where they sell Jasmine flower necklaces, natural flowers mounted on sticks, oils and liquid and solid perfumes with local scents like musk and amber. Along their streets you can sit in historic cafés and drink very good mint tea. 

You can start your visit to the Medina in the Arab part, in the very large Place du Gouvernement, which leads to the antique building ‎of the Dar El Bey, which is today the office of the prime minister. At the time that I visited there were lots of flowering bougainvillea. 

Have a look in the Sidi Youssef Mosque that has wonderful and old Ottoman minarets. It was constructed in around 1630 in the El-Trok Souk.

The Souk El-Attarine sells perfumed oils. Different perfumes have different meanings for Tunisians. For instance, if you are invited to a wedding you will wear orange blossom essence. Tunisians do not use perfumes during Ramadan. I recommend you to buy Henna solid perfume, which is not expensive. They are excellent for wardrobes and luggage. I very much like the perfumes of the Middle East. Imagine that the shops in the souk have been selling these products since the XIII century. Generations go by and the shops still survive the inexorable passage of time! 

‎You can see 3 Islamic schools and the Mosque of Hammouda Pasha. 

There are many shops selling carpets and a mix of antique, or old things, spices and excellent dates to take back home as a souvenir. They are good and cost between 10 and 20 dollars for a box. 

You will notice lots of interesting lamps and local paintings hanging in the shops alongside Nabeul ceramics and colourful embroidered tunics. The variety is endless and well priced, depending in your taste. ‎You can buy a Narghile and the fruit tobacco to smoke at home with family and friends, taking away some of the Tunis culture. By the way the Narghile or Shisha is also smoked in Turkey and most Middle Eastern Countries. Fifteen years ago I bought 2 beautiful hand painted glass Narghiles with Sultans’ faces on them and made a beautiful pair of lamps. 

You can sit in the Café Ez-Zitouna and have drinks and smoke narghile.

I found very beautiful hand embroidered linen tunics with the traditional hand embroidered gilets, in addition to hats for men and children. The prices were really good for the quality. 

Look out for super nice straw hats, that have been worked so that they look as though they have a silver finish. That make a very nice and original souvenir for friends and family, they only cost 10 dollars.

The wooden puppets are nice. I am making a chandelier from them, suspending them from a metal frame. I bought several in different sizes. In nearby Sicily they have very similar puppets.

‎There are shops that sell a lot of sandals and babouche, similar to the Moroccan ones.

I found charming old shops that sell felt hats. The linen bed covers are very reasonably priced, as are the colourful beach towels and hammam towels. It is best to buy them in the shops in the middle of the souk, where prices are better. At the start or end of the market the shops are always more expensive.  There are interesting local sweet shops and some modern boutiques with some very nice objects. 

There are a lot of straw panier (baskets) ‎and some very nice Berber jewels. 

There is a street at the beginning of the market near the Arab area where you can see and buy men’s local clothes ‎and capes. I bought some for me in many nice colours. They will be a hit this summer.

Another thing to buy in Tunis is red coral, which is nice and not expensive. There are lots of models of coral necklaces and the prices are very good. You can also get old pieces that you can use to make a pendant at home. Normally red coral is expensive in Europe.

Don’t forget to bargain. Prices for tourists are normally a lot higher than for locals.

In the souk stands the Ez-Zitouna Mosque, which calls the faithful to prayer several times a day. As in many other cities, such as Istanbul or Marrakech, there are beautiful mosques in the souk, where the life of the city and business has been going on for hundreds of years.  The Ez-Zitouna Mosque has been standing in the middle of the souk since the VIII century. It has been restored several times, but maintains its original shape, with its beautiful marble walls and porticos. 

‎In the souk you can find antique residences and palaces that lie behind interesting entrances. Entering you discover cafés with flowered terraces, where you can sit to have a mint tea or other local drinks.

Fortunately, the souk still conserves a traditional atmosphere, walking aroundit the streets are not too crowded so you can enjoy and observe the past and the present local ways of life. In addition, the vendors are not as pushy as in other souks or markets in the world. The principal streets in the souk are Rue Jemaa Zitouna and Rue de la Kasbah, where you will find a lot of the shops.

Souk El-Trouk is a Turkish market ‎from the XVII century situated between the Souk el Attarine, perfume market and the El-Berka souk, which used to be the slave market.

Near of the Grand Mosque you can have a look at Palais d’Orient, one of the famous carpet shops in Tunis from where you have a good view of the city.

In Café Mrabet you can have a nice mint tea or a nice meal on the veranda, which looks like a miniature garden. The restaurant is on the first floor overlooking one side of the mosque. The restaurant is quite expensive. You can also listen to music, smoke shisha (narghile), have a mint tea or a meal, the inside part of the café is very nice, all painted, with small tables and comfortable cushions to sit on. It has a very nice atmosphere.

In the Medina you should also visit:

• Dar Othman, one of the oldest and most impressive buildings in the Medina.
• Dar Ben Abdallah, which is the museum of arts and popular traditions 
• Medersa El Mouradia is a Muslim school.
• Dar Hussein, which is a splendidly restored palace.
• ‎Tourbet el-Bey, which is a mausoleum museum. 
• Dar El Haddad, one of the oldest palaces of the Medina.
• Kasbah Mosque, built in the XIII century
• ‎Rue du Pacha today divides the Medina in a North South direction. During the Ottoman empire it divided in two the most elegant part of the town.
• ‎Rue de la Hafsia used to be a Jewish area, before they moved to the Nouvelle Ville during the XIX century. 
• Sidi Mehrez Mosque
• Dar Lasram is a very nicely restored palace ‎in the Medina, worth a visit. 

If you want to exchange money, then it is better to do so in the souk. You will find several banks that change money. It is easy to pay with Euros. Dollars are less accepted and it takes a while for them to check the exchange rate. 

Ville Nouvelle

You can leave the souk in the Place de La Victoire and the Arc de Triomphe, also known as Bab-el-Bhar. Here you are in front of the Ville Nouvelle, the arch is the symbolic border between the Old Tunis quarter and the French part of the city, Ville Nouvelle, with beautiful street cafés, similar to Paris. Many of the buildings are in the Art Nouveau style and tell us the story of Tunis’ colonial past. Most of the people in Tunis speak French and Arabic. 

During the period of the French Protectorate, between 1881 and 1956, ‎the wealthy people of Tunis started moving outside the walls of the Medina. They constructed new buildings in very wide avenues and the people of Tunis started to move from small and narrow streets of the Medina to the wide European looking avenues. The new buildings were contemporary to the Art Nouveau period in France and Italy followed by the Art Deco period. No other style was so well integrated with the Islamic architecture. 

The notable Avenue Habib Bourguiba and the surrounding streets make us feel like we are in France. It connects the port and train station to the Medina is a very wide avenue bordered by trees. It is full of nice cafés and restaurants. The Café de París, located near the Hotel Africa, is where the Ecole de Tunis was born during 1949 by famous Tunisian painters. It is still a popular meeting place in the city. 

‎Visit the national Bardo Museum, which is housed in an impressive old Beylic palace of the XVIII century, which has excellent examples of Islamic art, Greek statues and fantastic Roman mosaics.

‎The Hotel Majestic used to be one of the best of Tunis, a beautiful building.

The construction of the Cathedral of St Vincent de Paul was started in 1890.

The Theatre ‎Municipal was built by the French in Art Nouveau style at the beginnings of the nineteen-hundreds.

Central Market, where still today locals buy their food

Belvedere Park is a large and beautiful park, which was created in 1892 by Josepha de Laforcade, the most famous landscape gardener in France. In the beginning it was closed to the public and was inaugurated in 1910.  It has 230,000 trees and 80 plant species. It also has a botanical garden. 

Sidi Bou Said

You must not miss the lovely, little blue and white town of Sidi Bou Said, a suburb of Tunis on the sea, known as the village of the artists, which became internationally famous after Paul Klee, A Macke and others visited and stayed longer than planned to paint with the Tunisian light that transformed their paintings.

Baron Rodolphe d’Erlanger gave the town its blue and white colours. He was a member of a wealthy German banking family and visited Tunisia when he was only 16 years old. It changed his life after he chose to be a painter and not a banker. The place where the Palace for his wife was constructed was chosen so as not to spoil the look of the town. The Palace has a fantastic view of the Gulf of Tunis and the town. The Baron’s tomb is in the splendid gardens. Today there are concerts and musical events held there. Maybe you are lucky enough to be there when they hold one. 

Although the doors of the buildings in the town look similar, because they are all the same colour, they are all quite different. Look at them carefully!

You can find very unusual shaped bird cages in different sizes. Sidi Bou Said is famous for these bird cages made with metal wire, usually painted in white, that look like miniature mausoleums: very unusual. I saw a very big one that my friend Pilar bought in Tangier for her house, but as it was very big I didn’t get one. This time I got a medium sized one. Also very typical is the Hand of Fatima talisman that keeps away back luck: it will protect you! The five fingers symbolize the five pillars of Islam and the Muslim prayer that takes place five times a day. 

Sidi Bou Said is well worth a visit. It is quite distinctive with its white walls and blue doors and windows, hilly streets and colourful purple bougainvillea. There are lots of shops, boutiques, restaurants, cafés, bars, and art galleries.   From the hill there is an incredible view of the Gulf of Tunis. The town reminds one of the towns in the Greek Islands. 

‎The village is a Sufist center, that attracts a lot of pilgrims, who visit the small mosque that was constructed by order of Hassan ibn Ali Bey.

You can drink something in the Café des Nattes, a gathering place for artists in the past. Here you can drink a mint tea with pine nuts.

‎You can visit some of the important houses of the town, open to the public, such as Dar El-Annabi (18 rue Docteur Habib Thameur). The terrace offers a spectacular view of the Gulf and is not far from the Café Des Nattes. Also interesting is the Café Sidi Chaabane that also has a great view. Worth a visit is the nice old port and the yacht marina. Of interest is also the Center of Arab and Mediterranean Music, constructed between 1912 and 1922 by Baron d’Erlanger.

La Goulette

Near to the Capital, La Goulette is an old Tunisian Fort. The city developed around the construction of the port during the XVII century with the assistance of Dutch engineers. It used to be frequented by pirates, authorized by the Sultan Hafsida Mohamed V who was afraid of a Spanish attack. In fact, he was defeated by them. Charles V constructed a fortress, that was later destroyed, following which the Ottomans constructed a Kasbah that is still there today.

‎La Goulette is a part of the Tunis port, for ferries and passenger vessels going to Italy and France.  It is a big fishing port, full of nice wood boats. It also has some very good fresh fish restaurants in the Main street. You can admire the fish in the entrances of the restaurants, which are considered the best fish restaurants in Tunis.

The Pirates

The pirates played a very important role in the history of Tunis from the middle of the XVI century to the beginning of the eighteen-hundreds. The most famous pirate in Tunis was Khair al-Din‎ (named Redbeard), who was of Turkish origin. He installed himself on the island of Djerba and in 1534 conquered Tunis. During the Ottoman period a lot of very expensive merchandise were transported by sea. The pirates attacked the ships and took the precious merchandise, getting richer and richer, especially during the period of the Husaynidi that sustained them. 

Cap Bon Peninsula

‎Some geologists think that the Cap Bon Peninsula on the Mediterranean Sea was a piece of land that used to connect Africa with Europe. Sicily is only 140 km away from Tunis. Cap Bon is named as such because it looks like a green and beautiful garden. It is the most agricultural region of the country. The French planted citrus trees and vines here in the XIX century. A lot of Tunisian wines are produced here.

Carthage

Carthage was founded in 814 BC by the Phoenicians. Today you can see only a few ruins, which survive from one of the most important cities of the ancient world.  We have all seen the movies about the story of this city. It is incredible today to imagine how it used to be and that now it is a residential suburb of Tunis, full of flowers and beautiful houses. 

From the hills of Byrsa, you have a wonderful view of all the area.

During the IV century BC Carthage was the most powerful city in the Mediterranean. During the Punic wars the city was totally destroyed. But with the Romans it came alive again and was occupied by others, until it was conquered by the Arabs.

‎You have to visit Saint Louis Cathedral on the hill of Byrsa, which was constructed in 1890 under the orders of Cardinal Lavigerie and dedicated to the King Louis IX of France, and the Carthage museum, which has some very interesting pieces from the Punic wars and the Roman, Christian and Arab periods.

Not far from there is Hadrian’s theatre where in summer there are performances during International Festivals. 

You should also go and see the ruins of the Amphitheatre, which was one of the largest in the Roman Empire. Don’t miss the Roman villas, built during Caesar Augustus’s reign, when the economy was very prosperous and people constructed big important villas, that today are covered with vegetation, but you can still see some beautiful mosaic floors that have been restored. You can also see the remains of St. Cyprian’s Basilica. 

Go to the Thermes d’Antonin, which can be visited in a horse and carriage, that you can rent at the station of Carthage Hannibal, during the summertime. However, you should fix the price with the driver before you start the ride. If not, you will have a terrible discussion when you finish the two-hour ride and he will charge you a fortune. 

Hammamet 

Along the east coast are the beautiful and famous beaches of Hammamet and Nabeul: 25 km of beaches. This is where every summer lots of European tourists come for their vacations in the large resorts and luxurious hotels. There is accommodation available at all prices.

Hammamet has the best beaches in Tunisia and is located half-way between Tunis and Sousse. Visit the medina, full of shops and cafés, where you can have mint tea and smoke shisha and see the real life of the country. 

Have a look to the Kasbah‎, which is an Arab fortress from the XV century, which you will find near the principal door for entering the Medina and from where you will see a beautiful view of the sea and the rooves of the city. 

The Medina is full of shops selling souvenirs of all kinds, carpets, old jewellery and imitations. Go down the the first road on the left once you enter the medina and you will find the Turkish baths. The mornings are for men and the afternoons for women.

Visit Dar Hammamet you can see a traditional Tunisian house and a collection of dresses from all over the country. Visit the large mosque in the medina, constructed in 1236, that has been restored several times. Along the Habib Bourguiba, principal street of Hammamet, you will find restaurants, cafés and shops. This is also where the nightlife of the place takes place. Nearby in the square there is a fish and vegetable market every morning.

Tunisian food

The best places to try Tunisian food are the Cafés. Tunisian food is nice and the harissa condiment (made from chili) is always present in the local food. The most traditional dish is couscous. The most traditional couscous is based on vegetables and lamb, all cooked very slowly in the coucoussier. Another traditional dish is the Kamounia, a very aromatic plate of beef or lamb cooked with cumin and other spices. In the coastal areas you can eat very good grilled octopus and shrimp and Complet, a whole fish, served with salad.

You can try the most popular snack, which is Brick à l’oeuf (fried egg inside pastry) and also try the Deglet Fatima (fingers of filo pastry with egg or other filling), that we were talking before, which bring good luck and protection. Try the Salade Tunisienne, based on tuna fish. The traditional pizza also has tuna. We were invited for dinner in friend’s house and we tried several nice traditional dishes, based on vegetables and egg, like scrambled eggs with tomato and other vegetables with very thin sausages on top. They were very tasty. We also had some toasts with tuna paste and other ingredients. People in Tunis are very friendly and invite you to their home for dinner or to have a mint tea with nice almond or pistachio sweets. 

Soups are also traditional dishes. There are several types and they are not expensive. The Lablabi ‎based on chickpeas and harissa is the most common in Tunis. Try Chorba, with broth of beef, lamb or fish. This soup is spicier than the Lablabi. Before ordering the food, be sure to ask for less chili if you re not fond of spicy food. The Tunisian people love to have chili with their food. They say that they measure the love of the wife from the amount of harissa they eat with their meals. 

The Tunisian food is a fusion between Berber and the food of the countries that in‎ the past dominated Tunisia, such as the Arabs, Romans, Phoenicians, French and the Turks.

There is a very good and a big variety of fresh fish along the coasts of Tunisia, normally cooked on the grill and with cumin. If you don’t like this spice, always ask if it is present as a condiment of the dishes you re eating. You can also  eat  chicken, meat and vegetables that are not expensive, in the restaurants called gargottes.

Other nice and traditional dishes are Tajine, which are different to those in Morocco, and consist of an omelette with vegetables and meat. 

Try Salade Mechouia, which is made of roasted peppers ‎,tomatoes and onion, tuna and boiled eggs. 

‎Inland the principal dish is lamb stew with couscous, buckwheat, pasta and beansi. Mixed grilled meat is very common. I asked for one for lunch in the restaurant of the Sheraton hotel in Tunis. They served me a huge plate full of 10 different pieces of meat, including chicken, lamb, sausage, liver, and all for 20 dollars in a good restaurant. If you like meat, it is excellent. In the North of the country in the hunting season you can eat wild boar and in the south you can try camel meat. 

In Tunisia they produce large quantities of vegetables and dates, figs and oranges, which they export for a very good price for a short period of time, ‎when they are the first to have them mature, then other country\’s have their fruit ready and the prices go down ,and there is a big competition. 

Sweets:

• Baklava, of Turkish origin 
• Makroud (made with dates) 
• Bouza, which is a cream served during Ramadan 
• Mhalbya is a rice pudding, with walnutsand geranium water 
• Mille feuille (French sweet) 
• Samsa, which is filo paste with almonds and sesame seeds, with rose water 
• Youyou is a fried doughnut dipped in honey 
• Kahk is based on almonds and is less sweet 

All these sweets are served with the traditional mint tea. If you don’t like very sweet drinks tell them in advance, because normally they have large quantities of sugar in them.

Tunisia has been producing good white and red wines for 2000 years.‎

• Red: Chateau Feriani, Coteaux d’Utique, Chateau Defleur, Lambolt. 
• Rosé which the locals drink a lot: Tyna, Chateau  Saint Agustín, Princess, Elissa .
• White: Coteaux de Carthage‎.

It is worthwhile trying them!

They produce a good local beer, Celtia.

Restaurants in Tunis (expensive):

• ‎Dar Bel Hadj, restaurant in the Medina, very nice and elegant, and the food is very good in an old villa, with a big garden (17 Rue des Tamis, Medina, tel 71200894).
• Dar El Jeld is reputed to be the best restaurant in Tunis. It is in a restructured palace. Diplomats and politicians take their guests here. The Tunisian food is excellent (5 rue  ‎Dar el-jeld, tel 71560916).
• Dar Hammouda Pacha is an elegant restaurant. The menu offers all the classics of the Tunisian Cuisine. The restaurant is in a splendid palace of the XVII century in the heart of the Medina. It is also possible to go for tea time. (56 Rue Sidi Ben Arous, tel 71561746).
• Essaraya, also in the Medina, in an impressive restructured old villa, where they serve very good Tunisian food, such as Tajine with pistachio and lamb. There is also a café, where you can drink mint tea and smoke Narghile. (6 rue Ben Mahmoud, Souk Essakajine Medina, tel 71560310 /71563091).
• Le Boeuf sur le Toit. Young wealthy people like to go to this trendy restaurant, which has international cooking, live music, such as jazz or blues (on Thursdays), rock on Fridays, and an international DJ on Saturdays. (3 Avenue Fatouma Bourguiba 2036 tel 71764807).
• Le Diwan has a big shop of crafts and a very good art gallery plus excellent food. It is in the same part of city as Dar El Jeld. ‎It is also very nice for tea time, with excellent sweets. (10 Rue Dar el -Jeld 1008 tel 71560916).
• Le Dome is a very good restaurant for gourmets in one of the most beautiful palaces of the city. It has very original Mediterranean food and also some Tunisian specialities, good wines and desserts. (Tunisia Palace, 13 Avenue de France tel 71345478).

Restaurants (reasonable price) 

• Carcassonne is a restaurant that is open since many years. Mostly Tunisian people go there. It has very good Tunisian and French food as well as pasta and pizza. You also can have good fast food‎. (8 Avenue de Carthage, tel 71256768). 
• Chez Abid is a simple place, with paper table clothes, but with very good sea food. It has excellent couscous with fish and fish soup. (4 Rue du Caire, tel 71996341)
• Andalous has Tunisian specialities, French food and excellent fish, meat and fish couscous. (13 Rue de Marseille, tel 71241754).
• Las Margaritas is small and nice in the centre of the city, in the basement of the old hotel La Maison Doree. It has French food and a very good plate of the day. (Hotel la Maison Doree ‎,3 Rue el -Kufa, tel 71240632).
• La Closerie is a very trendy restaurant and bar with good International food (Route de la Soukra -Sidi Fradj – La Soukra tel +21670938537 -+21629538677).

Bars and Restaurants in Hammamet

• Sidi Bou Hdid has a very nice terrace at the foot of the Old Medina looking out to sea. It is very nice at sunset to have some drinks on the terrace, although it is always quite full of people.
• La Brise. ‎The food is good although the place is nothing special. The speciality is Couscous de la Maison. (2 avenue de la Republique 8050, tel 72278910).
• Resto Vert is a ‎small bistro serving Tunisian and international food (Avenue de la Republique, tel 72278200).
• Chez Anchour, where you can eat good fish, that you can choose before ‎to be cooked, the terrace and the interiors are nice in Moorish style, also lamb  is very good. (rue Ali Belhouane, tel 72280140).
• Pomo d’oro, Tunisian and International cuisine (6 avenue Habib Bourguiba).
• Le Trois Moutons, the best restaurant in town, and with a view of the city and the bay, with great fish specialities (Centre Commercial‎)
• Le Voilier, ‎in the port of Yasmine. Excellent fish and fruit de mer, elegant dress code required. Interiors looking like a yacht. (Port Jasmine, tel 72240522).
• La Scala, an elegant Italian restaurant, the favorite of the former Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi ‎.The food is very good and has some tables in a nice garden. Try the fish and the pasta, which are delicious. (tel 77280768).

Thank you to the Mondadori guide of Tunisia. It was my great companion during this trip, the Mondadori guides are my first choice when I find them, my favourites. They have lots of information, good tips and suggestions and are very well written. The Best!