Posts tagged travelling

Letters from Tunisia: Tozeur, Monastir, Chott el Djerid Lake, the best for the end…

Adventure Travel 6 Comments

My dear travellers and lovers of unusual trips, welcome to the new series of travelogues on the Mr.M blog. The month of August will be dedicated to an unusual country on the African continent – Tunisia, a country known for its olives. At the very beginning of this seventh and the last post in the series of travelogues, I would like to thank the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia – Discover Tunisia for the kind invitation and hospitality. With their help, travelogues and fashion stories were created that you could read during the months of July and August as well, and I sincerely hope that you will enjoy the rest of summer season of posts on the Mr.M blog.

If by any chance you missed reading the previous travelogues from Tunisia or you want to remind yourself of some interesting things, take the opportunity to visit the following links:

The Republic of Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa. It is part of the Maghreb region of North Africa, bordering Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. It houses the archaeological sites of Carthage dating back to the 9th century BC, as well as the Great Mosque of Kairouan.

Tunisia is known for its ancient architecture, markets and blue shores, it covers approximately 164,000 km2 and has a population of around 12 million. It contains the eastern end of the Atlas Mountains and the northern part of the Sahara Desert, and much of the remaining territory of Tunisia is arable land. With almost 1,300 km of coastline, it includes the African junction of the western and eastern parts of the Mediterranean basin. Tunisia is home to the northernmost point of Africa – Cape Angel, and its capital and largest city is Tunis, located on its northeastern coast, after which the country gets its name.

The seventh and also the last blog post from the series of travelogues about Tunisia will be dedicated to the cities of Tozeur and Monastir, as well as the famous large Endorean salt lake in southern Tunisia – Chott el Djerid. As the title of the travelogue says, I saved the best for last! Tozer is a city in Tunisia on the border of the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara desert, the largest of the five oases that make up the Djerid. Gradually built around its palm grove, it is the capital of the province of the same name. Located northwest of Chot el Djerid, near the border with Algeria.

A city with an important religious past, welcomes many scientists. Ibn Chabbat bequeathed him an irrigation system for palm groves, and the poet Abou el Kacem Chebbi composed his famous Ela Toghat Al Alaam there, in the midst of the French protectorate. The modern topography of Tozeur pays tribute to them, as well as the marabouts. The city experienced significant demographic growth, along with significant expansion, during the second half of the 20th century, with the sedentarization of the Bedouin. It moves from about 11,000 inhabitants to 37,365 inhabitants in a few decades, according to the 2014 census.

The architecture of its architectural heritage, especially that of its medina characterized by raised brick patterns, is unique in Tunisia, along with that of the neighboring city of Neft. Agriculture, especially the monoculture of dates of the Deglet Nour variety, represents its main resource, which represents a third of the production of dates in Tunisia. The brickyard is still in operation, for the needs of many construction sites. Since the 1990s, the municipality of Tozeur has been developing tourism, under the leadership of the then mayor, Abderrazak Cherait. This development is based, among other things, on the presence of an international airport and numerous hotels, on the promotion of heritage and filming locations, as well as on the organization of the Oasis International Festival.

“Tozeur” is the official transcription of the city’s name in Latin letters; another transcription of Tunisian Arabic was “Tuzer”. According to Vincent Batesti, the name of the city is pronounced “Tuzor”. Count Antoine-Auguste du Pati de Clam, officer, colonial administrator, archaeologist and member of the Paris Geographical Society, put forward four hypotheses about the origin of the name Tozeur: The first assumes that the name already existed in ancient Egypt in the form Tes-Hor, meaning “city of the sun “, which the Greeks later transformed into Apollonites; a colony from this city could bear the same name.

Another hypothesis indicates that it comes from the name of the pharaoh Tauserta – which means “powerful” in Egyptian – who ascended the throne after the death of her husband Seti II (pharaoh from the XIX dynasty and grandson of the famous pharaoh Ramses II). The city of Tozeur would represent the tribute that a Cushitic colony paid to this queen, who was the last representative of the dynasty. This hypothesis is confirmed by the architecture of Tozer, which is characterized by the use of earthen bricks dried in the sun and then baked. Ancient Egypt is known to have used such knowledge in its urban constructions.

A third hypothesis indicates that the word would be a Berber feminine form of the adjective “strong”, Taouser, which form would mean “strong”. In 205 BC, the Berber kingdom of Massinis extended to this city. Charles-Joseph Tiso also defends this etymology.

The last hypothesis assumes that the name Tozeur is one of the forms of the name Ucuur, which means “that of Asura” or “that which comes from Asura”, because the name of the city would be a tribute that the Assyrian would return the colony to its original homeland.

Tozeur is located along an elongated hill of several kilometers, which separates two salt lakes, Chott el-Jerid in the south and Chott el-Gharsa in the northwest. It is part of Jerida or Djerida, the most important of the five oases, on the borders of the Sahara desert. A small mountain range, Jebel Mora, is located east of the city. As such, Tozer is part of the Atlas fold, which stretches from Morocco to western Tunisia. The Tozeur region belongs to the southern Tunisian Atlas, which is characterized by chots composed of Upper Carboniferous sedimentary basins.

This region is known for its lush oases in the middle of the desert and is of geological and geomorphological interest. Sebkhas, characterized by fine moist saltwater sediments in winter, and cracked surfaces of mud with salt and gypsum crusts in summer, cover the bottom of the chota, where very sparse vegetation is found. The city, which covers 1,256 hectares, is surrounded by a palm grove that is connected to its urban center, an area of about 1,000 hectares, which covers about 400,000 trees. The main plant species that grows naturally in Tozeur is prosopis, a fodder and bee plant that reaches a height of five meters at the age of fifteen.

The region has an ancient settlement, especially during the prehistoric civilization of the Capsians and, like the whole of North Africa, it is based on a Berber origin, even if the local tradition does not claim it: it is really positioned on the Arab that makes the connection with the prophet Muhammad. The first scientific descriptions of Tozeur date from the end of the 19th century, and these writings are marked by an obsession with the search for Roman ruins. The history of Jerrid remains rather poorly known, Pati du Clam’s Chronological Fastes of Tozeur in 1890 being the main source available on Tozeur’s past.

In ancient times, Tozer quickly became an active center of the trans-Saharan caravan trade, frequented by the Carthaginians. In 148 BC, he is cited by Ptolemy, who calls him “Tisouros”. The Romans, in full conquest of the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, settled there in 33 BC, the city was then named “Thusuros” in the Peitinger table. Apart from that, only the testimonies of Pliny the Elder remain, lyrical but precious, describing the heavenly beauty of this place. The city became a post office on the Saharan Limes, on the Roman road leading from Gabes to Biskra, specializing in the trade of dates and slaves. From the Christian influence under St. Augustine, there are remains of the church taken over by the El Qasr Mosque, located in Bled el Hadar, and certain rites such as the Sidi Juba which consists of the baptism of boys before circumcision.

The arrival of Muslims in VII. century coincides with the peak of agriculture and trade. During the Middle Ages, the Tozeur region was called “the land of Castile”, as mentioned by the famous Arab geographer Al-Bakri, who also points out that Tozeur, surrounded by a large stone wall, is a metropolis. This name comes from a series of fortified villages called castella. Over time, Tozeur and its surroundings became a refuge for various dissidents (Christian Donatists, Shiites and Kharijites). The protesting spirit of the inhabitants, who had developed a strong identity, encouraged them to encourage the twelve-year rebellion led by Abu Yazid against the Fatimid regime (935-947). They also established principalities independent of the central government, which were eventually reconquered by the Hafsids.

By the 12th century, Tozer was a flourishing cultural center. The city welcomed many theologians which led to the development of an oral tradition that was among the richest in the Maghreb, as well as a poetic tradition that continued until the 20th century, especially through the great poet Abu el Katsem Shebi. We also owe to Ibn Chabbat — whose real name is Abou Abdallah Ibn Ali Ibn Al Chabbat Al Touzri, born in 1221 in Tozeur — the conception and realization of important avant-garde works on palm cultivation and the significant improvement of the water distribution system that still functions in several an oasis in southern Tunisia.

Its 12th-century plan is on display at the Dar Cherait Museum. This irrigation plan, through the seguia, ensures a free distribution of water measured by the gadous (hydraulic hourglass) whose name comes from the Latin cadus (water clock), which itself comes from the Greek kados. In the 13th century, the city was destroyed by the Hafsids and then rebuilt outside the oasis. The city experienced a great economic boom, until its peak in the 14th century.

In the 16th century, the el Hadef family arrived in Tozer from today’s Algeria and took control of the city. She created neighboring houchs (traditional residential houses). Since the place of passage of trade caravans remained the same, the place of exchange and negotiation was located in front of the district of Uled el Hadef, which gradually became the most important part of the city. Zebda, of Arab origin, arrived in the 17th century and created another urban group. Ouled Sidi Abid settled at the same time in the northwest of Ouled el Hadef district, with which they were allies.

In the period from 1984 to 1987, the National Tourist Service renovated certain streets in the medina. In the early 1990s, the Tunisian government and Abderrazak Cherait developed tourism, using a priority national development plan aimed at reducing congestion on Tunisia’s coasts. In 1990, Abderrazak Cherait created the first theme park complex in Tozeur, a museum and a luxury hotel, Dar Cherait. A dozen luxury hotels have been created to attract tourists, with turnkey stays, and its development has been noticeable since 1994.

Residents demanded, for example, that goats be banned from roaming freely in the streets. In the late 1990s, the Tunisian state promoted the notion of heritage in Tozeur. Various developments and a festival funded by Cherait make Tozeur a popular tourist destination.

Tourist activity disrupts habits, putting an end, among other things, to residents bathing in a large spring, because their privacy can be violated. According to information gathered by press correspondent Benoit Delmas, tourism has globally enriched Tozer residents during the year 2000.

According to the urban planning plan, the architectural heritage of the city of Tozer has become an economic issue. It is an important pillar for the tourism industry. Old descriptions of travelers passing through Tozer are contradictory, Deffontaine in 1754 speaking of “houses of mud”, while Gilles Daumas in 1845 described “one of the most beautiful towns in Jerrid with well-built houses”. Charles de Foucault drew these houses, which can be seen in his Maison ancien d’El Tozeur, kept in the National Library of France. Iconographic documents circulating at the beginning of the 20th century show that the apartments of Tozeura were large and well-maintained. The average size of apartments has evolved, the large residences of traditional patriarchal families have become smaller, in favor of the proliferation of multi-storey structures, since 1980.

The district of Ouled el-Hadef, which dates its oldest remains from the 14th century, is considered the most interesting and traditional of Tozer. Accessible from Avenue Farhat-Hached and Avenue Habib-Bourguiba, it forms the old town or medina of Tozeur, one of the best-preserved medinas in all of Tunisia. It starts on Kairouan Street, at the level of the Museum of Popular Art and Tradition, and ends on El-Walid Street, with the madrasah of Sidi Abdullah Bu Jemr. The inhabitants of this district are quite poor according to Daher, Ouled el-Hadef is now less a place of life than a place of landscape.

It is surrounded by a high wall of small rectangular bricks, quite bright, without windows, whose function is to preserve the privacy of the inhabitants. Its facades decorated with patterns in terracotta bricks are presented in documents from the beginning of the 20th century. This district is entirely built with traditional clay bricks, giving an architecture with a cachet valued for tourism: with the medina of Neft, this style is unique in Tunisia. The small arched streets of this district form a veritable labyrinth.

Medina Tozeur has a palm wood mashrabiya that is considered exceptional, as well as one of the oldest doors in Tunisia, also made of palm wood. The poorest residents have palm wood doors, which are cheaper, only the richest can afford “real” wooden doors. This door used to have a knocker for each type of person: men, women and children, that is, up to three knockers that emit a different sound, two if the family had no children: their role is to identify who is at home. A door for the appropriate family member to open. Green doors indicate the presence of religious places. The neighboring mosque is the Sidi Abdesalem Mosque. In Medina, there is a bey’s house, which served as a set for the filming of the film The English Patient.

The souk is located in the south of the city, it forms the city center of Tozeur, so it is the souk that most often corresponds to the name “Tozeur”. It revolves around the central square of Ibn-Chabbat, where the market and the post office are located. It is located near the historical districts of Tozeur, Ouled el-Hadef and Zebda; the architecture here is less traditional than in the medina further east. The city’s main mosque, the Farkous (or Ferkous) Mosque, although recent, has the tallest and most distinctive minaret in Tozeur. There is another mosque in the souk, which is located near the tourist office, the Sidi Mouldi mosque, whose minaret, similar in style to that of the Farkous mosque, was restored in 1944. The souk is dedicated to both walking and shopping, and the local expression “descending the souk” is synonymous with “strolling”. The souk was renovated in the early 2000s.

Chott el-Jerid is the largest salt plain or Tunisian sebkha with an area of about 5,000 km. Chott el Djerid is a large endoreic salt lake in southern Tunisia. The name can be translated from Arabic to English as “Lagoon of the Palm Land”. On May 28, 2008, the Tunisian government proposed the site for future classification on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The bottom of Chott el Djerida is between 10 and 25 meters below sea level. The width of the lake varies greatly; at its narrowest point, it is only 20 km in diameter, compared to its total length of 250 km. Sometimes its parts appear in various shades of white, green and purple. The narrow eastern entrance to Chott is also known as Chott el Fejej. It is the largest salt pan in the Sahara desert, with an area of over 7,000 km2, while some sources state 5,000 km2. The locality has a typical hot desert climate.

Due to the harsh climate with an average annual rainfall of less than 100 mm and daily temperatures that sometimes reach 50 °C or more during the summer with intense solar radiation, water evaporates from the lake. In summer, Chott el Djerid almost completely dries up, and numerous mirages appear. It is located between the towns of Tozer and Kebili. During the winter, small tributaries of water can be seen emptying into the lake.

Because the floodplain is highly variable, the values shown for the area of the lake (or its basin, which is almost always dry), can vary widely. Some sources give values up to 10,000 km². Similarly, the figures given for altitude vary between 10 meters above and 25 meters below sea level. Fresh water irrigation schemes are currently being implemented in the region to help eliminate salt from the soil and increase productive area.

The lake can be crossed on foot and even by car, but it is very dangerous because the salt crust is not always solid. In winter, when the lake is full, it can be crossed by boat. Piles of salt on its edges are collected for the processing of salt production. Relict populations of West African crocodiles persisted in Chott el Djeridu until the beginning of the 20th century. Pink flamingos are known to use the shores of the lake as nesting sites in the spring.

Chott el Djerid is the namesake of Djerid Lacuna, an endorheic hydrocarbon lake on Saturn’s moon Titan that contains liquid methane and ethane instead of water.

Monastir is a coastal city in the Tunisian Sahel, in central-eastern Tunisia, located on a peninsula southeast of the Gulf of Hammamet, twenty kilometers east of Sousse and south of the capital of Tunisia. In 2014, the population of the municipality reached almost 100,000 inhabitants. The city has been the capital of the province of the same name since 1974.

The name of the city comes from the word “monastery” (in Latin monasterium) even if it is still a matter of debate. According to Hasan Hosni Abdelwaheb, the name is of Arabic origin, only borrowed from the Greek term monastrion, meaning monastery and widespread in the Byzantine Empire to describe fortifications built on the Mediterranean coast. Before the Muslim conquest and immediately after the decline of the ancient Punic-Roman city of Ruspina, Monastir was a city built by a community of Christian monks, recognized by their abbey, which occupied a completely autonomous monastery. After the conquest, the Muslims kept the name.

The Ribat of Monastir was built by the Wali of Hartham Ibn Ayun on the orders of the Abbasid caliph Harun ar-Rashid in 796 as a means of defense against the attacks of the Byzantine fleet in the Mediterranean. It represents, along with the ribat from Sousse, one of the two most important fortresses on the coast of the Sahel. According to messages related to local history and dating from the beginning of the 10th century, it is a merit to stay in this ribat known as the Great Fortress. The three-day guard service at the monastery ribat is then considered a great religious action, because Muslims are obliged to protect their homeland.

This merit was reinforced during the Crusades. The fortress was perceived, both among fighters and ascetics, as a place of pilgrimage and meditation for religious holidays such as Achura or Ramadan. On the upper floor of the southeast wing was a small mosque with a mihrab. It is now used as a museum displaying items from the region and from Kairouan. Among the important monuments of the city is the Great Mosque in Monastir, a stone building of sober architecture built in the 9th century and then expanded during the 11th and 18th centuries. In the city of Monastir there is also a mausoleum which was ceremonially opened in 1963 by the then president Habib Bourguiba. The building, framed by two minarets 25 meters high, is surmounted by a golden dome, which is itself surrounded by two green domes. The entrance door and the gate that separates it from the rest of the cemetery are two examples of Tunisian art.

Monastir has a Museum of Islamic Art, opened on August 5, 1958 and located on the first floor of the south wing of the ribat; it includes nearly 300 works (fragments of wood, funerary stelae, brilliant ceramics) and is visited by almost 100,000 visitors every year. The Monastir summer festival is organized every year as part of the ribat and lasts from three to four weeks, offering many musical, theatrical and even cinematographic performances. A few kilometers from the city center, the cultural center of Monastir, founded in 2000, hosts various cultural events.

Within it, several cultural societies, which mainly deal with painting, music and theater, carry out their activities. This center replaces the old cultural center located in the very heart of the city; retains some essentially student activities. The Association of Monastic Writers is an association whose premises are located in the town of Čraka of the old town. It welcomes several members and organizes various cultural meetings.

My dear travelelrs, we have come to the end of this seventh special travelogue in the series of travelogues about Tunisia where we had the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of this unusual country in the northern part of the African continent. Today’s travelogue would not be possible without the selfless help of the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia – Discover Tunisia in collaboration with local partners who allowed me to feel the spirit and beauty of Tunisian culture and tradition. Of course, as always, I tried my best to convey to you my impressions of this unusual experience from Tunisia.

A person is rich in soul if he has managed to explore the world and I am glad that I always manage to find partners of my projects who help me to discover new and unusual destinations in a completely different way.

I am honored to have the opportunity to collaborate with companies that are the very top of the tourism industry and I would like to thank the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia once again for this incredible adventure and for allowing me to experience the beauty of this unusual Tunisian culture in a completely different way.

How did you like my story about Tunisia and the presentation of Tozeur, Monastir, Chott el Djerid Lake that adorn the heart of this unusual country? Have you had the chance to visit Tunisia so far?

If you have any question, comment, suggestion or message for me you can write me below in the comments. Of course, as always, you can contact me via email or social networks, all addresses can be found on the CONTACT page. See you at the same place in a few days, with some new story!

In the following stories from Tunisia, we will discover some other interesting sights that you should visit if your journey takes you to this unusual country!

From Love from Tunisia,

Mr.M

This post is sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia – Discover Tunisia, as well as other local partners. This post is my personal and honest review of the destination experience.

SHARE THIS POST

Letters from Tunisia: Carthage, the Center of Ancient Power…

Adventure Travel 4 Comments

My dear travellers and lovers of unusual trips, welcome to the new series of travelogues on the Mr.M blog. The month of August will be dedicated to an unusual country on the African continent – Tunisia, a country known for its olives. At the very beginning of this sixth post in the series of travelogues, I would like to thank the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia – Discover Tunisia for the kind invitation and hospitality. With their help, travelogues and fashion stories were created that you could read during the month of July, but you will have the opportunity to read them during August as well, and I sincerely hope that you will enjoy the summer season of posts on the Mr.M blog.

If by any chance you missed reading the previous travelogues from Tunisia or you want to remind yourself of some interesting things, take the opportunity to visit the following links:

The Republic of Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa. It is part of the Maghreb region of North Africa, bordering Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. It houses the archaeological sites of Carthage dating back to the 9th century BC, as well as the Great Mosque of Kairouan.

Tunisia is known for its ancient architecture, markets and blue shores, it covers approximately 164,000 km2 and has a population of around 12 million. It contains the eastern end of the Atlas Mountains and the northern part of the Sahara Desert, and much of the remaining territory of Tunisia is arable land. With almost 1,300 km of coastline, it includes the African junction of the western and eastern parts of the Mediterranean basin. Tunisia is home to the northernmost point of Africa – Cape Angel, and its capital and largest city is Tunis, located on its northeastern coast, after which the country gets its name.

The sixth blog post in the series of travelogues about Tunisia will be dedicated to Carthage, the center of ancient power. Carthage is a city in Tunisia located northeast of the capital city of Tunis. The ancient Punic city was destroyed and then rebuilt by the Romans who made it the capital of the province of Proconsular Africa, today it is one of the most exclusive municipalities of Greater Tunisia, the official residence of the President of the Republic, which consists of many residences of ambassadors, wealthy Tunisians and expatriates.

The city still has many archaeological sites, mostly Roman with some Punic elements, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on July 27, 1979. The municipality of Carthage, which in 2014 had a little over 17,000 inhabitants, is today home to the presidential palace, the Malik ibn Anas mosque, the national museum of Carthage and the Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts.

How did Carthage get its name? The name Carthage comes from the Phoenician Karth-Hadasht, meaning “New City”, which might suggest “New Tyr”. Under Roman rule, the city was named Carthage. Carthage was founded by Phoenician settlers from Tire in 814 BC. According to legend, Queen Dido or Elyssa, sister of King Tyre, Pygmalion, founded the city. It is said that the queen asked the neighboring ruler Hiarbas, a Berber king, for permission to establish a kingdom on her land. Then he offered him a piece of land as big as a cow hide. The cleverer queen had a cowhide cut into very thin strips and drew the boundaries of Carthage. In reference to this mythical founder, the Carthaginians are sometimes called “the children of Dido” in literature.

The city became the dominant power in the western Mediterranean in the 4th century BC. The Carthaginians practiced a polytheistic cult originating in the Middle East. They especially worshiped Baal and Tanith. Rome has long accused them of child sacrifice (ceremony of silence). One hypothesis, among others, suggests that the ritual of cremation was mainly intended to return the souls of deceased children by the shortest route to Ba’al Hamon, at a time when infant mortality was more than high despite advances in hygiene.

According to other sources, it seems that the sacrifice of living children, usually the eldest in a noble’s family, to prove the sincerity of their loyalty to Carthage, gave rise to the custom of the latter adopting a child slave for this purpose. The Carthaginians introduced the short iron sword into the Mediterranean Sea, because until then warriors fought with spears and slings. Carthage conquers Hispania as well as Sicily where it meets the Romans. The ancient city of Carthage is at the heart of the novel Salambo, written in 1862 by Gustave Flaubert, and the action takes place in the time of Hamilcar Barca, that is, in the youth of Hannibal Barca.

The Carthaginians were defeated by the general Scipio, called Africanus, in alliance with the Numidian king Massinis at the Battle of Zama. Indeed, a series of three conflicts between the two powers, better known as the Punic Wars – the Romans called the Carthaginians Poeni. The conflict begins in the 3rd century BC. BC and ends with the victory of Rome and the destruction of Carthage in 146 BC. AD, after four years of siege. After an aborted attempt by Gracchi, Julius Caesar later founded a city on the ruins of the Punic city. This becomes the capital of the new African province. In the Lower Kingdom, the city, favored for Christianity, suffered imperial persecution. In the 4th century, Carthage became one of the greatest spiritual capitals of the West. It was conquered in 439 by the Vandals led by Genseric, who established a kingdom there.

At that time, the Church was a victim of persecution and suffered especially. The takeover by the Romans (Eastern Roman Empire) in 533 brought prosperity back to the African capital. Emperor Justinian I made it the seat of his African diocese, but after the Monothelite crisis, the emperors of Byzantium, opposed to the African Church, quickly turned away from Carthage, which became the seat of the Exarchate. Carthage then gives Constantinople a succession of emperors following Heraclius, the son of the Exarch of Carthage.

At the time of the Arab conquests, the latter took the city in 698, but they preferred Tunis, the neighboring city, which gave its name to the country, the African which henceforth denoted the whole continent. After this siege led by Hassan Ibn Numan, the city was sacked and the population moved to Tunisia. Materials from the destruction of Carthage would later be used to expand the infrastructure of the neighboring city.

In the Middle Ages, Saint Louis captures the city during the Eighth Crusade, during which he dies of dysentery; he then hoped to convert the Hafsid sultan to Christianity and oppose him to the ruler of Egypt in order to force him to withdraw from Jerusalem. The failure of this strategy marks the end of the Crusades. The cathedral was built in the 19th century on Birsa Hill, on the supposed site of his burial. Until the rediscovery of Carthage in the 19th century, the ruins were looted for marble to build public or religious buildings in Africa as in Europe. As a place of residence, there are only two hamlets left, inhabited by peasants and farmers, located in Douar Chott and La Malga.

It was in the 19th century that certain high dignitaries of the Beylik state chose Carthage for their summer vacation. The first to settle there was Mustafa Haznadar with a palace in Salambo, next to the sea near the Punic ports, then another one on the heights of Birsa, which became a school for managers. Then, the Mamluk general Ahmed Zarruk builds the Zarruk Palace, which became the official residence of Lamina Beg, then a nightclub after the abolition of the monarchy, to become the seat of the Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts.

An influential favorite of Sadok Bey, the minister Mustapha Ben Ismail also built the palace, which became the police academy in Douar Chott after being owned by Hedi Bey and his descendants from 1882 until the confiscation of the palace. These Tunisian-style residences were gradually surrounded by smaller summer residences belonging to the Tunisian nobility and bourgeoisie.

It was only in 1906 that we note the appearance of the first villas in the European style, the most important of which are those of the Secretary General of the Tunisian government, a French colonial official and the real prime minister of the country. Habib Bourguiba will choose this villa to become the presidential palace of Carthage in 1960. We also note in Salambo, near the Punic ports, around 1930, the construction of the villa of General Lanjelo, the commander of the French army and the Bey’s minister, which became the Villa Terzi, as well as the villa of Caid Habib. Djelluli and Salem Snadli near Birsa Hill. Between 1928 and 1929, Le Corbusier produced his only Tunisian work in the Carthage-Presidence: Villa Bezo.

The municipality of Carthage was created by the Beylic decree on June 15, 1919. The development of its communal perimeter, as well as the growth of its population, led to the creation of the Carthage-Mohammed municipal district. In February 1985, Ugo Vetere and Chedley Klibi, mayors of Rome and Carthage, symbolically signed the Treaty of Carthage, a peace treaty that officially ended the last war between the two cities, the Third Punic War. Since then, Carthage has become a small residential city in Greater Tunis. It became a sought-after place of residence for high-ranking civil servants, diplomats and industrialists. The Malik ibn Anas Mosque was inaugurated on November 11, 2003, on Odeon Hill after the destruction of residential buildings from the colonial period.

The archaeological site of Carthage, scattered throughout the modern city, has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1979. The archeological site is dominated by the hill of Birsa, which was the center of the Punic city, and is distinguished by the massive silhouette of the Saint-Louis Cathedral built on the supposed burial site of King Louis IX, who died there during the Eighth Crusade. For the record, King Louis-Philippe I, descended from Louis IX, sent an architect to Carthage to find the most precise location.

Given the impossibility of such a mission, he simply chooses the most beautiful place. Near the cathedral, opposite this empty tomb, the remains of which were returned to France, are the remains of the most important quarter of the city, of which only a few foundations and a few fragments of columns remain. Based on its historical heritage, Carthage has developed into a vast residential suburb of Tunis around the presidential palace. However, the rapid development of the modern city risks destroying the remains forever, leading Tunisian archaeologists alarmed public opinion and between 1972 and 1992 UNESCO launched a huge international campaign to save Carthage. This milestone was completed by the World Heritage classification. The difficulty for today’s visitor lies in the extreme dispersion of remains even if specific remains can be distinguished.

The Malik ibn Anas mosque was built on a place called “the hill of the cloak”, on a site of three hectares. The then President of the Republic of Tunisia, Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, opened it on November 11, 2003. Built on a 2,500 m 2 esplanade, it has a 55-meter high minaret and a prayer room that can accommodate more than 1,000 worshipers 22 . St. Louis Cathedral in Carthage, located atop Beersa Hill, is a former Catholic cathedral that is no longer used for worship. The building is of Byzantine-Moorish style in the shape of a Latin cross and a facade framed by two square towers. On the walls are the coats of arms of the donors for the construction of the basilica. The windows are also decorated with arabesques. Built between 1884 and 1890, under the French protectorate, the cathedral became the Primate of Africa when the title of Primate of Africa was restored in favor of Cardinal Lavigerie.

The Carthage International Festival is a renowned cultural event held every summer in the Ancient Theater. The Carthage Cinematography Days, a biennial film festival launched in 1966 by the Tunisian Ministry of Culture, has been held continuously since its inception, alternating with the Carthage Theatrical Days. On Birsa Hill is the National Museum of Carthage in the premises occupied by the White Fathers. It allows the visitor to understand the extent of the city’s buildings during the Punic and then Roman periods.

Some of the most beautiful pieces found in excavations since the 19th century are there, and others are presented in the Bardo National Museum near Tunis. In the immediate vicinity, the former Saint-Louis Cathedral is today used as a cultural space and is called the Acropolis. It regularly hosts exhibitions and concerts, especially the Jazz a Carthage festival created in 2005.

Among the other institutions located in Carthage is the Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts, which has been installed since 1983 in the old palace, the property of General Zarrouq, Minister of War Sadok Bey, acquired in 1922 by Habib Bey and bequeathed to Lamine Bey, the last representative of the Hussein dynasty. The National Institute of Marine Sciences and Technologies, founded in 1924, is a public research institution based in Salambo. It has a small museum: Salambo Oceanographic Museum. In terms of education, the city is home to some renowned institutions such as the Carthage Institute of Advanced Commercial Studies and the Higher Institute of Childhood Executives. The educational network also includes five schools and four high schools including Carthage Presidency High School built in 1952.

My dear travelelrs, we have come to the end of this sixth special travelogue in the series of travelogues about Tunisia where we had the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of this unusual country in the northern part of the African continent. Today’s travelogue would not be possible without the selfless help of the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia – Discover Tunisia in collaboration with local partners who allowed me to feel the spirit and beauty of Tunisian culture and tradition. Of course, as always, I tried my best to convey to you my impressions of this unusual experience from Tunisia.

A person is rich in soul if he has managed to explore the world and I am glad that I always manage to find partners of my projects who help me to discover new and unusual destinations in a completely different way.

I am honored to have the opportunity to collaborate with companies that are the very top of the tourism industry and I would like to thank the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia once again for this incredible adventure and for allowing me to experience the beauty of this unusual Tunisian culture in a completely different way.

How did you like my story about Tunisia and the presentation of Carthage, the center of ancient power that adorn the heart of this unusual country? Have you had the chance to visit Tunisia so far?

If you have any question, comment, suggestion or message for me you can write me below in the comments. Of course, as always, you can contact me via email or social networks, all addresses can be found on the CONTACT page. See you at the same place in a few days, with some new story!

In the following stories from Tunisia, we will discover some other interesting sights that you should visit if your journey takes you to this unusual country!

From Love from Carthage,

Mr.M

This post is sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia – Discover Tunisia, as well as other local partners. This post is my personal and honest review of the destination experience.

SHARE THIS POST

Letters from Tunisia: The Sahara, Oasis of Chebika and Nefta, the lost desert Jewels of North Africa

Adventure Travel 5 Comments

My dear travellers and lovers of unusual trips, welcome to the new series of travelogues on the Mr.M blog. The month of August will be dedicated to an unusual country on the African continent – Tunisia, a country known for its olives. At the very beginning of this fifth post in the series of travelogues, I would like to thank the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia – Discover Tunisia for the kind invitation and hospitality. With their help, travelogues and fashion stories were created that you could read during the month of July, but you will have the opportunity to read them during August as well, and I sincerely hope that you will enjoy the summer season of posts on the Mr.M blog.

If by any chance you missed reading the previous travelogues from Tunisia or you want to remind yourself of some interesting things, take the opportunity to visit the following links:

The Republic of Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa. It is part of the Maghreb region of North Africa, bordering Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. It houses the archaeological sites of Carthage dating back to the 9th century BC, as well as the Great Mosque of Kairouan.

Tunisia is known for its ancient architecture, markets and blue shores, it covers approximately 164,000 km2 and has a population of around 12 million. It contains the eastern end of the Atlas Mountains and the northern part of the Sahara Desert, and much of the remaining territory of Tunisia is arable land. With almost 1,300 km of coastline, it includes the African junction of the western and eastern parts of the Mediterranean basin. Tunisia is home to the northernmost point of Africa – Cape Angel, and its capital and largest city is Tunis, located on its northeastern coast, after which the country gets its name.

The fifth blog post in the series of travelogues about Tunisia will be dedicated to the lost desert gems of North Africa that we can find in Tunisia: Sahara, Chebika Oasis, Nefta. The Sahara is a desert on the African continent. This desert with its area of 9,200,000 square kilometers is the largest hot desert in the world and the third largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Arctic. The desert got its name “Sahara” through the derivation of the Arabic word for “desert” in the irregular feminine form, singular sahra’. The desert covers most of North Africa, excluding the fertile Mediterranean coastal region, the Atlas Mountains of the Maghreb, and the Nile Valley in Egypt and Sudan.

It stretches from the Red Sea in the east and the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Atlantic Ocean in the west, where the landscape gradually changes from desert to coastal plain. It is bordered to the south by the Sahel, a belt of semi-arid tropical savanna around the Niger River valley, and the Sudan region in sub-Saharan Africa. The Sahara can be divided into several regions, including the Western Sahara, the central Ahagar Mountains, the Tibesti Mountains, the Air Mountains, the Tenere Desert, and the Libyan Desert. For several hundred thousand years, the Sahara has alternated between desert and savannah grasslands in a 20,000-year cycle caused by the precession of the Earth’s axis as it rotates around the Sun, which changes the location of the north African monsoon.

Chebika is a mountain oasis located in the south of Tunisia, in the delegation of Tamerza in the western part of Tozeur province. The name Chebika means “small net” in Tunisian Arabic because the water flowing in the waterfalls of the oasis forms flowing nets and webs. The oasis itself covers 25 hectares and forms, with Tamerza and Mides, the smallest of the three main mountain oases in the southwest of the country, located on the Tunisian-Algerian border. Čebika is located in a deep valley, excavated in Upper Cretaceous limestone during water from a natural spring of good quality for irrigation. This valley is occasionally penetrated by runoff from a large mountain basin that has been exposed and hollowed out by erosion.

This geography is suitable for the occurrence of sudden torrents of rainwater and their rapid concentration at the level of the source, upstream of the oasis. In 1969, after the deadly floods that killed more than 400 people in Tunisia, the current village of Chebika was built near the abandoned village. The urban part of the current village is summarized in a chessboard, the lines of which form streets that intersect at the level of the market.

Prehistoric remains are numerous in the region, but the site of Chebika gained special importance in Roman times when it became an important link on the border: the Saharan limes connecting Thebes with Gafsa, both borders overseeing the movement of tribes and the collection of taxes. A number of military milestones and a Roman fossatum (defensive ditch) are found around the oasis itself, as well as cisterns and works from the same period and various traces of ancient roads and cultures leading to the surrounding fortresses and towards Ain el Khanga and Seguia el Rouma (“Christian Cistern for irrigation”).

Chebika can without too much doubt be identified with the ancient outpost Ad Speculum (literal translation “place of the mirror” in Latin): the garrisons used the mirror to communicate with other positions and to signal possible enemy incursions. The site of Chebika formed an optical relay, which would have a metal mirror installed in a place called Kasr al chams (“Fort of the Sun”). The locality received the title of civitas within the Roman province of Africa, which it held from 30 BC to 640 AD.

The traditional agricultural system of Chebika consists of three floors, with palm trees (especially those producing dates of the deglet nour variety) which are characterized by high density (500-600 trees per hectare), a great diversity of tree and shrub species on the second level and food grain crops, horticulture and forage at a lower level. The system also integrates family farming of sheep and goats, producing the manure necessary to maintain soil fertility, as well as camel farming in the pastures between the palm grove and the desert.

The irrigation water of the oasis is the collective property of the farmers who capture the spring and distribute it free of charge according to agreed secular methods giving the right to a certain amount of water, previously determined by the clepsydra. The maintenance of canals and hydraulic structures for distribution mainly by gravity, previously the collective responsibility of farmers, was revised in 2000 to reduce water losses in the canals and is now managed by the Tozeur Regional Commissariat for Agricultural Development.

Revising the irrigation schedule to match the reality of the plot is a difficult but necessary subject to ensure the future of the oasis. In this context, the population of Chebika is socially and economically disadvantaged and benefits little from transient tourism that uses few products obtained from the oasis. The unemployment rate is high, especially among young people, which causes a rural exodus from the oasis or even emigration abroad. This emigration or the search for a paid activity outside of agriculture leads to the deterioration of the infrastructure of the oasis and to the strengthening of the absence or even the abandonment of certain plots. The grove of palm trees is getting old and too tall palm trees need to be restored. Knowledge in the field of agriculture and animal husbandry and craft knowledge in the development of products from the oasis and the steppe environment is also being lost.

I would like to share an interesting fact with you, namely that the village of Chebika served as a set for the famous movie The English Patient. Today the village is abandoned, but it is used for tourist purposes and as a film set. One of the famous legends is how Chebika became famous when, on his way back from Mecca, Marabut, sensing his imminent death, asked to be placed on his camel, to let the animal go where it wanted and to bury it where it would stop. A Marabut is a Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically served as a chaplain in Islamic armies, particularly in North Africa and the Sahara, West Africa and historically in the Maghreb.

The camel stopped at Chebika, and at the place where the water comes out of the spring in Ain el Naga. There is a traditional belief that women go to the grave of a marabout to ask for healing, to give birth to a boy, to help with childbirth, for a selfless husband to love his wife again, or to bring back a husband or son after a period of absence. In general, the legend attributes to the marabout the power to protect people and herds from the evil spirits that haunt the chote and that regularly rise towards Mount Chebika.

The Zarda Festival continues to be celebrated today in the form of the annual Sidi Soltane Festival. Once celebrated on Fridays in summer (now in autumn), it begins with animal sacrifices, followed by men’s prayers in the mosque and the sharing of meals outdoors. The population of Chebika, Tamerza, El Hamma du Yerid or neighboring tribes (Ouled Sidi Abid) participate in this demonstration. Some practices are less respected, but tend to become secularized, turning into socio-cultural activities of defending oasis cultures and generating income thanks to the participation of international and domestic tourism in Tunisia.

Nefta is an oasis town in Djerid located in southwestern Tunisia. The municipality is located in the southwest of Tunisia, between Tozer and Hazou, which is located on the Tunisian-Algerian border, and the latter is 33 kilometers from Nefta. The oil is located between Chot el Jerid and the Sahara dunes. The city is characterized by the presence of the “Nefta basket”, which is a natural depression dug into the rock.

According to some historical writings, the site was occupied since prehistoric times, as evidenced by several archaeological discoveries. The city later became a Numidian and then a Roman city. Nefta was the seat of the diocese under the Byzantines, and today it is the titular diocese of the Catholic Church in Tunisia since 1933. After the Muslim conquest, it became a high place of Sufism: the Qadiriya Sufi brotherhood is known throughout the Maghreb. The influence of this religious current has remained present to this day. The city is also home to a hundred marabouts including the famous Sidi Bou Ali who took over the city from the Ibadi Muslims and converted it to Sunni Islam in the 13th century. He founded an influential religious brotherhood, whereby a pilgrimage is organized around the shrine of this saint every year.

Nefta is home to Mos Espa, an abandoned film location for a remote spaceport in a galaxy far, far away hidden in the Tunisian desert near Nefta. This set is located between two salt lakes, the larger Chott El Djerid and the smaller Chott El Ghars, Mos Espa is an abandoned film set created as a remote spaceport location in a galaxy far, far away. Surreal surroundings and dramatic otherworldly structures make Mos Espa a must-visit if you’re a big fan of the Hollywood blockbuster “Star Wars.” However, you can even visit this set if you are not a fan of movies because you will enjoy the amazing scenery.

As one of the largest spaceports in Star Wars, Mos Epsa is depicted in the films as a city bustling with the daily lives of various aliens from across the galaxy. Home to the hero Anakin Skywalker from Episodes I, II and III, we’re told the location is on a distant planet known as Tatooine – named after the very real nearby Tunisian city of Tataouine.

This is where Anakin Skywalker and his mother live as slaves, and the foundations are laid for all the huge stories of the older Star Wars movies. Although some parts of the city of Mos Espa were added in post-production using modern technology during the filming of science fiction films of the era, here on the edge of the Sahara, all the main buildings from the films have been preserved. Dozens of structures line the city’s main streets, including many “moisture vaporizers”—in Star Wars, these devices were used to collect atmospheric moisture and produce water that is very expensive.

Currently, Mos Espa is slowly swallowing the sand that comes with every passing dust storm. Over the years, the harsh climate of the Sahara, the shifting sand dunes and the stream of tourists began to take their toll. Unlike other more traditional Star Wars filming locations, the city of Mos Espa was built in the middle of nowhere. Although nothing here is designed to last, thanks to the work of local and foreign enthusiasts, you can still walk the streets Qui-Gon Jinn walked to meet Anakin.

I have one very important piece of advice for all visitors to this site. Since the Mos Espa set is remote in the middle of the desert, it is important to bring a significant amount of water, especially during the summer period. The easiest way to Mos Espa is via the newly reconstructed road—leaving the town of Naftah to the north, take the road that goes slightly left and go north until you reach the end. There is another way, which is much more fun, but requires an expert guide and a reliable 4-wheel drive jeep safari vehicle. Professional drivers drive you in a straight line wherever you are, across the desert sand and the dry bed of the salt lake, so you can enjoy a sand safari.

During this press visit to Tunisia, I met the team of the national Slovenian television, who were reporting on Tunisia. In these pictures, you have the opportunity to see presenter Mojca Mavec, who recorded an incredible reportage for the new season of her show “Čez Planke“. Dear Mojca made homemade desert bread with a local and enjoyed desert coffee.

My dear travelelrs, we have come to the end of this fifth special travelogue in the series of travelogues about Tunisia where we had the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of this unusual country in the northern part of the African continent. Today’s travelogue would not be possible without the selfless help of the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia – Discover Tunisia in collaboration with local partners who allowed me to feel the spirit and beauty of Tunisian culture and tradition. Of course, as always, I tried my best to convey to you my impressions of this unusual experience from Tunisia.

A person is rich in soul if he has managed to explore the world and I am glad that I always manage to find partners of my projects who help me to discover new and unusual destinations in a completely different way.

I am honored to have the opportunity to collaborate with companies that are the very top of the tourism industry and I would like to thank the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia once again for this incredible adventure and for allowing me to experience the beauty of this unusual Tunisian culture in a completely different way.

How did you like my story about Tunisia and the presentation of The Sahara, Oasis of Chebika and Nefta, the lost desert Jewels of North Africa that adorn the heart of this unusual country? Have you had the chance to visit Tunisia so far?

If you have any question, comment, suggestion or message for me you can write me below in the comments. Of course, as always, you can contact me via email or social networks, all addresses can be found on the CONTACT page. See you at the same place in a few days, with some new story!

In the following stories from Tunisia, we will discover some other interesting sights that you should visit if your journey takes you to this unusual country!

From Love from Tunisia,

Mr.M

This post is sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia – Discover Tunisia, as well as other local partners. This post is my personal and honest review of the destination experience.

SHARE THIS POST

Letters from Tunisia: Tunis and Sidi Bou Said, places you must visit…

Adventure Travel 5 Comments

My dear travellers and lovers of unusual trips, welcome to the new series of travelogues on the Mr.M blog. The month of July will be dedicated to an unusual country on the African continent – Tunisia, a country known for its olives. At the very beginning of this third post in the series of travelogues, I would like to thank the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia – Discover Tunisia for the kind invitation and hospitality. With their help, the travelogues and fashion stories that you will have the opportunity to read this July were created and I sincerely hope that you will enjoy them.

If by any chance you missed reading the previous travelogues from Tunisia or you want to remind yourself of some interesting moments and information, take the opportunity to visit the following links:

The Republic of Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa. It is part of the Maghreb region of North Africa, bordering Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. It houses the archaeological sites of Carthage dating back to the 9th century BC, as well as the Great Mosque of Kairouan.

Tunisia is known for its ancient architecture, markets and blue shores, it covers approximately 164,000 km2 and has a population of around 12 million. It contains the eastern end of the Atlas Mountains and the northern part of the Sahara Desert, and much of the remaining territory of Tunisia is arable land. With almost 1,300 km of coastline, it includes the African junction of the western and eastern parts of the Mediterranean basin. Tunisia is home to the northernmost point of Africa – Cape Angel, and its capital and largest city is Tunis, located on its northeastern coast, after which the country gets its name.

The third blog post in the series of travelogues about Tunisia will be dedicated to the capital of this unusual North African country – Tunis, as well as an extraordinary town that reminds many of Santorini in Greece – Sidi Bou Said. Tunis is the most populated city and also the capital of the Republic of Tunisia. It is also the capital of the province of the same name since its creation in 1956. Located in the north of the country, at the bottom of the Gulf of Tunis, from which it is separated by Lake Tunis, the city stretches over the coastal plain and the surrounding hills. Its historical heart is the medina, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. A modest town placed in the shadow of Carthage, Kairouan, then Mahdia, was finally designated as the capital on September 20, 1159, under the impulse of the Almohads, and then confirmed in its status under the Hafsid Dynasty in 1228 and the country’s independence on March 20, 1956.

Tunis is the economic and commercial capital of the Republic of Tunisia. The density of the network of roads and highways and the structure of the airport make it the central point of national transport. This situation is the result of a long evolution, especially of centralized conceptions that give a significant role to capital and tend to concentrate institutions there to the extreme. In 2014, the population of the municipality of Tunis was approximately 650,000 inhabitants according to the census of the National Institute of Statistics. However, during the 20th century, the agglomeration developed to a great extent outside the municipality’s borders, spreading over four governorates, Tunis, Ariana, Ben Arous and La Manouba. Greater Tunis had 2,643,695 inhabitants in 2014, or about 14% of the country’s population. In 2017, Tunisia was ranked as the fifth Arab city in which to live well

The city of Tunis is built on a series of hills, which culminates at forty meters above sea level and slopes gently towards Lake Tunis, but presents a steep slope in the opposite direction. These hills, which follow the slopes of the Ariane and correspond to the places called Notre-Dame de Tunis, Ras Tabia, La Rabta, La Kasbah, Montfleuri and La Manoubia, have altitudes that barely exceed 50 meters.

The city was born, a long time ago, at the intersection of the roads that naturally form through a narrow strip of land stretched between the vast basins of Lake Tunis and Sejmouia. The isthmus that separates them forms what geologists call the “Tunisia dome”, which includes hills of limestone rocks and sediments of wind and lake origin. It is a kind of natural bridge through which, since antiquity, passed several important roads that connected Berberia with Egypt and whose Tunisian part passes through Utica and Hadrumetum.

The second road is that of Bejaw, which goes along Medjerda and joins the road to Utica in Tunisia. The third is the Sica road that connects Numidia with Hadrumet. These routes obviously depend on Carthage once it asserts its political and economic primacy in Africa. On these road routes, the traffic flows favored the birth of relays and stages, among which is Tunisia. In an area of 300,000 hectares, 30,000 are urbanized, and the rest is divided between water areas (20,000 hectares of lagoons or sebkha, the most important of which are Lake Tunis, sebkha Ariana and sebkha Sejoumi) and agricultural or natural areas (250,000 hectares). However, urban growth, which is estimated at 500 hectares per year, is to the detriment of this space. It is all the more expensive because it consumes the most interesting lowland land for cultivation.

The metropolis of Tunis, whose area increased significantly during the second half of the 20th century, is now spread over several governorates: the Tunis governorate is home to a minority of the population of the agglomeration, while the suburbs spread across the governorates of Ben Arous, Ariana and La Manouba. The municipality of Tunis is divided into fifteen municipal districts: Bab El Bhar, Bab Souika, Cite El Khadra, Djebel Jelloud, El Kabaria, El Menzah, El Omrane, Gornji El Omrane, El Ouardia, Ettahrir, Ezzouh, Ezzouh Sejoumi and Sidi El Bechir.

The existence of the site is attested from the beginning of the 4th century BC. Situated on its hill, Tunis is an excellent observatory from where Libyans can easily follow the outward manifestations of Carthaginian life such as the comings and goings of ships or caravans inland. Tunis is one of the first Libyan cities to come under Carthaginian domination, given its proximity to a large city and its strategic position.

More than once, in the following centuries, Tunis is mentioned in the military history of Carthage. Thus, during the expedition of Agathocles from Syracuse, who landed in Cap Bon in 310 BC, Tunisia changed hands several times. Moreover, its role during the Mercenary War suggests that it was then “one of the chief centers of the aboriginal race”. In all likelihood, the bulk of its population then consisted of peasants, fishermen and artisans. However, compared to Punic Carthage, the ancient tunes remain very modest in size.

Destroyed according to Strabo by the Romans during the Third Punic War, it would have been rebuilt before Carthage. However, it is only the subject of rare testimonies, including that of the Peitinger chart, which mentions Tuni. In the route system of the Province of Africa, Tunes is only the name of a mutation (post office). The Latinized city is gradually Christianized and becomes the seat of the bishopric. However, Tunes will likely remain a modest city as long as Carthage exists.

The region was conquered by Arab troops led by the Ghassanid general Hasan Ibn Numan in the 7th century. Indeed, the city has a privileged position at the bottom of the bay and at the crossroads of trade flows with Europe and its hinterland. Tunis very early on plays a military role for which the Arabs chose it because from now on it is the only important city near the Strait of Sicily. From the first years of the 8th century, the capital of Okrug, which was then Tunis, experienced a strengthening of its military role: it became the naval base of the Arabs in the western Mediterranean, and assumed significant military importance. Under Aghlabid rule, Tunisians rebelled on many occasions, but Tunis took advantage of the economic boom and quickly became the kingdom’s second city. It became the country’s capital at the end of Ibrahim II’s reign, remaining so until 909, when the Shiite Berbers captured Ifriqia and founded the Fatimid dynasty, then again became the capital of the district.

Its role in opposition to the existing government intensified from September 945, when the Kharijite insurgents captured Tunis and gave it over to plunder. With the arrival of the Zirid dynasty, Tunisia gained importance, but the Sunni population increasingly supported Shiite rule and carried out massacres against this community. Therefore, in 1048, Zirid Al-Muizz ben Badis rejected Fatimid obedience and restored the Sunni rite throughout Ifriqia. This decision angered the Shia caliph Al-Mustansir Bilah. To punish the Zirids, he unleashed Arab tribes on Ifrikiya, including the Hilals. Much of Ifriqia was burned and bloodshed, the Zirid capital Kairouan was destroyed in 1057, and only a few coastal cities, including Tunis and Mahdia, escaped destruction. Nevertheless, exposed to the atrocities of the hostile tribes encamped around the city, the Tunisian population, no longer recognizing the authority of the Zirids who had retreated to the Mahdi, swore allegiance to the Hamadid prince El Nasser ibn Alenas, based in Bougie. Later, in 1059, the Governor appointed by the latter, after establishing order in the country, lost no time in getting rid of the Hamadids and founded the Khurasanid dynasty with Tunis as its capital. The small independent kingdom then reconnects with foreign trade and restores peace and prosperity.

After that in 1159, the Almohad Abd al-Mu’min captured Tunis, deposed the last Khurasanid ruler and installed in his place a government responsible for the administration of all of Ifriqia, which sat in a kasbah built for the occasion. The conquest of the Almohads opens a new period in the history of Tunisia. The city, which until then played a secondary role behind Kairouan and Mahdia, was promoted to the rank of provincial capital. In 1228, governor Abu Zakariyya Yahya took power, and a year later he freed himself from Almohad rule, took the title of emir and founded the Hafsid dynasty. With the arrival of this dynasty, the city became the capital of a kingdom that gradually expanded towards Tripoli and Fez.

To the prime city, important suburbs are added to the north and south enclosed by another fence surrounding the medina, the kasbah and these new suburbs. Later, in 1270, Tunisia found itself caught up in the Eighth Crusade: Louis IX, hoping to convert the Hafsid ruler to Christianity and pit him against the Egyptian sultan, easily captured Carthage, but his army quickly fell victim to an epidemic of dysentery. Louis IX himself died of it on August 25, 1270, in front of the ramparts of the capital. At the same time, expelled by the Spanish Reconquest, the first Muslim and Jewish Andalusians arrived in Tunisia and took an active part in the economic prosperity and development of intellectual life in the Hafsid capital.

The medina, built on a hill with gentle slopes that descend towards Lake Tunis, is the historic heart of the city and is home to many monuments including palaces such as Dar Ben Abdallah and Dar Hussein, the Beylik Mausoleum of Turbet El Bey or many mosques including the Great Mosque of Zituna . Formerly surrounded by its fortifications, now largely gone, they are framed by the two working-class suburbs of Bab Souik to the north and Bab El Jazeera to the south.

Located in the immediate vicinity of Bab Souika, the popular district of Halfauines known to have been the subject of international attention thanks to the spread of the film Halfauine, child of the terraces. But to the east of this original core, first with the construction of the French consulate, the modern city is gradually constituted, with the establishment of the French protectorate at the end of the 19th century, on the land left free between the medina and the lake because it serves as a reservoir for the waste water of the medieval city.

The axis of the structure of this part of the city is the avenues France and Habib-Bourguib, designed as the Tunisian equivalents of rue Rivoli and Champs Elysées with their cafés, grand hotels, shops and cultural facilities. On either side of this tree-lined axis, north and south, the metropolis has expanded to form different districts with different faces, the north welcoming fairly residential and business districts, while the south welcomes industrial districts. and poorer.

North of Avenue Bourguiba is the Lafayette quarter, which still houses the Great Synagogue of Tunis and the Habib-Thameur Garden, located on the site of an old Jewish cemetery outside the walls. To the southeast, the district of Little Sicily borders the old port area and owes its name to the original settlement of workers from Italy. It is now the subject of a reconstruction project that includes the construction of two twin towers.

North of it, the long Mohammed-V avenue that leads to the African Square or 14 January 2011 crosses the district of the great banks where there are hotels of lakes and congresses, as well as the old headquarters of the party in power. It leads to the residential area Belvedere, which is located around Pasteur Square. Belvedere Park opens here – the largest in the city and its zoo, as well as the Pasteur Institute founded by Adrien Loir in 1893.

Thus, at the beginning of the 21st century, the medina was one of the best-preserved traditional urban units in the Arab world. With an area of 270 hectares (plus 29 hectares for the Kasbah district) and more than 100,000 inhabitants, the Medina represents a tenth of the population of Tunisia and one sixth of the urbanized area of the agglomeration. The urban planning of the Tunisian medina has a peculiarity in that it does not respect geometric layouts or formal compositions.

The complex organization of the urban fabric inspired a whole colonial literature where the dangerous, anarchic and chaotic medina seemed like an ambush territory. However, studies started in the 1930s with the arrival of the first ethnologists showed that the articulation of space in the medina is not random: houses are articulated in a socio-cultural way, codified according to complex types of human relationships. The built-up area is generally characterized by the contiguity of large lots and common ownership.

Domestic (palaces and bourgeois houses), official and civil (libraries and administrations), religious (mosques, tours and zauias) and service (shops and fondues) architectures are very porous despite the clear zoning between shops and apartments. The notion of public space is therefore ambiguous in the case of the medina where streets are considered extensions of houses and subject to social beacons. The concept of individual property is weak and market stalls often overflow onto the public road.

The Souq in Tunisia consists of a veritable network of covered alleys in which there are shops of merchants and artisans grouped by specialty. “Clean” trades are located near the Zitouna mosque because they do not cause any disturbances with smell, noise or water use. These are cloth merchants, perfumers, dried fruit merchants, booksellers and wool merchants, as opposed to tanners, fishermen, potters and blacksmiths who are relegated to the periphery. Thus, there is a codified hierarchy of trades: perfusion trade silk weaving, saddlery, clothing making, slipper production, weaving, pottery and finally blacksmiths and dyers.

North of the Zitouna mosque, which it partly passes by, opens the El Attarine souk (fragrances) built at the beginning of the 18th century. It surprises with its stalls full of bottles containing a wide selection of essences and perfumes. From this souk, the street leads to the Ech-Chaouachine souk (chechias) whose corporation, that of chaouachi, is one of the oldest in the country. They are mostly descendants of Andalusian emigrants expelled from Spain. Two other markets open onto the El Attarine market: the first, which runs along the west facade of the Zitouna Mosque, is the El Kmach souk (fabrics), and the second, the 17th-century El Berka souk, which houses embroideries. but especially goldsmiths. This is why it is the only souk whose doors are still closed and guarded at night.

In the heart of the souq there is a square where the old slave market was located until the middle of the 19th century. The market of El Berka leads to the souk of El Leffa, where all kinds of rugs, blankets and other weavings are sold, and is extended by the souk of Es Sekajine (saddlers), built at the beginning of the 15th century, specializing in leather. On the outskirts are the markets of El Trouk, El Blat, El Blaghgia, El Kebabjia, En Nhas, Es Sabbaghine and El Grana, which sell clothes and blankets and were occupied by Livorno Jews.

Sidi Bou Said is a village in Tunisia, located twenty kilometers northeast of Tunis. It has almost 6000 inhabitants according to the last census. Located on a cliff overlooking Carthage and the Gulf of Tunisia, it rises 130 meters above sea level and bears the name of a Muslim saint in the region: Sidi Bou Said.

The Punic Carthaginians, then the Romans, would use the height of the current Sidi Bou Said to place a fire tower there. A mosaic measuring six by five meters and coins from the time of Augustus also prove the ancient existence of the Roman villa. In antiquity, the village was nicknamed the Cape of Cartagena. After the Arab conquest in the 7th century and the fall of Carthage, this cape maintained its strategic position through the construction of fortifications (ribata) and lighthouses. In the 11th century, the heights of the village were chosen by the Almoravids to defend the northeastern coast of Tunisia. Watchtowers and fire towers are built there. They also give the hill its name: Djebel El Manar (“Mountain of Fire” or “Lighthouse”).

Abu Said Khalaf Ibn Yahya el-Tamimi el-Beji (1156-1231), alias Sidi Bou Said, learns on the street that he lives in Tunisia and has since kept his name. Towards the end of his life, he retired to Jebel Menara, a ribat built on a hill above Cape Carthage, to keep watch and teach Sufism there. Considered an authentic Sufi, he was then nicknamed “Lord of the Seas” because of the protection that sailors sailing near the place thought they received. He died in 1231 and was buried on the hill. In the 18th century, Husein I er Bey (1705-1740) built the current mosque in which he furnished the saint’s zaujiya, which was undoubtedly the first element of the village that would bear his name. Archaeological traces identified on the northern slope suggest that the surrounding wall then bypassed the site. Today, the veneration of saints is alive. From the 17th century, the charm of this village seduced the Tunisian bourgeoisie and the Beylikalle Husseini family, who built luxurious residences in the Arab-Muslim style there, such as Dar Delagi, Dar Mohsen, Dar Thameur, Dar Arif, Dar Lasram, Dar Debbagh, Dar Cherif , Dar Bahri, Naceur Bei Palace, etc.

The village was named Sidi Bou Said when it became the seat of the municipality in 1893. Later, on August 28, 1915, a decree was issued to ensure the protection of the village, imposing the blue color of Sidi Bou Said and the white color so dear to the Baron d’Erlanger and prohibiting any anarchic construction on the cape. Sidi Bou Said is related to the location of Carthage, which UNESCO classified as a world heritage site in 1979. However, UNESCO guidelines are giving way to urbanization that is developing from Sidi Bou Said to La Malga and Salambo; overhead power and telephone lines also mar the landscape.

In addition, the municipality is not able to control the development of the village market. Until 1825, the village of Sidi Bou Said was off limits to non-Muslims. Since that date, Sidi Bou Said has attracted a number of artists, musicians and writers, including Chateaubriand, Gustave Flaubert, Paul Klee, Auguste Mack, Alphonse de Lamartine, Georges Diamel, Jean Divino, Max-Paul Fouche, Colette and Simon, Gideon de Beauvoir .

The houses of Sidi Bou Said, which combine Arabic and Andalusian architecture, with dazzling white exteriors and blue doors, are scattered randomly along the winding streets. Inside, there is often a paved courtyard, T-shaped reception rooms, slender columns, arcades and walls of colored ceramics arranged up to the ceiling. A tourist hotspot in the colors of the Mediterranean Sea, listed since 1915, this place is nicknamed “little white and blue paradise”.

The gift of Ismailia was offered to Bey Hamud Pasha’s slave, freed for her legendary beauty, Leyla Zina bent Abdallah El Genaoui. However, in 1799, Hamuda Pasha put the house up for sale, which passed through the hands of several families, and now belongs to the artist diplomat. Dar El Anabi, the grand residence of Mufti Mohammed Taib El Anabi, formerly Dar Enaifer, was built in the 18th century and remodeled in 1955. It consists of fifty rooms and is nicknamed the “palace of a thousand and one nights”. His library of great value contains essentially Arabic works. It has been converted into a museum featuring traditional Arab-Muslim items and clothing displayed in different rooms, including a 22-kilogram wedding dress. Naceur Bey Palace, originally called Dar Essalam, was owned by Sheikh Ben Achour. Sadok Bey offers it to his nephew, Naceur Bey, who enlarges it to suit his summer beylic requirements.

Home of music, the village is also home to the Center for Arabic and Mediterranean Music in the Rodolphe d’Erlanger (1872-1932) palace, originally Enejmo Ezzahr (“The Shining Star”), also called the “House of the Baron”. French-British baron, painter, musicologist, esthete. At the beginning of the protection of the city and its musical enrichment, he greatly contributes to the notoriety of the locality by upgrading the traditional Tunisian architecture. Utilizing refined interior decoration that he drew and designed himself and a lavish garden whose layout was inspired by the best garden arts in Islamic countries, Erlanger Palace has been open to the public since 1992.

Other large bourgeois summer residences in Arab-Muslim style, also with some Italian inspiration, were built in the 19th century and gradually became the main residences in the 20th century: Dar Essid (purchased in 1955 by Hedi Essid of the Jaafar family) 21, Dar Delagi, Dar Thameur (from Mahmud Bey, sold to the Thameur family), Dar Mohsen, Dar Toumi (now Dar Said Hotel), Dar Sfar, Dar Senoussi, Dar Cherif, Dar Bahri (built and still inhabited by descendants of the Bahri Family), Dar Lasram , Dar Khalsi, Dar Laroussi. Later, in 1973, the US government decided to build its embassy on a hill overlooking the Gulf of Carthage and the Gulf of Tunisia. The construction was entrusted to Brahim Taktak, a Tunisian who graduated in Belgium, whose mission was to update the local architecture to make it comfortable for holding large receptions.

The municipal gallery was originally housed in the former barn of Dar Lasram. It initially became Baron d’Erlanger’s museum, with a permanent display of Andalusian musical instruments Erlanger bought in Spain and his paintings, as well as the art collections held there. they were patiently gathered by the designer of the place and later by his heirs. After the independence of Tunisia, the museum was transformed into a pottery club for children and then into an exhibition gallery available to Tunisian and foreign artists who wish to exhibit. In addition to several art studios, there are other galleries in the village: the Ammar-Farhat Gallery created in 1988 by Abdelaziz Gorgi, the Azzedine Alaia Gallery located in his former house or the Cherif Fine Arts Gallery founded in 1979 by Hamadi Sherif in his father’s house.

Sidi Bou Said is also famous for its cafes whose terraces are very popular places for Tunisians to relax:

  • Cafe Halija (or Cafe des mats) in the center of the village, which used to be the entrance to the mosque, hosted Malouf evenings organized by music lovers from the village.
  • Cafe du Nadhour (from the lighthouse) gathers customers who come to listen to a popular storyteller (fdaoui).
  • Cafe de Sidi Chaabane (or Cafe des Delices), which opened in the late 1960s, offers a unique view of the Gulf of Tunisia.
  • A cafe in the village square that was the domain reserved for the elders of Sidi Bou Said.

Every year in mid-August there is a mystical festival – called Kharja – that mobilizes the whole village, with processions of different religious brotherhoods coming from all over Tunisia to pay their respects and seek blessings in Sidi Bou Said.

My dear travellers and adventurers, we have come to the end of this third special travelogue in the series of travelogues about Tunisia where we had the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of this unusual country in the northern part of the African continent. Today’s travelogue would not be possible without the selfless help of the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia – Discover Tunisia in cooperation with local partners who allowed me to feel the spirit and beauty of Tunisian culture and tradition. Of course, as always, I tried my best to convey to you my impressions of this unusual experience from Tunisia.

A person is rich in soul if he has managed to explore the world and I am glad that I always manage to find partners of my projects who help me to discover new and unusual destinations in a completely different way.

I am honored to have the opportunity to collaborate with companies that are the very top of the tourism industry and I would like to thank the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia once again for this incredible adventure and for allowing me to experience the beauty of this unusual Tunisian culture in a completely different way.

How did you like my story about Tunisia and the presentation of Tunis and Sidi Bou Said that adorns the heart of this unusual country on the African continent? Have you had the chance to visit Tunisia so far?

If you have any question, comment, suggestion or message for me you can write me below in the comments. Of course, as always, you can contact me via email or social networks, all addresses can be found on the CONTACT page. See you at the same place in a few days, with some new story!

In the following stories from Tunisia, we will discover some other interesting sights that you should visit if your journey takes you to this unusual country!

From Love from Tunis,

Mr.M

This post is sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia – Discover Tunisia, as well as other local partners. This post is my personal and honest review of the destination experience.

SHARE THIS POST

Letters from Tunisia: Sousse and Port El Kantaoui, meet the beauties of the African Mediterranean…

Adventure Travel 3 Comments

My dear travellers and lovers of unusual trips, welcome to the new series of travelogues on the Mr.M blog. The month of July will be dedicated to an unusual country on the African continent – Tunisia, a country known for its olives. At the very beginning of this second post in the series of travelogues, I would like to thank the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia – Discover Tunisia for the warm invitation and hospitality. With their help, the travelogues and fashion stories that you will have the opportunity to read this July were created and I sincerely hope that you will enjoy them.

If by any chance you missed reading the previous travelogue from Tunisia or you want to remind yourself of some interesting things, take the opportunity to visit the following links:

The Republic of Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa. It is part of the Maghreb region of North Africa, bordering Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. It houses the archaeological sites of Carthage dating back to the 9th century BC, as well as the Great Mosque of Kairouan.

Tunisia is known for its ancient architecture, markets and blue shores, it covers approximately 164,000 km2 and has a population of around 12 million. It contains the eastern end of the Atlas Mountains and the northern part of the Sahara Desert, and much of the remaining territory of Tunisia is arable land. With almost 1,300 km of coastline, it includes the African junction of the western and eastern parts of the Mediterranean basin. Tunisia is home to the northernmost point of Africa – Cape Angel, and its capital and largest city is Tunis, located on its northeastern coast, after which the country gets its name.

The second blog post in the series of travelogues about Tunisia will be dedicated to the city of Sousse and Port el Kantaoui, which represent the true beauties of the African Mediterranean. Sousse is a port city in eastern Tunisia, located 143 kilometers south of Tunis, open to the Gulf of Hammamet in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the Tunisian Sahel – sometimes called the “pearl of the Sahel” and the capital of the governor of the same name, it is the third municipality in the country after Tunis and Sfax and the fourth agglomeration, Nabul is the third. Medina in Sousse has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1988.

Similar city names can be found in Libya and southern Morocco, such as the Sousse region. Souss in Moroccan is synonymous with rief, which means nomads or village dwellers in general. However, the term Sous is here attributed to the city, which at that time was a symbol of power and sedentarism.

The municipality of Sousse is the capital of the province, which covers an area of 2,669 square kilometers. It is divided into four municipal districts: Sousse North, Sousse South, Sousse Medina and Sousse Riadh. The first two were founded on February 11, 1976, and the last two on February 19, 1982. Its main constituencies and delegations are four in number: Sousse Sidi Abdelhamid, Sousse Medina, Sousse Jawhara and Sousse Riadh.

I will tell you a little about the history of this unusual city. If the peoples of the sea (a people from ancient Egyptian history) undoubtedly settled earlier in the region of Susa, the Phoenicians are credited with the first known name of the city. In the eleventh century BC, the toponym Hadrim appears, indicating, according to M’hamed Hassine Fantar, an enclosure or a residential area. However, the archaeological remains of the site hardly date from the 6th century BC, the period when Hadrim came under the rule of Carthage and lived with it during the Punic War, retaining its Phoenician identity as evidenced by local burial customs. After losing the battle of Zama, Hannibal Barka, who had estates in the vicinity of Hadrim, forced his soldiers to perform civilian duties and started the planting of many olive trees in the area.

Hadrim gradually freed itself from Carthaginian influence by establishing direct economic and diplomatic relations with Rome, on whose side it sided during the Third Punic War. After the destruction of Carthage, the Hadrumetians became, according to Appian’s expression, “friends of the Roman people”, and the city, renamed Hadrumetum (Hadrumetum), became a privileged and free Roman city, enriched with the decorations of the Roman people. time visible even today.

Later in 46 B.C. she loses some of her privileges and receives a great punishment when she chooses the side of the Pompeians against the victorious Julius Caesar. At the end of the 1st century, Hadrumetum was the first African city to receive the status of an honorary colony granted by the emperor Trajan. As a sign of recognition, monuments are erected that glorify the generous emperor: a triumphal arch, a theater, an amphitheater, thermal baths, etc. The prosperity of the city reached its peak in the 3rd century during the reign of the Severan dynasty.

The trade in olive oil flourished after the founder of the dynasty established free and daily oil distribution in Rome. The city even mints its own currency. When in 238 the city supports the “usurper” Capellianus, it must be subjected to the repression of the new emperor Gordian II. Public monuments and mansions are being demolished, and the once active port is losing its importance. The city regained relative prosperity when, in 297, Emperor Diocletian made Hadrumetum the capital of the new province of Byzacene, which stretched across the center of the country.

When the Vandals expelled the Romans and destroyed the city walls in 439, Hadrumetum took the name Hunerikopolis, taken from the name of Hunericus (son of the Vandal chief Gensericus). Vegetated for a century before it was destroyed by marauders from the south of the country and just before the arrival of Byzantine troops. The port, completely cloudy, was rehabilitated by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, whose name the city took in 535 (Justinianopolis) and became the capital of one of the seven provinces of the African Eparchy. The Byzantine period lasts about 135 years.

The beginning of the Arab-Muslim period can be said to start from the year 670, when Okba Ibn Nafi al-Fihri besieged the city which was named Susa. It is primarily an agglomeration that received a ribat in 787 and was populated mainly by ascetics in charge of coastal defense. The new development of Susa comes from the second Aglabid prince Ziadet-Allah I, who provided the city with a shipyard from which ships set out to conquer Sardinia, Malta, Sicily and Rome. In the 9th century, the city opened up and accepted Muslims, Christians and Jews. Then it becomes the second city of Ifrikiia and the first in the Sahel. During the Fatimid period, the prosperity of Susa suffered only moderately from the establishment of the Mahdiyya. The city, which exports its fabrics to the east and west, is also a prosperous olive-growing town.

By 1159, Sousse was attacked and then occupied by the Normans from Sicily who conquered it in 1148. But its decline, from the twelfth century, was mainly due to the promotion of Tunis as the capital under the Hafsid rule, the impoverishment of the hinterland whose seafaring represented a maritime outlet and in the thirteenth century, competition from textiles exported from Europe, the period during which the Genoese settled in Sousse. The city was subjected to a short Spanish occupation between 1537 and 1574. During the Ottoman era (1574-1881), the city regained its importance. At that time, in the 17th century, Sousse was the second trading port in the country.

In addition to embroiderers and weavers, there are also artisan potters who export their production throughout the Mediterranean basin. At the end of the 18th century, the city suffered from French (1770) and Venetian (1784 and 1786) bombardments. The city fell into decline after 1864 when it sided with Sadok Beg in a rebellion against taxes. It passed, like the whole of Tunisia, under the French protectorate from 1881. However, with the creation of a new port in 1884, the role of a maritime sales point for products from the steppe was restored.

The municipality of Sousse was founded on July 16, 1884. Since this date in the late 19th century, Sousse has seen the arrival and settlement of many Europeans, especially of French and Italian origin, who had to leave the country after its independence.

The eastern part of the medina is completed by the expanded port from 1899. Further north stretches the new town built under the French protectorate and is characterized by wide straight streets and a promenade overlooking the sea where the hotels are lined up towards Port El-Kantaoui. The Medina in Sousse, like the one in Tunisia, was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. One of the elements that sets it apart is the location of the main mosque, which is not in the city center. Like the ribat, it was responsible for protecting the arsenal’s artificial pool, which explains its military appearance.

Ribat was originally a small fortress built in the early days of the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb to protect the city’s borders. The term also refers to places that are home to Sufis. Over time, they become lodges for travelers, but also refuges for mystics. In this sense, the ribats are perhaps the source of the first streams of Sufism. In this sense, we can assimilate these places with zaouias. A marabout, a term used indiscriminately in North Africa to refer to saints, tribal chiefs and folk healers, is therefore someone who lives in a ribat.

Ribat was created during the reign of the Aghlabid dynasty, but after the construction of the city walls in 859, it gradually lost its military function. While there is a small mosque on the first floor, the basement has been converted into various rooms and warehouses, while traces of the olive press remain. The imposing entrance, flanked by two columns in the Corinthian style, was designed as a double door, which served to block access to the fortress. As for the Kasbah, it is located in the highest part of the medina and dates back to the year 844. In 853, the 30-meter-high lighthouse was named after the eunuch of the Aglabid sovereign Ziadet-Allah I (Khalaf El Fata). Since 1951, the Archaeological Museum in Sus has been housed in its walls.

The Souq in Sousse is amazing, a tangle of alleys where you can find everything from interesting souvenirs to jewelry made of semi-precious and precious stones, as well as jewelry made of precious metals. Of course, the market in Sousse has a rich selection of clothes and shoes that you can easily fit into your style and bring the spirit of North African fashion into your wardrobe.

For lovers of handicrafts, pottery and home items, here you can find a lot of interesting pieces with which you can beautify and enrich your living space. As for the prices, as in every market and bazaar there is the possibility of haggling, so you can show and practice your negotiation skills.

Port El-Kantaoui is a marina located northwest of the city of Sousse, which has become one of the most important seaside resorts of Tunisia. The project to create an integrated tourist resort on 307 hectares stems from the idea of Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba, who wants to develop tourism in the Sahel region.

It was studied in 1971 by the Tunisian tourist finance company in the area of Sidi El-Kantaoui, which is located in the territory of the Hammam Sousse municipality, north of Sousse. It is up to the Societe d’etudes et de developpement de Sousse-Nord to study the economic and financial possibilities of the project and to assume the role of general promoter. When work began under the direction of Olivier-Clement Cacoub, the port was excavated and small residential buildings (Maisons de la Mer) were built around its perimeter. The hotel complex is a structure that marks the entrance to the port. The port was opened in 1979 and the Societe hoteliere et tourisme du Port El-Kantaoui delegated the task of developing and managing the resort to the Societe d’etudes et de developpement de Sousse-Nord.

An 18-hole golf course was installed in 1980 on 130 hectares on the hillside, and in the late 1990s, the land occupied by the parking lot at the entrance to the harbor allowed the complex to be expanded by construction. a new district (Houses of the Gardens) and a permanent fairground (Hannibal Park) that allows diversification of the activities offered in free time. Three to five star hotels are being built around the complex and along the coast towards Chott Meriem in the north and Hammam Sousse in the south.

The port is a real village, mostly pedestrian, built according to an architecture reminiscent of the village of Sidi Bou Said in its Arabic-Moorish style, the whiteness of its walls, arcades, arches and alleys decorated with flowers. The resort has many shops, including restaurants, cafes and shops for foreign tourists who visit the place for its seven kilometers of beach. In addition, during the summer period, the port hosts many events, including the International Summer Internet Festival, regattas, music stages and numerous other activities.

These riches also attract many Sahelians who come to relax a bit during weekends or holidays. The construction of Yasmina Hammamet in the early 2000s did not cause a decline in attendance. The harbor can accommodate up to 340 boats on a total area of four hectares.

My dear adventurers, we have come to the end of this second special travelogue in the series of travelogues about Tunisia where we had the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of this unusual country in the northern part of the African continent. Today’s travelogue would not be possible without the selfless help of the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia – Discover Tunisia in cooperation with local partners who allowed me to feel the spirit and beauty of Tunisian culture and tradition. Of course, as always, I tried my best to convey to you my impressions of this unusual experience from Tunisia.

A person is rich in soul if he has managed to explore the world and I am glad that I always manage to find partners of my projects who help me to discover new and unusual destinations in a completely different way.

I am honored to have the opportunity to collaborate with companies that are the very top of the tourism industry and I would like to thank the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia once again for this incredible adventure and for allowing me to experience the beauty of this unusual Tunisian culture in a completely different way.

How did you like my story about Tunisia and the presentation of Sousse and Port El Kantaoui that adorns the heart of this unusual country on the African continent? Have you had the chance to visit Tunisia so far?

If you have any question, comment, suggestion or message for me you can write me below in the comments. Of course, as always, you can contact me via email or social networks, all addresses can be found on the CONTACT page. See you at the same place in a few days, with some new story!

In the following stories from Tunisia, we will discover some other interesting sights that you should visit if your journey takes you to this far-flung, unusual country!

From Love from Sousse,

Mr.M

This post is sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia – Discover Tunisia, as well as other local partners. This post is my personal and honest review of the destination experience.

SHARE THIS POST

Letter from Tunisia: The Magnificent Amphitheater in El Jem…

Adventure Travel 5 Comments

My dear travellers and lovers of unusual trips, welcome to the new series of travelogues on the Mr.M blog. The month of July will be dedicated to an unusual country on the African continent – Tunisia, a country known for its olives. At the very beginning of this series of travelogues, I would like to thank the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia – Discover Tunisia for the kind invitation and hospitality. With their help, the travelogues and fashion stories that you will have the opportunity to read this July were created and I sincerely hope that you will enjoy them.

The Republic of Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa. It is part of the Maghreb region of North Africa, bordering Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. It houses the archaeological sites of Carthage dating back to the 9th century BC, as well as the Great Mosque of Kairouan.

Tunisia is known for its ancient architecture, markets and blue shores, it covers approximately 164,000 km2 and has a population of around 12 million. It contains the eastern end of the Atlas Mountains and the northern part of the Sahara Desert, and much of the remaining territory of Tunisia is arable land. With almost 1,300 km of coastline, it includes the African junction of the western and eastern parts of the Mediterranean basin. Tunisia is home to the northernmost point of Africa – Cape Angel, and its capital and largest city is Tunis, located on its northeastern coast, after which the country gets its name.

The first blog post in the series of travelogues about Tunisia will be dedicated to El Jem, the city that is home to the largest amphitheater in Africa. El Jem is a city in Mahdia province in Tunisia. According to the last census, this city has about 22,000 inhabitants. The Roman city of Thysdrus was built, like almost all Roman settlements in old Tunisia, on former Punic settlements. In a less arid climate than today, Thysdrus thrived as an important center of olive oil production and export. It was the seat of a Christian diocese, which is included in the list of titular sees of the Catholic Church. At the beginning of the 3rd century, when the amphitheater was built, Thisdrus rivaled Hadrumetum (present-day Sousse) as the second city of Roman North Africa after Carthage.

However, after a failed rebellion that began there in 238 and Gordianus’ suicide in his villa near Carthage, Roman troops loyal to Emperor Maximinus Thrax sacked the city. The city is shown on Peutinger’s map from the 4th century.

The Amphitheater of El Jem is an oval amphitheater in the present-day city of El Jem in Tunisia, formerly Thysdrus in the Roman province of Africa. It has been on the UNESCO list since 1979 as a world heritage site. The amphitheater was built around 238 AD in Thysdrus, located in the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis. It is one of the best preserved Roman stone ruins in the world, and is unique in Africa. Like other amphitheatres in the Roman Empire, it was built for spectator events and is one of the largest amphitheatres in the world. The estimated capacity is 35,000 spectators, and the dimensions of the major and minor axes are 148 meters and 122 meters. The amphitheater is built of stone blocks, is located on level ground and is extremely well preserved.

El Jam amphitheater is the third amphitheater built on the same site. It is believed to have been built by the local proconsul Gordian, who became emperor as Gordian II. In the Middle Ages, it served as a fortress, and the population sought shelter here during the attacks of the Vandals in 430 and the Arabs in 647. Later, in 1695 during the Tunisian revolutions, Mohammed Bey El Mouradi made an opening in one of the walls. to stop the resistance of the followers of his brother Ali Bey al-Muradi who gathered inside the amphitheater. It is believed that the amphitheater was used as a saltpeter factory in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Around 1850, Ahmad I ibn Mustafa widened the breach in the wall to approximately 30 meters. In the second half of the 19th century, the building was used for shops, apartments and grain storage.

The amphitheater probably hosted gladiator fights as well as chariot races and other circus games, but above all wild animal exhibitions and reenactments of particularly popular wild animal hunts. This “Great Amphitheater”, the most famous Roman monument in Tunisia, is the best preserved amphitheater in North Africa. According to official data, the amphitheater hosts around 530,000 visitors every year.

The theater building is the third amphitheater built in the city of Thysdrus, a city enriched by olive growing and trade, it is also the most complete and best preserved. The city is the only one with such a large number of remains of this type, which allows experts to understand their evolution. The second amphitheater, whose presence was already foreseen by Charles Tissot, was discovered in the 1960s, while the first one was discovered thanks to the excavations carried out by Hedi Slim in 1973.

The first amphitheater building with a capacity of 6,000 spectators was described as rudimentary, embryonic or “very old”. Jean-Claude Golvin believes that it dates from the 1st century AD. The place chosen for its construction, where they were buried in pre-Roman times, is the only natural relief in the area suitable for construction. The building is actually carved into a tufa hill without masonry and irregularly shaped.

The stands, limited in number, were carved into the rock and a cavea was excavated there. The arena measured 49 by 40 meters while the bleachers, which seemed to erode rather quickly, were repaired with mud bricks. The presence of the building seems to be linked to the establishment in the city of an Italian theater-loving community, perhaps of Campanian or Etruscan origin, these two regions being the cradle of the amphitheater games. The second building, spread out with a solid construction, was built on the same hill as the previous one at the end of the 1st century AD or the 3rd century, but more elliptical in shape due to the embankment placed on the arena and the tribune of the previous building. The embankment of the arena, 2.50 meters high, made it possible to obtain the correct shape.

OUTFIT

Linen Shirt: Loro Piana

Trousers: Loro Piana

Loafers: Fratelli Rossetti

The grandstands are placed in brick compartments, of different sizes and separated by spaces, for a total capacity of 7,000 spectators. There appear to have been 24 sections of which 16 remain in various states of preservation. The arena had dimensions of 60 by 40 meters, and the total size was 92 meters by 72 meters. Golwin evokes both the lodge and the chapel located on the western axis. Aesthetics are absent in the construction, but the technical improvements are significant, making it more functional. At the time of the Severian dynasty, at the beginning of the 3rd century, the city was in strong development, thanks to the flourishing trade in olive oil and wheat, favored by the situation at the crossroads of trade routes.

As the second amphitheater became insufficient, it was replaced by the present building, even more advanced, built on level ground, a method also used in Carthage, Nimes or Rome. Its construction would be connected with the manifestation of the urban elite’s evergetism. For Hedi Slim, his price contradicts several epigraphic traces of local euergetism, especially regarding the organization of the games. The later side of the build led to the correction of problems encountered during previous builds, for greater functionality, and these innovations also accounted for the longevity factor.

Although the city is gradually replacing Suphetul as the economic capital of the region and the trade routes are gradually moving away from it, Tisdrus continues to play a military role due to the transformation of the building into a fortress. Archaeological excavations date the abandonment of the amphitheater to the second half of the 5th century, giving an approximate duration of activity of two centuries. Already in the Byzantine era, the amphitheater became a fortress and refuge, this was witnessed in 647 after the Byzantine defeat of Sbeitla against the Arab armies. The transformation was carried out by blocking the arcade on the ground floor and equipping other installations, including a tower that was found during recent excavations.

The monument is sometimes called “Xar de la Cahenna”, named after a Berber princess from the 7th century. century that gathered the tribes to prevent the advance of the Muslim conqueror. Defeated and persecuted, she took refuge in the amphitheater with her supporters and resisted there for almost four years. According to legend, she was betrayed by her young lover, who stabbed her before sending her embalmed head to the leader of the Arab army. The building is mentioned by Al-Bakri in the 11th century and At-Tiyani, both of whom suggest that it offered effective protection, which is difficult to reconcile with the state of the ruins. The disappearance of the tribune and elements of the upper floor would therefore be later and progressive.

Despite the partial destruction due to the use of its stones to build the city of El Djem, the third amphitheater is still remarkably well preserved and is believed to have remained intact until the 17th century. Victor Guerin specifies in his report that around 1695, according to Arab tradition, the outer facade, which had remained almost intact until then, began to collapse. The Bailician power would on this date put down a rebellion of tax origin and make breakthroughs with cannon strikes to prevent the site from serving as a refuge for the local population. The place was nevertheless used for this purpose in the mid-19th century during the last rebellion. After further degradation, the population is largely pulled out of the ruins.

The site has been visited since the 17th century and especially in the 19th century, and then this movement intensified with the establishment of the protection of the remains. Restorations were carried out in the first half of the 20th century, on part of the destroyed facade, as well as the clearing of the arena and underground spaces. Tourism increased in the 20th century, reaching around 530,000 annual visitors in 2008, making it the second most visited place in Tunisia.

In 1979, the site was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The uneven state of preservation of building materials, as well as falling stones and even vaults, made necessary a campaign of consolidation and restoration financed by the Tunisian government and a private foundation. Consolidation made it possible to avoid new rockfalls and to remove irreparably damaged parts. The restoration, using material taken from the excavated ruins, aimed to, in addition to preserving the monument, open it to visitors in the most educational way possible. One of the means for this increased accessibility was the restoration of vaults and stairs.

The restoration of the stands intended for 500 spectators also allows to “contribute to the cultural revitalization of the building”. The work on the reconstruction of the pillars also helped to reconstruct the elliptical shape of the structure. The campaign also made it possible to complete the knowledge of the monument, especially the rainwater recovery system and the foundations. Many fragments of the grandstand in the arena have also been unearthed. Due to the differences in level between the modern city and the building, its immediate surroundings have been developed with both plant and mineral resources.

Due to good acoustics and restorations, the amphitheater has hosted the International Festival of Symphonic Music El Jam every summer since 1985. In November 2019, restoration work began, a project that was realized thanks to funding of half a million dollars from the Ambassador Fund for the Preservation of Culture, which was initiated by the Embassy of the United States of America, to which the Ministry of Culture of Tunisia also contributed aid in the amount of one million Tunisian dinars.

Due to its position in the middle of more or less bare steppe expanses, the amphitheater impresses not only with its massive appearance but also with the beauty of the patina of its walls. It was built on flat land north of the site of the ancient city. In the absence of limestone in this region of Tunisia, the walls and supports of the great amphitheater were built from dune sandstone, a material easily cut from the coastal quarries of Rejiche-Salakta. The building is the only one in the Roman world that was built in hewn stone and the only building in the city built with this material, a sign of prestige attached to the monument.

The material, white at the time of extraction, has become ocher over time. However, the stone used, which is not very resistant, is sensitive to erosion and wear. According to Golvin, this fragility of the stone is the explanation for the thickness of the walls, and therefore for the massive side of the building. Excavations of the foundation revealed that the site was used to carve a large part of its elements, including decorative elements. The precise size of the cutouts of the blocks is responsible for the aesthetic choice, especially for the voussoirs which here have a re-entrant angle, while elsewhere they often have a prominent angle. Despite the unfinished decorative elements, traces of ancient restoration indicate that the monument was used. Vaults were partly built of rubble, while brick was widely used in other buildings of the same type. This way of construction makes it a special building on the African continent.

In addition to the amphitheater, the city had a theater and a circus, which have not been excavated to this day. The monumental fineness of the city allowed the spread of leisure that belonged to the Roman way of life: archaeologists have thus found many representations of amphitheater games in private habitations, especially in mosaics. The three Thisdritan amphitheatres testify to the enduring enthusiasm for the games. Even if the presence of the Italians makes it possible to explain the precocity of placing such a monument in this place, the devotion of the local population was able to express itself especially through tastes for certain types of performances, those that fought against wild animals called venationes and to a lesser extent those that were opposed to gladiators.

Animals are depicted as elements of detail, but sometimes as the main theme: the fights are illustrated by two mosaics discovered in the “House of the Dionysian Procession”, a mosaic of lions devouring a boar and a mosaic of a tiger attacking an onager. Hunting restitutions can also be simple simulations of the capture of wild animals with, in the hands of the supposed hunters, fictitious weapons. The amphitheater could also serve as the place of execution of the delivered beasts, as shown by a mosaic in the El Jem Archaeological Museum.

The large amphitheater was not used for organizing naumahi, due to the difficult water supply of the region and the lack of waterproofing, without which such demonstrations could be dangerous for the building. The amphitheater made it possible for various professional associations called sodalites to develop in the city of Tisdra, which owned animals and made them available to the organizers of the games for a fee. Such competition may have created tensions in the ancient city. The mosaic called the bestiaries feasting in the arena, Bardo National Museum, has been compared to this presence of the sodality: the guests are around the table, in front of them are figures, probably servants, one of which is a sleeping tauri in the foreground lying bulls. These diners have various symbols next to them. The discussion is noisy and results in the awakening of some bulls who all have symbols on their hind legs.

My dear travellers, we have come to the end of this first special travelogue in the series of travelogues about Tunisia where we had the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of this unusual country in the northern part of the African continent. Today’s travelogue would not be possible without the selfless help of the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia – Discover Tunisia in cooperation with local partners who allowed me to feel the spirit and beauty of Tunisian culture and tradition. Of course, as always, I tried my best to convey to you my impressions of this unusual experience from Tunisia.

A person is rich in soul if he has managed to explore the world and I am glad that I always manage to find partners of my projects who help me to discover new and unusual destinations in a completely different way.

I am honored to have the opportunity to collaborate with companies that are the very top of the tourism industry and I would like to thank the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia once again for this incredible adventure and for allowing me to experience the beauty of this unusual Tunisian culture in a completely different way.

How did you like my story about Tunisia and the presentation of El Jem, as well as this beautiful amphitheater that adorns the heart of this unusual country on the African continent? Have you had the chance to visit Tunisia so far?

If you have any question, comment, suggestion or message for me you can write me below in the comments. Of course, as always, you can contact me via email or social networks, all addresses can be found on the CONTACT page. See you at the same place in a few days, with some new story!

In the following stories from Tunisia, we will discover some other interesting sights that you should visit if your journey takes you to this far-flung, unusual country!

From Love from El Jem,

Mr.M

This post is sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Tunisia – Discover Tunisia, as well as other local partners. This post is my personal and honest review of the destination experience.

SHARE THIS POST

Letters from Cuba: Havana, the most Colorful Pearl of the Caribbean…

Adventure Travel 4 Comments

My dear travelers and lovers of unusual journeys, welcome to the new series of travelogues on the Mr.M blog. The month of June will be dedicated to an unusual island country in the Caribbean, a country known for tobacco and rum – Cuba. At the very beginning of this series of travelogues, I would like to thank the travel agency Disco Travel, which is more than a travel agency, it is a real traveling family that provides an incredible experience. This is my first time cooperating with a travel agency and I must admit that it was an unusual experience. With their help, travelogues from Cuba and fashion stories were created that you will have the opportunity to read this June and July, and I sincerely hope that you will enjoy the new adventure.

Do you want a trip that you will remember for a lifetime? Check out Disco Travel trip arrangements for distant exotic destinations and choose your adventure that you could only dream of, just don’t forget your camera and phone to capture unforgettable moments from Zanzibar, Bali, Thailand, Cuba and other destinations that Disco Friend Travel can take you to.

How to get to Cuba? The best and fastest way to get to Havana is through the City of Light with Air France. Even in addition to the rich flight network of the KLM group covering almost the entire world, Belgrade is a very important destination for Air France. Namely, since the founding of Air France in 1933, this airline has been flying to Belgrade. I’m sure you’re wondering how long was the flight from Paris to Belgrade back then? It is interesting that one daily flight in 1936 from Paris-Le Bourget airport left at half past seven in the morning, stopped in Strasbourg at 8:35, Nuremberg at 11:10, Prague at 12:40, Vienna at 2:15 p.m., Budapest at 3:35 p.m., while arriving in Belgrade at 5:25 p.m. Conclusion: the flight from Paris to Belgrade took almost 11 hours, much longer than my flight to Havana! 🙂

KLM Group, founded in 2004, consists of three independent airlines Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Transavia. The KLM group has a loyalty program FLYING BLUE that is important for all frequent travelers of KLM and Air France airlines. When you become a member of this loyalty program and start collecting miles every time you fly with Air France and KLM or members of the Sky Team alliance, you have the opportunity to achieve numerous benefits, and as your status increases, your benefits increase with it. Membership is completely free, and you can spend the miles you earn as money and use them to pay for additional services on the flight, on the ground, services of numerous partners such as hotels and car rental agencies, but also the airline tickets themselves, for more information about this program loyalty, read on the LINK.

When I read the travel program for Cuba put together by the Disco Travel travel agency I was very excited to spend a few hours in my favorite city in Europe – Paris. If you decide on this program, be sure to take the opportunity to visit Paris, don’t worry about time, but schedule your Uber ride and enjoy the charms of Paris for at least a few hours.

Use your precious time to walk down the avenues, enjoy the beauty of the displays of the world’s most famous fashion houses and be sure to buy the power adapters that are needed if you want to use your electronic devices in Cuba. Just look for Fnac in Paris or their store at the airport and you’re free to relax. Of course, in addition, do not forget to buy mosquito spray, but the special one for exotic species to protect yourself and your loved ones on this long exotic trip. If you have done your shopping, then you can sit in the garden of one of the many cafes and enjoy your morning cappuccino and croissant.

After the extraordinary Paris, get ready for a completely different contrast of colors and social arrangements that you don’t get a chance to see in Europe. The flight from Paris to Havana takes about 10 hours and make sure you are comfortable because it is extremely important on these long flights. When you land in Havana, you are entering a tropical climate zone and be prepared when you step out of the Havana airport and use your Spanish language skills that we have all learned well over the years with series like Cassandra, Rubi, Esmeralda and others. Cubans are extremely pleasant and hospitable people, you will win their heart, you only need to say “Hola!” and your adventure in Cuba has officially begun.

All arrangements organized by the Disco Travel travel agency for Cuba include a visit to Havana, Varadero and Trinidad, so you will have the opportunity to get to know this island country in the best possible way. Today’s post will be dedicated to the capital of Cuba – Havana, and this is also the first part of the story about the colorful pearl of the Caribbean.

Now I’ll tell you a little more about the country we’ll be visiting together on the Mr.M blog for the next few weeks. Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island nation that includes the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several smaller archipelagos. Cuba is located at the point where the northern Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean meet. Cuba is located east of the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico), south of the US state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Hispaniola (Haiti/Dominican Republic) and north of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Havana is the largest city and the capital; other big cities are Santiago de Cuba and Camaguey. The official area of the Republic of Cuba is 110,000 km2, excluding territorial waters, but a total of 350,000 km2 including the exclusive economic zone. Cuba is the second most populous country in the Caribbean, after Haiti, with over 11 million inhabitants.

Havana is the capital and largest city of Cuba, it forms the heart of the province of La Habana. Havana is the main port and commercial center of the country. The city has a population of almost 2.5 million inhabitants and covers a total area of 730 km2, making it the largest city by area, the most populated city and the fourth largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean region. How was Havana created? The city of Havana was founded by the Spanish in the 16th century. It served as a springboard for the Spanish conquest of the Americas, becoming a stopover for Spanish galleons returning to Spain. Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of capital in 1607. Walls and fortifications were built to protect the city. The city is the center of the Cuban government and is home to various ministries, corporate headquarters and over 100 diplomatic offices.

Urban Havana can essentially be described as three cities in one: Old Havana, Vedado and the newer suburbs. The city extends mainly to the west and south of the bay, which is entered through a narrow bay and which is divided into three main ports: Marimelena, Guanabacoa and Antares. The Almendares River runs through the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay. The interesting thing is that Havana attracts over a million tourists a year. Old Havana (the old part of the city) was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. The city is also known for its history, culture, architecture and numerous monuments.

Havana has different styles of architecture, from castles built in the 16th century, to modernist high-rises. The current condition of many buildings has deteriorated since 1959 or many have even been demolished, including the demolition of the Plaza del Vapor, built in 1835 by Palacio de la Marquesa de Villalba architect Eugenio Raineri Sorrentino, father of Eugenio Raineri Piedra, architect of El Capitolio in 1929 . years. Plaza del Vapor was demolished in 1959 by the new, revolutionary government. Due to the country’s dire financial situation, there have been numerous building collapses across the city that have led to serious injuries and deaths of local residents due to lack of maintenance.

With an experienced local guide in English, your first encounter with Havana will be a tour of the old part of Havana (La Habana Vieja). It is one of the best-preserved colonial complexes in America and has been under the protection of UNESCO since 1982. Old Havana is mostly a pedestrian zone, and at the same time, it is the most visited touristic part of the city. There are many parks, squares and narrow streets. You will be surrounded on all sides by old buildings, painted in vibrant colors.

You may notice that the paint on the facade is worn and that the walls of the buildings are cracked, but the age of the buildings in no way detracts from their beauty. We walk to the Plaza de Armas, one of the oldest and most important squares in Cuban history. It was built at the beginning of the 16th century, recently after Havana was founded. In the center of the square there is a marble statue of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, a national hero and fighter for Cuban independence. Then follows a tour of the Museum of the Revolution. Previously, this building was the presidential palace where Flugencio Batista lived, who was ousted from power by the Cuban Revolution.

The walk continues to the Cathedral of San Cristobal in the Plaza de la Catedral. It is interesting that the remains of Christopher Columbus were kept in this cathedral from 1796 to 1898, after which they were transferred to the Seville Cathedral in Spain. El Template chapel, where Havana was founded, is also worthy of attention. If you want to get to know Havana and feel the true spirit of Havana, make an effort to visit some other major sights such as the Museum of the City of Havana – Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, the Rum Museum, the so-called Havana Club, the Cuban Art Factory – a place where exhibitions, concerts and film screenings are held. projections.

If you want to go back to the golden age of Havana, I recommend you to pay for the optional tour of the panoramic view of Havana and driving in convertibles. You will have the opportunity to drive through the streets of Havana along the Malecón, an 8 kilometer long promenade, one of the main symbols of Havana. There is a beautiful view of colorful houses of different styles, and on the other side you will see the turquoise sea. The promenade is usually crowded with artists, bohemians and couples who come to wait for the striking sunset.

During this excursion, the Disco Travel group stops at Revolution Square to take authentic pictures. After that, we continue with the sightseeing of the Avenue of the President, the University of Havana and the Malecón. After visiting the modern part of Havana, we will go to the old part of Havana, which is under the protection of UNESCO, and visit the Great Theater, Central Park, Capitol, Avenida Del Prado and finish sightseeing in Moro.

Plaza de la Revolucion – “Revolution Square”, is a municipality and square in Havana. The municipality, one of the 15 that make up the city, stretches from the square to the sea on the Malecón and includes the district of Vedado. The location of the monument was agreed upon by Fulgencio Batista at Loma de Los Catalanes, taking into account the urbanization studies of architect Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier from 1926 which indicated the location as ideal for a larger city. The avenues were conceived to connect Vedado with Serra and Jesus del Monte, as planned by the architects Otero, Varela and Labatur. It would be like the center of a system of avenues and squares, surrounded by large public buildings, such as the National Library, various ministries, a museum, the School of Fine Arts, etc. This is exactly what was done to give birth to the famous Plaza Civica, which is its real name.

This project was conceived as part of a wave of architectural and infrastructural works carried out by the government of Fulgencio Batista. Plaza Civica, as it was originally called, was built during the decade of the 1950s and was part of an old and ambitious project that aimed to make Plaza Civica the center of the city’s traffic with four avenues that would connect the main points of the city. starting from him. The square and the memorial were completed in 1959 and were originally called Plaza Civica. An elevator provides access to the top of the monument at 109 m, one of the highest points in the city.

Revolution Square is the 60th largest city square in the world, with an area of 72,000 square meters. The square is significant for the fact that many political rallies are held, and Fidel Castro and other political figures have addressed Cubans on this square. Fidel Castro addressed more than a million Cubans on many important occasions, such as May 1 and July 26 each year. Pope John Paul II, during his first papal visit in 1998, and Pope Francis in 2015, held high masses there during papal visits to Cuba. The square is dominated by the José Martí Memorial, which has a tower 109 m high and a statue of 18 m.

The National Library, many government ministries and other buildings are located around the square itself. Behind the monument is the Palace of the Revolution, the seat of the Cuban government and the Communist Party. Opposite the monument are the offices of the Ministries of the Interior and Communications, on the facades of which there are corresponding steel memorials to the two most important deceased heroes of the Cuban Revolution: Che Guevara, with the quote “Hasta la Victoria Siempre” (Always forward to victory) and Camilo Cienfuegos, with the quote ” Vas bien, Fidel” (You are doing well, Fidel). It is also home to several cultural institutions.

Hotel Nacional de Cuba is a historic Spanish eclectic style hotel in Havana, Cuba, opened in 1930. Located on the seafront in the Vedado district, it is located on Taganana hill, offering a fantastic view of the sea and the city. It has been declared a national monument and has been granted the status of Memory of the World at the national level by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

In the garden of the hotel, you can still see the two cannons of the Santa Clara battery that belonged to the defense system of Havana at the end of the Spanish colonial period, and are now included in the UNESCO World Heritage List together with Old Havana.

In its 92 years, the magnificent Hotel Nacional de Cuba has witnessed some of the most important events in the history of Cuba, linking the republican and revolutionary stages, and has a long list of famous guests, including Gary Cooper, Johnny Weissmuller, Buster Keaton, Errol Flynn, Duke of Windsor and Jose Raul Capablanca in the 1930s, Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Winston Churchill, as well as Italian-American mob bosses and Mexican film stars such as Maria Felix, Jorge Negrete and Agustin Lara in the 1940s and Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, Nat King Cole and Walt Disney in the 1950s, Yuri Gagarin, Gabriel García Márquez, Jean-Paul Sartre and his wife, Fidel Castro and Ernesto “Che” Guevara in the 1960s.

From 1979 to the present, it has been the venue for the International Latin American Film Festival, becoming a meeting place for contemporary actors and filmmakers such as Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, Francis Ford Coppola, Danny Glover, Steven Spielberg, Imanol Arias, Geraldine Chaplin, Kevin Costner and Gloria Pires. Hundreds of famous people, including more than 100 heads of state, have been guests of the hotel, their photos, as well as historical objects are displayed in the Hall of Fame, a must-see place when in the capital of Cuba.

El Capitolio or the National Capitol Building (Capitolio Nacional de La Habana) is a public building in the heart of Havana. The building was commissioned by Cuban President Gerardo Machado and was built from 1926 to 1929 under the direction of Eugenio Rainieri Piedra. It is located on Paseo del Prado, Dragones, Industria and San Jose streets in the very center of Havana. The building of the Capitol of Havana was built on land that was a railway terminal and once belonged to the Villanueva Railway. The project began in April 1926, during the administration of Gerard Machado. The construction was supervised by the American firm Purdy and Henderson.

Before the Cuban Revolution of 1959, Congress was housed in the building, Congress was abolished and dissolved after the Cuban Revolution of 1959 and the building fell into disrepair. Although its design is often compared to the United States Capitol, it is not a replica, locals claim that it is similar to the one in Washington, D.C., but a meter taller, a meter wider and a meter longer, and much more detailed. To complete its construction, they needed more than 5000 workers, 3 years, 3 months and 20 days, as well as approximately 17 million US dollars. Completed in 1929, it was the tallest building in Havana until the 1950s. It houses the third largest indoor statue in the world.

Viñales – tobacco valley

During this full-day excursion, you have the opportunity to visit the Viñales Valley, located in the province of Pinar del Río and known for the largest tobacco production in Cuba. The main feature of the valley is the limestone formations – mogotes, which emerge all around like sugarcane heads hidden under lush vegetation. The first stop is Los Hazmines viewpoint, which offers an extraordinary view of the valley.

After the lookout, you continue to the Cueva del Indio cave (Cave of the Indians) where you will go boating and see very interesting rock formations. This is followed by a visit to a rural household engaged in tobacco production. While you listen to an interesting story about tobacco production, the host’s wife serves you coffee and tompus. After you have learned a lot about tobacco, you continue to explore the surroundings and enjoy the untouched nature at lunch prepared for you by friendly locals.

My dear travelers, we have come to the end of this first special travelogue in the series of travelogues about Cuba where we had the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of this unusual country in the Caribbean. Today’s travelogue would not be possible without the selfless help of the tourist agency Disco Travel in cooperation with local partners who allowed me to feel the spirit and beauty of Cuban culture and tradition. Of course, as always, I tried my best to convey to you my impressions of this unusual experience from Cuba.

A person is rich in soul if he has managed to explore the world and I am glad that I always manage to find partners of my projects who help me to discover new and unusual destinations in a completely different way.

I am honored to have the opportunity to cooperate with many companies and businessmen in the tourism sector and I would like to thank the Disco Travel travel agency once again for this incredible adventure and for allowing me to experience the beauty of this unusual Cuban culture in a completely different way.

How did you like my story about Cuba and the presentation of the capital of Havana, which adorns the heart of this unusual country in the Caribbean? Have you had a chance to visit Cuba so far?

If you have any question, comment, suggestion or message for me you can write me below in the comments. Of course, as always, you can contact me via email or social networks, all addresses can be found on the CONTACT page. See you at the same place in a few days, with some new story!

In the following stories from Cuba, we will discover some other interesting sights that you should visit if your journey leads you to this far away Caribbean country!

With Love From Havana,

Mr.M

This post is sponsored by Disco Travel and Air France airline as well as other local partners. This post is my personal and honest review of the destination experience.

SHARE THIS POST

Letters from Qatar: The National Museum, a modern landmark that invites everyone to explore Qatar’s culture

Adventure Travel 4 Comments

My dear travelers and lovers of unique trips, welcome to a new adventure on the Mr.M blog! Today’s travelogue will be the last in a series of travelogues from the State of Qatar. I sincerely hope you enjoyed this Qatar adventure and put this extraordinary country in the Middle East on your bucket-list of countries to visit in the future. This country deserves more tourists and Doha is much more than a city that has an international airport and you should take the time to explore it, as I tried to show you in my previous travelogues.

If by any chance you missed reading the previous travelogues or want to remind yourself of some interesting things about Doha, take the opportunity to visit the following links:

  1. Doha: The city where the future has already arrived
  2. The Souq Waqif and Cruise: Relax and experience the oriental spirit of Doha

At the very beginning of this last post in the series of travelogues about Qatar, I would like to thank Visit Qatar for the kind invitation and an amazing hospitality experience. With their help, the travelogues and fashion stories that you had the opportunity to read this April were created, and I sincerely hope that you enjoyed them.

The National Museum of Qatar is a national museum in the capital of the State of Qatar – Doha. The new building opened to the public on March 28, 2019, replacing the previous building that was officially opened in 1975. This modern magnificent edifice was designed by architect Jean Nouvel who was inspired by the desert rose crystal found in Qatar. The site of the museum includes the palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Yassim Al Thani, which is the heart of Qatar’s national identity. Since 2013, the director of the museum is Sheika Amna.

Sheikha Amna bint Abdulaziz bin Jassim Al Thani is the director of the Qatar National Museum who is a well-known businesswoman in Qatar and the Middle East. Prior to her work at the National Museum of Qatar, Sheikha Amna worked in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs in the Qatar Financial Center. Before she was appointed director of the National Museum of Qatar under construction in 2013, she previously coordinated the Board of Directors of the future museum. The conceptual vision and operation of the museum was developed in cooperation with the people of Qatar during the previous decade before its opening.

During many years of consultation, the main conceptual concepts were developed that were used in the final appearance of the museum. However, Sheikha Amna once said that this space “is not a classic exhibition space, but a journey, which, like any real journey, does not just take people from one place to another. The museum in itself will be a story about the past of the people of Qatar”. The new museum also involved the people of Qatar to add contemporary contributions to the museum’s collection. Later in 2020, Sheikha Amna collaborated with collectors and historians to showcase Qatar’s automotive history in an exhibition at the museum.

During the tour of the museum, visitors have the feeling of moving through an unusual labyrinth of galleries that deal with three main, interconnected themes. The galleries are arranged in chronological order, starting with exhibitions on the natural history of the desert and the Persian Gulf, artifacts from Bedouin culture, historical exhibitions on tribal wars, the establishment of the Qatari state and finally the discovery of oil to the present and planned future of Qatar. Exhibitions and installations that explore these themes present audiovisual displays with carefully selected treasures from the museum’s collections.

These collections currently consist of approximately 8,000 items and include archaeological artefacts, architectural elements, household and travel heirlooms from personal collections, such as textiles and costumes, jewellery, decorative arts, books and numerous historical documents.

The mission of the National Museum of Qatar is to celebrate the culture, heritage and future of Qatar and its people, depicting the pride and tradition of Qatar, while offering international visitors a dialogue about rapid change and modernization. Since its opening, the museum has housed materials signifying Qatar’s cultural heritage, such as Bedouin ethnographic materials, maritime artifacts, and environmental items. Ancient artefacts, most of which are of local origin, are also housed in the museum.

Before oil, the inhabitants of the Arabian Gulf coast depended economically on diving in search of natural pearls. Mainly European and North American demand dictated the success or failure of each pearling season. Before large-scale exploitation of the region’s oil reserves began in the 1950s, pearl diving was the primary economic activity along the Arabian Gulf coast. Pearls have been harvested from the waters of the Gulf since time immemorial, but it was not until the mid-nineteenth century that the industry grew rapidly to meet increasing global demand.

Pearls from the Gulf were traded with India, Persia and the Ottoman Empire, and then on to Europe and North America, where the aristocracy and the emerging middle class considered pearls to be luxury items to make into jewelry and clothing. By the second half of the nineteenth century, the pearl trade in the Gulf had grown to the point where it united people of all backgrounds.

There is a historical saying that Sheikh Mohammed bin Thani of Qatar said in 1877: “We are all slaves to one master – Pearls.” Pearl diving in the Gulf was a seasonal activity that took place during the summer period. Each season, dozens of pearling boats set sail from ports such as Manama, Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi to the shellfish-rich coastal shores.

British archaeologist Beatrice de Cardi and her team were tasked with undertaking expeditions to Qatar from November 1973 to January 1974 to collect artefacts for museum display. Their most significant discoveries were at the site of Al Daas, which contained numerous Neolithic Ubaid pottery sherds. Artifacts from earlier Danish expeditions launched during the 1950s and 1960s, previously housed in the Doha Public Library, were also displayed at the museum. The Museum’s Department of Antiquities played an active role in research and excavations after the end of De Cardi’s expedition. They excavated the archaeological sites of Al Wusail and Zubarah.

Materials documenting Bedouin ethnography cover a wide range of topics. Certain items on display were historically used by the Bedouins as tools and weapons, while other items included jewelry, pottery, and costumes. Traditional songs are presented in the museum; the most prominent are the works composed by Katari ibn al-Fuja’a and the former Emir Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani. In 2015, Sheikh Mubarak bin Saif Al Thani presented the first written draft of the Qatari national anthem at the National Museum.

When Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani ascended the throne in 1972, he made plans for a national museum to document the country’s heritage and traditions. In the same year, he contracted a company to design the structural and functional aspects of the museum. It was decided that the building would include the Old Amiri Palace, a dilapidated palace from the beginning of the 20th century that was previously occupied by the former emir of Qatar, Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani. The lagoon was also created to provide a place to display traditional dhows and pearl equipment.

Originally named the National Museum of Qatar, it opened on June 23, 1975. Originally, its facilities included a 100-seat auditorium and a library. In 1980, the museum received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The royal palace around which the museum is built was renovated in 2015 in preparation for the opening of the new museum.

The new museum building was built on the site of the old building. It was designed by architect Jean Nouvel, who was inspired by the desert rose, which grows around the original twentieth-century palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Yassim Al Thani. This important monument to Qatar’s past is now preserved as the heart of the new Qatar National Museum. The connected relationship between the new building and the old building is part of creating a bridge between the past and the present that Sheikh Al Mayas advocates as a way to “define ourselves instead of being forever defined by others” and to “celebrate our Qatari identity”.

Covering more than 40,000 square meters, the National Museum of Qatar consists of interconnected discs that create cavities to protect visitors from the desert heat. Located on a site occupying the southern end of Doha – the Corniche, the building of the NMoQ rises from the sea and is connected to the coast by two pedestrian bridges and a road bridge.

The museum was originally planned to open in 2016, but its opening was postponed to March 28, 2019. World magazine Time named it one of the world’s greatest places to visit in 2019, citing the integration of “impressive video screens and dioramas” alongside Jean Nouvel’s architectural design. It is an interesting fact that the National Museum was visited by slightly less than half a million visitors in less than a year after its opening. The museum attracts people because it shows the history of Qatar not through paintings and sculptures, but through lights, sounds and visuals that are characteristic of the 21st century.

During my visit to this incredible museum, I had the opportunity to visit a unique traveling exhibition of the famous French fashion house Hermès – “Harnessing the Roots”. Over time, everything at Hermès changes, every mechanism, shape, type of binding, suspension or buckle, originally conceived to equip a saddle or belt, is transferred and transformed, playing a role in the design of a completely new object, because lifestyles evolve, and with them and the wants and needs of its customers.

For “Harnessing the Roots”, Bruno Gaudichon, curator of the Museum of Art and Industry of La Piscine and Laurence Fontaine, scenographer, decided to compare the objects displayed through a thematic narrative, in order to reveal the connections and dialogue that has always existed between the objects. The five themes are: Brides de Gala, The Horse and His Staff, The Saddle, Buckled, and Ties and Belts. All the creations featured in the exhibition come from three different sources. The first is the Emile Hermès Collection – a collection of treasures and small curiosities, located in the Hermès flagship at 24 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honore in Paris, which Emile Hermès built during his lifetime. The second source is the Conservatory of House Creations, and the third and final source is the collections of contemporary fashion, lifestyle and accessories.

These items are complemented by a documentary archive and a film from 1962 in which Robert Dumas, heir and director of Hermès from 1951 to 1978, explains the art of saddle making. It is this interweaving of materials, stories and techniques that reveals the fantasy and magic of Hermès.

My dear adventurers, we have come to the end of this special travelogue in the series of travelogues about Qatar where we had the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of this unusual country on the Arabian Peninsula. Today’s travelogue would not be possible without the selfless help of Visit Qatar and Marsa Malaz Kempinski Hotel in collaboration with local partners who allowed me to feel the spirit and beauty of Qatari culture and tradition. Of course, as always, I tried my best to convey to you my impressions of this unusual experience from Qatar.

I would like to especially thank the staff of the Marsa Malaz Kempinski Hotel for their warm welcome and hosting me in their property. The stay in their hotel was exceptional, where I felt the warmth of home!

A person is rich in soul if he has managed to explore the world and I am glad that I always manage to find partners of my projects who help me to discover new and unusual destinations in a completely different way.

I am honored to have the opportunity to collaborate with companies that are the very top of the tourism industry and I would like to thank the Visit Qatar for this incredible adventure and for allowing me to experience the beauty of this unusual Qatari culture in a completely different way.

How did you like my story about National Museum of Qatar and the presentation of the capital Doha, which adorns the heart of this unusual country on the Arabian Peninsula? Have you had the chance to visit Qatar so far?

If you have any question, comment, suggestion or message for me you can write me below in the comments. Of course, as always, you can contact me via email or social networks, all addresses can be found on the CONTACT page. See you at the same place in a few days, with some new story!

In the following travelogues, we will discover some other interesting landmarks that you should visit if your journey takes you to capital of China!

Greetings from Doha,

Mr.M

This post is sponsored by Qatar Tourism and Marsa Malaz Kempinski Hotel as well as other local partners. This post is my personal and honest review of the destination experience.

SHARE THIS POST

Letters from Sri Lanka: All the Secrets of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy…

Adventure Travel 5 Comments

Dear my travelers and lovers of extraordinary journeys welcome to the new post on Mr.M blog! Today we continue our adventure in magical Sri Lanka and discover some interesting facts about the The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy. Before I start today’s post I would like to thank the Sri Lankan Tourism Board for this amazing experience and for having the opportunity to continue my adventure on my favorite dream island!

If by any chance you missed any of my previous posts, take the opportunity to visit some of the previous stories at the following links:

  1. The Story about Colombo (Travelogue): LINK
  2. Unforgettable Fashion Safari in Sri Lanka: LINK
  3. My Safari Experience in Sri Lanka (Travelogue): LINK
  4. Sigiriya: The Magic of the Lost Kingdom (Travelogue): LINK