Tunisia - acquaintance
Low houses (houses should not be taller than a mosque), but weather conditions force people to live more spaciously. Mostly cottages are 2-3 storey, white (for the average Tunisian).
Medina (in translation - the city) is the name of the old part of the city everywhere. It is surrounded by a high wall, in the middle of the bazaars there is a mosque and houses of local residents in the middle, the streets are very narrow - so that a cart can pass.
Medina in Hammamet on the very shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It would be very pleasant and romantic to walk along the embankment if we were with a couple of men. And it’s so scary and my fears were confirmed: a couple of Arabs became attached to us - what they were talking about was not clear - something like change money for us? It was difficult to get off (they spoke French, and we spoke English) and the mood was spoiled...
The capital of Tunisia is the city of Tunisia - 2 million inhabitants. Traffic is very calm on the roads, mostly one-way and almost no traffic lights. There are no multi-storey buildings. The most prestigious area is Carthage (we call it Carthage). We walked along the ruins of Anthony's baths (all that remains of the ruins of Carthage). (From the ruins of Carthage and other cities, the Arabs built the city of Kairouan in the depths of Tunisia - there is their shrine - a mosque, a visit to which 7 times is equivalent to a single visit to Mecca. )
In the same place (in Carthage), there is the president's palace, which is guarded by armed people (we have not seen armed guards anywhere else). A lot of vegetation, flowering shrubs, bright spots of red, yellow leaves on a green background. Houses with beautiful architectural nuances, white fences with openwork lattices.
Basically, houses throughout Tunisia are white and all elements of the house are painted blue (shutters, bars, gates).
In one of the cities (El Jem) - one of the Roman Coliseums - in which the film "Gladiator" was filmed - the most preserved Colosseum. Here you feel the greatness of that civilization…
In the north, to the desert, plantations of olive trees. Fenced off by a wall of huge fruit-bearing cacti (I tried it - it's hard to compare the taste with something, like kiwi, only different ).
On the way to the south, the vegetation becomes less and, as a result, yellow dunes with bushes of camel thorn. Increasingly, there are warning road signs "Caution: wild dromedaries! " (in French and Arabic). And here they are - we are forced to slow down and stop - the road is crossed by a herd of wild dromedaries (camels).
Soon the city of underground inhabitants - Matmata - holes in the dunes are already visible.
We stop near one of these holes - the dwelling of the indigenous inhabitants of Tunisia - Berbers or troglodytes. We go into the patio in it, there are several other holes in different rooms. They have different utensils, carpets. The hostess brings out a tray with a teapot, honey diluted with olive oil, cakes. I go outside, climb to the top of the mound - there is a hole - you can see the patio, and around - mounds and thorns... everywhere where the eye sees... There is nothing to "catch" the eye . .
We go further south. A sharp change of the desert from yellow to white and the thorns disappeared - even they no longer survive... And then - bang - palm forest - date palms - an oasis. Pomegranate bushes are visible between the palm trees. More white sand. . . Another oasis.
Here you can meet Bedouin - nomads (like gypsies who roam all over Africa without documents, collect salt from a salt lake in the desert and bring it on camels to the south, they sell it expensively), they bring their camels to tourist gathering places and rent them to them .
In one of the oases (the city of Duz - the gates of the desert) - transit overnight. Continuation of the journey through the desert - crossing the salt lake (where cars are tested for speed), the name of which in translation means - the coast of oases. A visit to a mountain oasis with a waterfall and a lake with warm water of beautiful color. The mountains are low, completely made of shells and other sea creatures - it was the bottom of the ocean once... The surroundings are very picturesque here - there is where to rest the eye .
Then the rally in jeeps on the dunes was breathtaking...
And again to the sea - to the island of Djerba - a favorite resort of Europeans. There is one of the shrines of the Jews - an ancient synagogue. There are also the most ancient olive trees - there are rumors that they are 1000 years old. There is the most stable temperature and the possibility of taking sun and sea baths all year round.
About symbols: jasmine is a symbol of a man - they wear it married on the right ear, the rest on the left (maybe the expression “walk to the left” came from here? ; hand of Fatima (Muslims) and fish (Christians (fish in Greek sounds like Jesus) - symbols of the world - now they are used from the evil eye; the gate - hospitality. Their traditional dishes - "cous-cous" - wheat porridge with meat and vegetables, drinks - female - "Tibarin" date-type liquor (40%), male - "Buha" (didn’t the word plump and booze come from him - fig-type vodka (36%). And there is also palm juice - which flows from a cut palm tree for almost half a year - like wine brew (on the 3rd day it turns out) - this is all from the words I haven't tried the guide.
In general, the main product is: olive oil - the most oil in the world ; dates; pomegranates, figs.
The countries of the Maghreb (Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria) are called spoiled Muslims: women go there in trousers, they can appear without a headscarf and at discos. There are a lot of laws in favor of women and, according to tradition, every year - on October 13, the president accepts another law in support of them as a gift on their women's day (for example, there is a law for cheating on her husband 2 years in prison; 30% of parliament should be women; at the birth of the 2nd a child, a woman can work part-time with the preservation of salary, etc. ).
Feelings: Relaxation. . . it's a very peaceful point on earth. No wonder Europeans like to relax there - there are no explosions, stresses, I have never heard cars honking, hurrying... The air is filled with the aroma of flowering plants (hibiscus and jasmine say).
If you go there to rest, then you definitely need to take a course of thalassotherapy (treatment by the sea) (the cheapest prices compared to other countries). And it would be cool to go to the desert to hell and live there until enlightenment passes - because the silence is until the ringing in the ears... (by the way, this type of vacation appeared there recently).