Tunisia!

As my friend Ellen asked, "You grew up in Phoenix, why the heck did you go to Tunisia in July? Have you forgotten how hot that would be?" Well, yeah, but how many chances do I get to visit Africa with someone who is actually a native? To help with the language and culture, and most importantly, the driving? Latifa and I planned this since early spring. As time went on, she recruited her brother Ale' to be our tour guide/driver, and I recruited Neal to share the experience. Next thing you know, we are staying with her whole family in a summer apartment in Sousse! This was such a great vacation.

Neal and I were picked up at the Tunis airport by Ale'. I'm putting the ' on his name so you know not to pronounce it like a synonym for "beer". Two syllables, please! Latifa had rented us a car from the company that serves Schlumberger. That means it had a very annoying beep whenever Ale' sped - which was constantly! We drove south to Sousse. Probably ought to have a map, so here you go.

Sousse is right on the Mediterranean. The beach by the apartment was beautiful. The sand was white and fine, the water was warm and turquoise. I call it a "family beach". The women wore full coverage over shoulders and legs. The men wore shorts. I felt quite daring in my one-piece swimsuit!

At the apartment were Dali and Latifa's sister Emna and four small children. The next day, Latifa, her mom and sister Doha (mom of two of the kids) showed up. We had 12 of us in this apartment!

Doha, Latifa, Dali and mom, with 3 kids.

Everyone outside the apartment

The food was all home-cooked by boiling or frying, since there was no oven or microwave. Neal loves harissa, which is hot sauce that was spicy enough to drill right through your stomach. He bought liters of the stuff. We both love briq or brik, which is essentially an egg folded into deep-fried crepe. Neal and I bought the "crepes" and brought them home to try to cook. Coffee, as you would expect, was a point of disagreement. I loved the breakfast coffee, which starts with hot milk, then adding sweetened instant Nescafe'! One morning, Neal made the Nescafe' American style. He was the only one who liked it. Neal and I both brought foods from home as gifts. I hope the family eats them sometime!

Dali, known as the best briq chef

Monday, Neal, Ale' and I drove back up to Tunis. Ale' had switched cars to get one with NO speeding beep. The temperature was 37 C, or 99F, and the wind was crazy strong. Here's the Zaytouna Mosque that's in the middle of the market. Since Neal and I are not Muslims, we could only go as far as the courtyard.

I had to wear this shawl to cover my shoulders.

The souqs or medinas are in narrow, winding roads that keep the sun out. We bought a few things, but it was so crowded that I was intimidated. I did buy a colorful rug at Mains des Femmes, a fixed-price outlet for handicrafts made by women's coops. It was on ave Habib Bourguiba, which is built like Champs Elysees in Paris.

Tunis is a very modern city, with huge air-conditioned malls, too. The signs of the revolution last year are hard to spot. There was a lot of damage, and there were business ventures that failed, but generally the country is doing a good job of working out their new future.

We toured nearby Carthage, with its Roman ruins. We took tons of pictures!

The Roman Amphitheater of Carthage where...

they were dancing - preparing for a show in the Carthage International Festival

Next stop was Sidi Bou Said at sundown. It's a beautiful white-washed village with blue doors and windows, plus excellent sea views.

Supposed to have good cafes here, but we ate later

Neal and beautiful bougainvillea

Neal and Ale'

Looking for food, we visited nearby La Marsa. The night is really active here. Everything opens. Everyone, even small children, is out and about. The temperature drops to the 20's C (70's F). For instance, one night the whole family drove to Hammamet, not getting on the road till after 9 pm. It's between Tunis and Sousse. We ate at a big outdoor area while watching a show of Indian dancing and magic. I got a chance to ride a camel! This picture was taken with my phone, so isn't so sharp.

After 1 a.m., all the families left. Neal, Ale', Dali and I moved to a sheesha and tea place. The guys smoked from a very large, sitting-on-the-floor size water pipe. These contraptions cool the smoke, which is from tobacco with other flavors. On the road home, we were stopped twice by police at roadblocks. These stops were are at slow-down places such as toll booths. There were lots of police visible during our vacation, and Ale' stopped and asked directions from them and pedestrians all the time.

I kept noticing the invisible women. Everywhere I looked, there were lots of men and hardly any women. Interesting...

Tuesday Ale' drove us inland to the heat of Kairouan. It's a holy Islamic city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, about 1200 years old. The well there is supposed to be supplied by the same source as the holy well of Zem-Zem in Mecca. A camel pulled water up for us to drink.