This was my first trip ever to the Middle East (if you don't count Dearborn, MI) and Tunisia seems to be a pretty nice way to ease into the region. Post revolution, tourists are coming back in droves, hotels are in expensive, food is pretty decent, and communicating with Tunisian's isn't terribly hard. There's a fair amount of English...and everything else. I find it fascinating that French and Arabic are used equally here, often in the same sentance.
I'm here for work so I haven't really seen much of Tunis, but at my colleagues urging I played a little hooky today to visit Sidi Bousaid, a nearby town on the sea. I'm very glad that I did too. In addition to spending a little more than I planned on jewelry, the town itself is gorgeous and the port is right on the Mediterranean. It looks a bit like imagine Greece does...white buildings with blue doors and windows.
I found out that the snazzy color scheme is more than just fashionable...it also serves a practical purpose. Apparently the blue of the doors and windows keeps flies away.
Oddly enough, orange juice seems to be the drink to get here. But no wonder why; there are fruit laden orange trees everywhere!
The town itself is charming and very easy to explore...even with all the hills and stairs. I even found an over grown cemetery at the very top of the town which also afforded excellent views.
And the shopping is dangerous :)
The only kink in my day was how over cast the sky was but otherwise it was a lovely visit. I would definitely like to come back here in the future when I could spend more time just sitting in one of the many cafes.
I'm here for work so I haven't really seen much of Tunis, but at my colleagues urging I played a little hooky today to visit Sidi Bousaid, a nearby town on the sea. I'm very glad that I did too. In addition to spending a little more than I planned on jewelry, the town itself is gorgeous and the port is right on the Mediterranean. It looks a bit like imagine Greece does...white buildings with blue doors and windows.
I found out that the snazzy color scheme is more than just fashionable...it also serves a practical purpose. Apparently the blue of the doors and windows keeps flies away.
Oddly enough, orange juice seems to be the drink to get here. But no wonder why; there are fruit laden orange trees everywhere!
The town itself is charming and very easy to explore...even with all the hills and stairs. I even found an over grown cemetery at the very top of the town which also afforded excellent views.
And the shopping is dangerous :)
The only kink in my day was how over cast the sky was but otherwise it was a lovely visit. I would definitely like to come back here in the future when I could spend more time just sitting in one of the many cafes.
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