Weekend in the North

The two day passage to Tunisia saw us navigating our way through a large fishing fleet of more than 25 trawlers, drastically losing speed from catching a fishing net around the keel - thankfully not the prop - and finally being buzzed by the Tunisian military at 4am who appeared out of nowhere with a blinding spotlight and no navigation lights. Having answered a few questions we were on our way again and they sloped off back into the darkness. We were given a warm welcome on our arrival in Monastir and we happily returned down the extremely narrow channel to our sheltered berth of last year.

Monastir marina

Sidi Bou Said

We spent a few days settling in, packing away the dinghy and sails and generally preparing ourselves for the winter months ahead. Mid November the weather was still glorious so we decided to catch up on some sightseeing and caught the train up to Tunis. Travel in Tunisia is relatively cheap and we treated ourselves to first class seats for the princely sum of 12 TD (£4) for the three hour journey. Supposedly the seats are more comfortable and the carriage was almost empty. The train didn't appear to have been cleaned in years. We were entertained by the cockroaches scuttling up and down the walls and the window blinds seemed to be stuck halfway but hey, we arrived in Tunis in one piece and only a half hour behind schedule. Our hotel was literally a short walk from the station and just off the bustling sixty metre wide Avenue Habib Bourguiba, the Champs-Élysée and central thoroughfare of Tunis. Our hotel was clean, modern and wonderfully located. There were plenty of restaurants nearby, surprisingly all selling alcohol, and a shopping mall which housed a huge Monoprix supermarket.

Roman mosaics, Bardo museum

Grinning mask, 6th century BC, Carthage

Roman mosaic, Bardo museum

Roman mosaic, Bardo museum

Porte de France, Tunis

Zitouna mosque, Tunis

Having studied our maps we set off early the next morning for our local tram station. Despite taxis being affordable we wanted to experience the local public transport which conveniently had a stop not far from our destination, the Bardo Museum, in the suburbs of Tunis. For the princely sum of .45 TD (15 pence) we clambered aboard the no. 4 tram. It soon became apparent that we would have to start counting stops if we were going to alight at the right one as there were no obvious station names visible. Thankfully we got it right and made our way to the luxurious 19th century former Bey's palace, now the Bardo Museum which houses a major collection of incredibly well preserved Roman mosaics. We spent a few hours along with only a handful of other tourists admiring the magnificent works. We managed to navigate ourselves back to Avenue Habib Bourguiba without incident and then made our way west to the Porte de France and the entrance to the Medina, yet another UNESCO world

Tunis

heritage site. We fought our way through the overcrowded narrow covered souks to the Zitouna mosque founded in 698 AD. We continued on through the colourful souks of the perfumers, clothing merchants, wool merchants and the noisy blacksmiths until we emerged in to the day light once again. We were happy to be back in the French new town and Avenue Habib Bourguiba with its cafés, hotels and shops.

Stelae, Tophet, Carthage

Stele, Tophet, Carthage

Stelae, Tophet, Carthage

Punic Ports, Carthage

Antonine Baths, Carthage

The following morning armed with yet more maps we set off in an eastward direction to Tunis Marine station. We caught the suburban TGM train out of the city and across the lake towards Carthage, originally founded in 814 BC and once the centre of the Phoenician (or Punic) civilisation. Sadly the original city was thoroughly destroyed by the Romans and most of what has been excavated is of Roman origin. We alighted at Carthage Salammbo station. From here we walked down to the Tophet, a Punic cemetery for young children. According to legend and believed by some experts, the Carthaginians brought their infants here to be ritually slaughtered. Having had our dose of the macabre we continued walking along rue Hannibal to the two ancient Punic Ports, once the basis of Carthage's power and prosperity. Today they appear as two salt water lakes surrounded by luxurious Tunisian villas. It seemed strange to be walking along the same roads as Hannibal, a son of Carthage, who probably walked here some 2,261 years earlier. We continued walking

Antonine Baths, Carthage

past guarded foreign Embassy buildings to the north eastern corner of ancient Carthage and the entrance to the Antonine Baths, once the largest in the Roman world. The baths themselves are situated in a stunning position right next to the sea but sadly only the foundations of this massive complex remain today. We were beginning to wilt but made our last stop the Villas Romaines. There wasn't really that much to see but the views alone over the coastline made it just about worth the visit. It was time to sit down so we staggered back to Carthage Hannibal station and continued on by train to Sidi Bou Said.

Antonine Baths, Carthage

Sidi Bou Said

The beautiful cliff top village of Sidi Bou Said has been a favourite haunt for many artists and writers over the years including Paul Klee, August Macke, Cervantes and Simone de Beauvoir. The village was discovered by wealthy French and other expats who bought houses at the beginning of the twentieth century. They wanted to preserve the town's character and in 1912 Baron Rodolphe d'Erlanger passed a bye-law stating that all houses had to be painted blue and white. Today it is a retreat for wealthy Tunisians and tourists alike but it is still enchantingly pretty. We collapsed in Café de Nattes, famously painted by August Macke, for a well earned drink and rest before finally catching the train back to Tunis.

Sidi Bou Said

Sidi Bou Said

Sidi Bou Said

Sidi Bou Said

Sidi Bou Said