Arab Spring in Tunisia

We left you in busy busy Cairo with visits to the pyramids, the fabled Cairo museum and Saqqhara, which is where King Djoser built his Step Pyramid, the world's oldest stone monument.

Walking down the alley beside our nice hotel we found ourselves right back in old Cairo. We were discouraged to go there but it was just too tempting and cheap. One highlight of Egyptian food is the cosherie which serves the noodle dish it is named for and great falafels. They also specialize in cream caramel and sweet milk ( rice pudding to us).

Jenn, Peter, Jane, Alison, Martin, Di, Adam, Jon, Rogan

We continued to bid farewell to our Odyssey family, starting with the truck and our guides Alison and Rogan. We were pretty much the last to leave Cairo.

We keep meeting interesting people. At the Tunis airport we met a retired Jordanian who now volunteers in birth control programs and is presently involved with safe abortions following recent atrocities in Libya.
We found a small hotel in Tunis on the edge of the medina. The medina is the old,as in really old, town, often walled. Not too much wall remains in Tunis but the medina survives with its atmospheric narrow allies and white jumbled buildings.The souq is the shopping area in the medina and the kasbah is the fortress.

Local trains brought us to Carthage which will not make our top ten. Most of it is buried under the modern suburb with a few bits and pieces scattered about. Happily the Bardo Museum was much better with a remarkable collection of Roman mosaics.

As to Tunis itself we were not always tuned in as only Arabic and French is spoken. Last Sunday we witnessed a demonstration with lots of shouting men.....with as many watching from the boulevard or cafes across the street.  A few hours later the place was shut right down, no cafes, no shops and no people. We were told it was a rally run by Algerians and others to draft volunteers for Afganistan and Chechyna. A pretty hard sell in Tunis we would think.

Ulysses and the Land of the Lotus Eaters (Djerba)

A long drive through rolling green landscape brought us to LeKef. This is a very pretty town perched on a hill overlooking a lush valley. It claims a beautiful medina with a kaskah perched above it.

This is a good time to mention the delightful breakfasts we are having. Starting with the excellent coffee, freshly squeezed juice, french bread and coissants.  Coffee quality took a signifigant jump starting with Ethiopia and even Sudan has lots of outdoor cafes ...usually filled by men with their sheesha pipes at their side. The ladies we are told visit at home.

The Roman city of Dougga is one of the outstanding remains in North Africa. It lived up to its billing nestled in the surrounding hills. Of special note were the near intact temple and theatre. It also has a well preserved public toilet that Mike found after a diligent search.

Our next stop was the holy city of Kairouan with its massive walls and the tenth century Grand Mosquee, so important that seven visits equals one visit to Mecca. As we move south the towns seem more and more charming.

Medhia was our favorite until we arrived here in Djerba. In both towns we have stayed in small restored hotels deep in the medina. The alleyways require that you must walk to reach the door. Elaborate tiles, immaculate bathrooms and beautiful central courtyards which the rooms overlook make these places very hard to leave.

Something called a louange took us to El Jem; this is a minivan that waits until it fills and then goes...no schedule.

.
El Jem boasts the Roman Empire's third largest coleseum which we think outdoes the one in Rome. The collection of mosaics here surpasses the collection at the Bardo. Art of the highest level ...but the artists were not paid well or acknowledged in their day as were painters and sculptures. How fortunate so much has survived.

The courtyard of our Djerba hotel.

We are really enjoying our wanderings in Djerba...could easily stay a week. This was written on a French and Arabic keyboard, please forgive the errors.  Loading pictures on this computer is a headache we will add a few more later.

Hairstyle in Djerba  helps to have a great subject