I spent yesterday in Tunis just having a general wander round. Inevitably I met some very helpful people, but I managed to fight them off until finally a doorman from the hotel recognised me, and offered to give me a tour of the medina. Well, I thought he'd be trustworthy, so we headed straight for his friend's carpet store. I explained I had enough carpets already, even government approved ones, so I wouldn't be buying any more, not even a small one. I did go up on the roof of the building, though, to see a panorama of Tunis:
After leaving the carpet shop, my guide just wanted to visit his father - who happened to own a perfume shop. I was totally lost by this time so went along and ended up buying a specially discounted bottle of jasmine oil from my new brother. Deal done, I made my apologies, and fought my way back to the mean streets of downtown Tunis.
Today, I've been to Carthage, Hannibal's home town, and it's gorgeous. It's quiet, well kept, clean, and there's loads to see. I caught the suburban train - it's about 10 miles away. Because it was a hot day, the locals jammed the doors open to provide a through-breeze when the train's moving:
The Goths and the Vandals destroyed most of the the city when they arrived, but they left the foundations behind, so you can see the scale of some of the buildings, and also the settings. The Antonine baths were in a fantastic spot, right on the coast. The president liked the position so much, he built his palace next door. No pictures of that I'm afraid; the machinegun-toting soldiers weren't too keen.
Then I climbed the hill which was where the town was first estabished, in about 800 BC. As you can see, it's quite lush, and is a really gorgeous place. I might buy a house here - it's bound to become a popular place to visit.
Off into the museum, which was well organised, but the signs were only in French and Arabic, so took a little time to take in. Great mosaics. Most of the excavations have only been done since the 1950s.
Finally I blagged my way into the Roman theatre. There was a festival being set up, so it was really closed, but they said it was OK for me to have a quick look. Imagine: there have been gigs happening on this very spot for the last 2000 years.
My leg is agony, so I'm having a slower day tomorrow - Sidi Bou Said is a haven for artists, apparently, so it's a must-see place to visit, and there's a good beach at La Marsa just up the coast a little.
