Around Tunisia on your own
This is our third tour to Tunisia, which we love. In this country there is a unique opportunity to visit many architectural monuments of the ancient Roman era and museums. This time we chose Cap Bon, between Nabeul and Hammamet, the Zenit 3 * hotel. I wrote a separate review about the hotel. Usually we go in October, you don't travel much in summer, it's hot. We decided to try it in the spring. But while they were waiting for Ramadan until June 3, then the tour operator raised prices... We got out only by mid-June. Nothing, the average June temperature is 28 degrees, normal, we thought. And then the abnormal heat hit, it was both 32 and 36. Of course, this is not August, and there was a light cool breeze, and the nights are cool, but still you don’t really travel much in June. I had to shorten the program, we did not go to Karkuan, Kelibia and Utica. I’ll tell you about visiting Tuburbo Majus, Carthage, the Bardo Museum in the capital, the museum and the remains of the ancient Neapolis in Nabeul on your own. Important tips for Tunisia were drawn from the stories of travelers, especially the Yellow Crane website helped. Well, and favorite Turverda, of course.
I want to remind you once again that you need to carefully count the change, money when exchanging even at the post office or in the supermarket. We were cheated in the airport exchange for a decent amount. Buy a local sim. Do not travel without a phone, copies of passports, insurance numbers.
Tuburbo Majus - Caesar's favorite settlement, a city where veterans were settled from 25 BC. BC, a large number of mosaics from there are now in the Bardo Museum. Taxi 5 dinars to Nabeul bus station. From there at 5.30 by bus 141 in two and a half hours we reach El Fach, ticket 5 dinars 410 mm.
There is a taxi stand next to the bus stop in El Fahs. But grandfather intercepted us right at the exit of the bus and drove 4-5 km to the entrance to the excavations in 10 days. Ticket 8 dinars. As usual, we were the only visitors. Deserted, knee-deep dry grass, monuments scattered over a decent area. The tall columns of the Capitol are well preserved; the colonnade of summer baths gives the impression. And, as always, the Romans found some wonderful places for their cities, small hills around, beautiful. I liked it, but the sun began to bake, we didn’t walk for a long time, once again refused the proposed ancient Roman coins, called my grandfather by phone and drove back. Grandpa justified his double fare, famously cut off some express bus traveling from Dzhenduba, put us there, waved his hand and we returned to Nabeul almost twice as fast with comfort and air conditioning, tired but satisfied, as they say.
Notice some changes. Taxi drivers everywhere, not only in the capital, drive only on the meter, no bargaining. Just make sure that you do not leave the amount of the previous client and that they include a daily rate, it is one and a half times cheaper. Another change is not so pleasant. The prices for tickets to museums and excavations have slightly increased, but now they do not take dinar for photographing.
Nabeul. We liked it much more than Hammamet, there are a couple of pleasant streets with large shops such as General Store, Carrefour, Monopri, clothing boutiques. The bazaar, in principle, is one short street, with many shops with ceramics, leather shoes and bags, souvenirs. Specially such a tourist. There are shops with price tags. Or trade. Don't buy until you see real prices. Sellers are moderately pushy. Prices are low. It is impossible to stop shopping. Take care of your pockets! Full of crooks.
Now about the high. Nabeul Museum in the very center. Unpleasantly struck by the price increase from 5 to 8 dinars, and tickets were not given. There is almost nothing to see in the museum. Very small exposure. Nothing special. Feel free to not go there. We went to the excavations of Neapolis (two km towards Hammamet) on foot from the hotel along Anviroman Boulevard and reached in an hour. There, a smiling uncle was so happy for us that he seemed to offer to go for free. They almost forcibly handed him 10 dinars. Much was not expected, except for the foundations of the temple and the remains of a factory for the production of garum (the Romans' favorite sauce from fermented fish) there are only vague fragments and a few mosaics. And suddenly, the factory turned out to consist of a fairly large number of huge, several meters deep, bathtubs. And the invariable mosaic on the floor was made in a way we had never seen before so that it would not slip on a wet floor. Three stones along, three across, and they stick out a little, the floor is ribbed. Very interesting. The Romans are amazing with their technology. Around flowering trees and bushes, all this is on the seashore. Class.
In past visits, we did not get to the famous Carthage. Although many travelers claim that there is nothing to see there. You can only make sure that it is still destroyed. But I wanted to put a tick that we were there. From the Nabeul bus station, express number 102 runs every half hour to Tunisia. At 6.30 we are already on the bus. From the Tunis bus station, tram number 6 is two stops to the Tunis Marina station. There's a subway type train every 20 minutes to Carthage Hannibal station. It takes about 20 minutes to drive. The train is dead, the audience is quite simple, along the way the view from the window is fences and trash cans. A wonderful alley, cypresses, plane trees and some kind of flowering trees leads to the museum, where tickets for all objects are sold, with charming snow-white villas on the sides. It looks like Italy. Very beautiful. Uphill road. We approached the museum, the ticket office. Suddenly! The museum is closed for repairs and has not been functioning for more than a year. But tickets that cost already 12 dinars sells. You can wander through the ruins. But we didn’t plan this, only a museum, because it’s already very hot, even though it’s morning. We took a picture of the charming pseudo-medieval church of St. Louis. Very beautiful. We walked, stared at the villas. Stunned by the heat, we caught a taxi and for 12 dinars we got to the Bardo Museum. What a contrast! We are driving along a beautiful road, around brand new high-rise buildings, clean, greenery. Shine and poverty, in general. I have already been to the museum, I wrote about it. Huge, very beautiful room. The richest collection of mosaics. For us, admirers of ancient Roman culture, almost Nirvana. Tickets 12 dinars. Back to the bus station taxi 3.5 dinars. We laughed for a long time, remembering the first time we got eight stops by tram. Well, we are not looking for easy ways. . .
It's a pity, but that's all with travel. I will share information about a store with a very good collection of ceramics, from tile paintings to cups, very reasonable prices, a pleasant unobtrusive seller. This is a Superprix store, three km from our hotel on the road where buses and minibuses go (from the circle to the right) towards Nabeul. I remind you, buy, if necessary, medicines for the future in pharmacies. The prices are much lower than ours, the quality is better.
I hope my story will help you in your travels. Tunisia is a beautiful, very beautiful, albeit poor, country with a rich history.
Good luck and good mood to everyone!
