Should I go to Tunisia? Worth it if you're curious...
If you are interested in history, archeology, I will tell you what we managed to see in 5 days in Tunisia.
Before the trip, I asked Turpravda a question: who knows what to see? I managed to read something, I knew something from the experience of a past life. But what matters is the opinion of someone who has already seen it. After reading the only guidebook that I could buy, besides Carthage, the El Jem Coliseum and the Bardo Museum, the word "Dugga" was familiar. Everyone praises, so it’s worth looking and understanding: is there, for what.
A girl who has been in Tunisia (and in the East in general) here on Turpravda advised me to stop in Hammamet with my requests: close to the capital, where we were going to go. The place is not bad. Even at the end of October it was hot: about 30°. Too much for excursions.
We flew to Monastir: everyone is brought there. The charter was postponed for 2 hours, so we were already there at night. Our hotel "in the delivery" was almost the last. Hotel Hammamet Dessole - "basic" of the host Russian company "Pegas", 4 *, all exclusive. At the end of October, there were only Russian speakers in it. We were accommodated in a one-story building by the pool. At first we were glad: the building is pretty: in the spirit of Arab pateos, our courtyard was still the happy owner of a personal tangerine. But from the next evening, I lost my temper: every evening there was music at full power by the pool, it was impossible to fall asleep “until the end of the performance”. I really needed silence after a big city on vacation and quite often had to get up early in the morning. At the same time, there were 200 people in the hotel, most of the buildings were empty. I would prefer to stay by the second pool or even further from the Reception. We liked the hotel, although it was not the happy owner of the first line by the sea. The strange thing was that the access to the sea was closed at 18. For the first time I deal with this. Although there is little experience of a “beach holiday”: I didn’t encounter this in Crete, in Egypt they lived on the first line. This meant that if after the excursion you want to "dive" into the sea and relax, have time to return before 5 pm. by public transport. In our hotel, the staff (not all) spoke (or understood) Russian, you can speak French with almost all the inhabitants of the country: if one does not understand, there will be an interpreter nearby. Consequence of learning according to the French school curriculum.
So. What we could see based on the above conditions.
Day 1. Because "basic" hotel, Pegas representative started with us, i. e. since morning. Offered banal excursions and entertainment. I immediately asked him: is it possible to get into Dugga? He was surprised and, fortunately for me, immediately sold us this tour. There were also excursions in a "package" - two in one, cheaper than two in one. Paid for three excursions 320 dollars. Those. already from the morning of the first day we distributed all 5 days of our vacation. These same representatives advised us to take taxis everywhere, and gave us prices from point A to point B, C, and so on.
There is a taxi rank in front of the hotel. We approached the drivers and asked if they could take us to Tunisia (about 60 km from Hammamet) and how much it cost. With the named price, we returned to the hotel, clarified whether it was possible. We were confirmed: yes, 120 dinars for the whole day there-waiting-back.
We go to the Bardo Museum (goal number 1) by "taxi" (the more people in the car, the more profitable). Why "taxi"? I didn’t understand, but I guessed: the driver changed the branded taxi car (probably, you can only drive it in Hammamet) to his own, and he was already taking us to another city in it. The cost of the museum is 11 dinars plus a photography permit of 1 dinars. Previously, I looked for information in fr. sites. And it turned out to be very useful: the museum does not have a plan where the most valuable exhibits are marked (there is only a plan of the museum indicating departments); I didn’t see audio guides either, so that by pressing the button with the number next to the exhibit, I could listen to about it; there are no signs showing where to go. Everything looks like an investigation: look for yourself what you find, and if you find something valuable - you are lucky. That is, the "savages" need to prepare in advance. True, we met 4-5 Russian-speaking groups, but these were groups of the Globus host company, Pegas did not offer this. These excursions were quite well told (the difference is in the command of Russian).
Shoe covers are put on in the museum, they are not at the entrance to the halls, but at the cash desk. I did not know this word, so I did not immediately understand what was required of us. Why shoe covers? The entire museum is covered almost from floor to ceiling with mosaics. Culture shock. This extensive collection, perhaps. the richest in the world, and in Africa - definitely the richest. All the most valuable mosaics found throughout the country are located here. And, having seen it, you can not look at the rest of the places.
I will list what we found on the advice of the French (alas, not all): the most valuable exhibit of the museum is a mosaic with a single image of Virgil, Carthaginian masks, mosaics illustrating the Odyssey, mosaics from Carthage, the Triumph of Neptune from Dugga, a hall of underwater excavations from Mahdia, a huge number of Islamic inscriptions of amazing beauty. That is, the museum has several departments: prehistoric, Punic, Roman period, Christian period and Islamic period. Employees actively help to search if you know what you are looking for. For tips. East. . .
At the entrance-exit they took the plan of Carthage. Fortunately. In Carthage there are not even books about Carthage.
Day 2. The day before, we talked with our taxi driver about the possibility of going to Tunisia again (see Carthage). When we returned back, another taxi driver was already waiting for us - a minibus for 8 people. This one spoke French. Several times they asked not only the price, but also the duration of the trip. Price - 160 dinars or $ 100, from 8.30 to the evening (for us - until 17-18, for him it turned out to be less). In the evening we were looking for a company for the bus. Not found.
We had a plan of Carthage (taken from the Bardo Museum). Plus there was a book about Carthage, a guide. We imagined what we wanted to see. We gave our driver guide the plan taken in Bardo. And they began to go around certain places according to this plan. There were 11 of them in the plan. We saw a lot of Roman ruins in a day. But what I saw, I will list. 1) Amphitheater. An oval building with underground passages (not the Roman Colosseum, but the plan is similar). There was nothing left of the seats. 2) Tophet. Punic cemetery. Interesting if you are interested in the Punic period. 3) Carthage (on the hill). There is also the Punic quarter of Byrsa. The museum, compared to Bardo, is a local history museum. 4) Baths of Antoninus. This is amazing. 5) Theater. Novodel. Everything is restored, you will not find antiquities. 6) Punic port, or rather two harbors - civil and military, which have survived to this day (in the plan). Interesting. The guide said about the museum. There is a small house with mock-ups in it. Maybe it was considered a museum? Nearby there is a maritime museum. But this is a different story, modern. You can see fish and shells there. There is also a laboratory for the study of the sea. Entrance for a fee - 1.5 dinars. 7) Damous el Karrita Basilica. A huge area covered with the remains of columns. The largest in Africa. 8) Underground reservoir. Here is something. I haven't even heard of this. Worth seeing.
As far as I understand, organized groups are shown (3), (4) and, perhaps, something else from the type of theater I have listed. Then everyone goes to Sidi Bou Said. Carthage is a very long archaeological site. It's good that we were transported by taxi. On foot, you can lose a lot of time looking for these places, lost among the villas of wealthy Tunisians... The train that passes through Carthage makes 5 stops. This archaeological site costs 11 dinars with photography.
Day 3 We got up at 4 in the morning to go to the Sahara at 5. I didn't even think of this possibility. But we were told that the tour includes a visit to the El-Jem Colosseum (south of the Monastery), Kairouan with the Great Mosque, and dwellings of troglodytes. And, of course, we jumped at the opportunity. There was a tour of the largest Colosseum in Africa (Roman copy). This must be seen. Then, with stops, we reached the troglodytes. Alas, this is a show for tourists. I imagined it a little differently. But the locals left these places. Only those rare ones who remained can at least show something to tourists. And not everyone will show their house to crowds of tourists (there were big buses: two Russian, one French, one Lithuanian). We stopped for the night in Duza, and this is the Sahara. In the evening, those who wished were "rolled" on camels. Organized caravans were taken to the dunes, stopped to photograph the sunset, returned back. All the "pleasure" takes place in the national Berber costumes put on you. For the first and last time I rode a camel, I don’t want to do it again. So sorry for these unfortunate animals dragging tourists back and forth. Support for the Berber population. It's good that our guide clearly appreciated his camels: well-groomed.
Day 4 Rise at 4. Early in the morning before dawn - departure. We cross salt lakes covered with a crust of salt. Camel thorns everywhere. We stopped in the middle of the lake (through it the road) to meet the dawn and look at the "roses" of the desert: salt formations in the form of roses. Well, dates to whom? We got to Tozer. Here we were offered to transfer to jeeps. Pleasure is doubtful. Jeeps have fewer seats than people. We were sitting alone in the front passenger seat, not wearing seat belts. Very Russian. But since we both drive a car, I was outraged. We meandered through the desert, climbed high dunes: we were shown what happens when driving jeeps in the desert. Maybe it's funny, but not when you're sitting on the gear lever and you're talking to the driver, then to the neighbor. They showed another show for tourists: lined up houses for the filming of Star Wars. But what a view! The dunes are tall. What was previously seen only on TV or on the Windows splash screen, was finally seen firsthand. And everywhere they try to impose photography with desert foxes. Their poor are caught on purpose to rip off money from tourists. (Although there was no such obtrusiveness as in Egypt: if you don't want to, it's your right. ) We arrived in Shebika in the Atlas Mountains. I did not think that these mountains reach from Morocco to Tunisia. Opening. The gorge where the stream flows is amazingly beautiful. 10 km to the border with Algiers. Again through the desert in jeeps. And return via Kairouan. Kairouan is disappointing. Infidels are not allowed into the mosque even into the courtyard. There was no service, but they waved at us right away. I asked about religion, the guide said that the church in Tunisia is separated from the state. But in Egypt I went into the mosque (in the courtyard), in Turkey without any problems at all. And here they not only did not show, but did not even tell. Alas.
Day 5 Rest on the sea. The beaches of Hammamet are sandy and long. You can go and go. Which is what I did.
Day 6 We're going to Doug. By minibus. The road there and back is empty. They didn't show anything. They only talked about the country. It's a long drive: almost to the border with Algeria to the west. Here is a huge Roman city, you can’t get around the whole: several hills. There is nothing left of Punic. There is a Berber mausoleum, recreated, but you can't reach it. Many preserved Roman buildings, mosaics.
For 5 days of excursions we traveled half the country, about 2000 kilometers. We had rights. The roads in Tunisia are good. The price for the toll road from north to south is used to repair the rest. But driving around Tunisian cities is difficult. My fellow traveler, who has covered many thousands of kilometers in different countries, agreed with me and the French: it’s better to take a taxi, relax. We did not see any trains, although we sometimes crossed the railway tracks. Looks like you can't get anywhere by train. We did not use the luages: it so happened that we immediately got into a taxi, and then it was no longer necessary. And the prospect of sitting in the luage, waiting for him to finally go somewhere, did not smile at me: it takes a lot of time.
We have seen a lot. Perhaps the most important of what is in the country. Will I come here again? Do not know. Probably, not. But I can definitely say: you can go here, because. there is something to see, except for the sea and shops around the hotel. The Mediterranean Sea is similar everywhere, but the countries are different, and the people in them are different, and their customs are different, even Arabic in Tunisia is different than in neighboring Algeria or Libya - a dialect of Arabic, of course, but not all.
