Suss attention. How not to get into trouble in Tunisia.
I was in Sousse in 2003, then my wife and I threw a coin into the fountain at the entrance to the Sousse medina to return and now, 10 years later, we returned. We were in Monastir and did not hesitate to take a taxi to Sousse (about 10 dinars). In the medina, a surprise awaited us: dirt everywhere, the fountain does not work, there are no foreigners at all, you can’t go to the market, the Arabs are everywhere inviting (do not look back, pass by quickly) and God forbid you step into the labyrinths of these shops if you don’t buy anything with at least an overpayment of 2-3 times, they will call you names, push, provoke, leave as quickly as possible to the exit, there are no police in the market. Bags with money and phones were snatched from some tourists. This is not the civilized Tunisia that it used to be, these clean squares, with Germans and French walking around.....However, if you want to buy souvenirs - in front of the medina there is a 4-storey Soula fixed price store, there are air conditioners, a lot of security and toilets. Prices are lower than after 2 hours of bargaining on the market (bags from 30 dinars, belts - from 20, tunics and scarves from 10, souvenirs from 1 dinar, etc. ), cosmetics are 40% cheaper than in the market. In Soul, prices are much lower than in Monastir, in Yasmine (also fixed price). I'm all for this: beware of the markets, that Tunisia of 2003 with nice, clean, penny markets and polite traders in the past. Now this is an unsafe extreme, where your politeness will be perceived as weakness, and weakness among the Arabs is not held in high esteem. Listen to what the Arabs are talking about, there is little obscenity in their language, if the Arabs start to gather around and you hear the word "zib bi", they are plotting against you, leave. Advice for girls: dress like a church, otherwise behind you you will hear arrogant: "Rusca, beer-beer, fuck-fuck" or something like that. Take care of yourself.