One can buy alcohol at tourist hotels/restaurants at tourists’ prices or you can buy beer in the hidden beer halls full of smoke men and high decibel chatter (subject to prayer time). Opening hours and prayer times were somehow linked, like planets in opposite orbs—but it was hard to divine. One does need a bit [...]
Jerba gets a lot of hype (perhaps 3000 year’s worth) as it was the land of “Lotus Eaters: from the chronicles of Ulysses. Certainly, fields of olive trees spread over the rocky flat island are different then the semi-Sahara main land areas that surround it. It always had a causeway and thus the main town [...]
Sbeitla (Sufetula)The Roman ruins of Sufetula are considerably nicer than the modern town of Sbeitla on the shoulder of the ruins. Sbeitla, a one-horse town only needed tumble weeds and Clint to complete the score of “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly”. We went to the restaurant-bar across from our one story “Motel” [...]
Louage The nine-seater van generated by most car manufacturers in the 80’s is the standard. For every shiny BMW there is its opposite—The Tunisian Louage. Not all are thirty years old; some are more modern and well maintained. It is the roulette wheel of the lounge. Locals use louages (shared taxis) as they [...]
Tataoine--granaries Fortified granaries? If the photo looks vaguely familiar, it’s because this areas was used for some of the Star Wars desert footage. They are in fact ancient grain storage rooms, all within these 10-meter high walls. Clearly, stolen grain meant starvation, so one protects the supply. These hillside “forts” Ksours (single [...]
