Tunisia

I transferred in Paris despite its confusing signs and ran into several of my friend’s cousins at the gate. After a two hour flight from Paris to Tunis, we endured an intense immigration officer, found our luggage, and met with my Suntransfer driver. I offered the extra spots in my car to one of the cousins, and we drove to the hotel. I started to feel excited about what was to come…

For the next four nights, we’re at the Residence Tunis, a five star hotel in the resort area of Gammarth. On the 20 minute ride to the hotel, we got our first glimpses of Tunisia. Tunisia is the northernmost country on the African continent and we’re in the capital, Tunis. The majority of the country is Arab and Muslim, so Arabic is the official language while many speak French due to the colonial history.

After checking in and a quick 10 minute shower, I met the second group who was headed off to the Medina for lunch and tour. The first group got the opportunity to tour the Medina before the lunch.

Our bus drove us through downtown Tunis and dropped us off at Kasbah Square, which was built on a citadel. A photo below where we also saw school children singing and holding Tunisian flags:



A welcome lunch was planned at Dar el Jeld, a beautiful restaurant that was converted from a palatial home. The colors were quite pretty, and I felt lucky to be seated with the bride and groom.







Lunch included a delicious Mediterranean salad, a fish wrapped in puff pastry, traditional sweets and fruit with mint tea. A collage below:



Here’s the front of the door of the restaurant where we learned about the various symbols of Tunisia:



After lunch, we divided into several groups with guides and walked through the Medina or old town, a UNESCO World Heritage site:















We visited hotels that had beautiful rooms:





And passed by many coffee day drinkers enjoying the beautiful weather:



We observed the different kinds of mosque minarets:





And learned how the traditional chechia hat is made:



We even went into a beautiful café area, which was original with beautiful tiles, and reminded me of many Indiana Jones movie scenes:







We then visited a mosque turned school/culture center with a beautiful courtyard, which we understand is included in traditional Islamic architecture:







We visited a perfume store and learned how traditional perfume is made in Tunisia. The scents were very floral - the national flower is jasmine:



We then visited Al-Zaytuna Mosque which means Mosque of Olive, the oldest in the Medina, where we took selfies in borrowed scarves and could only observe (no photos of) the prayer room:





We ended the tour near Bab el Bhar also known as Porte De France or the gate of France, which separates the Medina and the modern city:



We found the bus and the other tour groups and headed back to the hotel. After resting in my room and a quick shower to wash off the perfumes off my arm, I headed to the henna party. Traditionally only women are invited, and there was quite a bit of dancing and laughter as we took turns with the henna artist. Most of us chose the more traditional Tunisian body painting with Harkous which is similar to henna and doesn’t last as long. Here is the subtle design that I chose off of the artist’s Instagram:



I didn’t take photos of all the dancing just because I felt like it was a special moment with the bride and her friends. But if it’s any indication, the wedding will be ridiculously fun. Most folks went across the street to a place called Flo for some drinks while I returned to my room after a full day without a nap. I wanted to quit while I was ahead and rest for the marathon of a weekend. But what a great first day in Tunisia meeting all the lovely friends and family!