Tunisia Travels

We arrange a two day custom tour to the South. In our small bus, eight Canadians, a driver and an English/French speaking guide. (I am including the names of the places if you want, follow the trail on Google Earth.) An hour and a half ride brings us to El Jem, the site of an impressive Roman Coliseum that rivals the one in Rome. It is smaller but in better condition.

Our journey continues south through endless acres of olive groves, past Tunisia’s second largest city, Sfax, then a coastal drive to Gabes. As we turn inland towards our “late” lunch in Matmata, the countryside gets rougher and dryer. We see the occasional oasis with its signature cluster of date palms, but mostly we are mesmerized by sunbaked sedimentary rock, dusty and cruelly dry even now in the Tunisian winter.

Matmata is home to Berber people who still live in underground cave dwellings. As in any place where it is hard to eke a living from the harsh landscape, the youth leave for cities or tourist resorts. Like us, they want electricity and running water, perhaps a satellite dish to supplement their cell phone connections. We consider it a novelty to visit a home where Elenore has to work for her lunch.

We are treated to a real Berber lunch nearby in a cave hotel where some of the original Star Wars movie was filmed. Good spicy couscous and cabbage with a morsel of lamb eaten in a unique atmosphere.

Our journey takes us inland now towards Douz, the Tunisian gateway to the Sahara.
The Sahara covers one third of Tunisia. In this part of the world, camels and date palms groves are the outward demonstration of wealth, so I was quite flattered to be offered two thousand camels in exchange for Elenore. We decide to rent a couple of camels before making our final decision on the deal.

A desert experience is the highest on my wishlist for this trip and I am not disappointed. In spite of being walked along like a kid on a pony ride, my time on the camel exceeds expectation. For a few moments I am Lawrence of Arabia looking out over the endless Sahara, reliving a past life as a desert dweller, a freedom fighter of Dune, Roland on a camel and totally thrilled.