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O C T O B E R 2 0 1 1 — WA S H I N G T O N B E A C O N
Travel Leisure &
Taking the bus to New York or beyond is convenient and affordable. See story on page 48.
Good time to visit post-revolution Tunisia Roman ruins
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But while resort getaways offer beachside relaxation, they can be isolating and don’t provide much of a taste of the country’s unique local color. For a stiff dose of it, try the capital, Tunis, a sprawling metropolis peppered with vestiges of its ancient past. The Tunis suburb of Carthage was founded by Phoenicians in the 8th century B.C. and was hometown of Hannibal, the general who crossed the Alps with elephants to launch his celebrated attack on Rome in 218 B.C.E. Sacked by Romans — who famously sowed the soil with salt — Carthage would become Rome’s first colony in Africa. You can still visit the vestiges of the city’s Roman past, including the remains of villas, the ruins of a 1st century C.E. amphitheater, and the Antonine Baths, a seaside thermal bath complex. Carthage is also home to another, more recent, historical site, Ben Ali’s sprawling presidential palace. Police guard the compound, which has been empty since the former president and his family fled into exile on Jan. 14. If Carthage doesn’t sate your appetite for Rome, a trip to Tunis’ stunning Bardo National Museum is in order. Housed in the former royal palace, the museum boasts one of the world’s premier collections of Roman mosaics, with room after room filled with mammoth, often impeccably preserved, tiny tile masterpieces. Tunis also has among the biggest and best conserved medinas (old city or historic center) in the country — indeed, in much of the Arab world. A warren of narrow streets with whitewashed buildings studded with wooden doors painted a rainbow of eye-popping hues, Tunis’ medina dates back to the 8th century and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Zitouna Mosque is both its geographic and spiritual heart. Built in the 9th century, it was remodeled and added on to by successive dynasties, each determined to An ornamental arch frames the tower of a outdo the last. Non-Muslims can mosque in Tunis. visit the complex, with its breathtak-
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By Jenny Barchfield Long known for its sea, sand and sun, Tunisia has a new claim to fame — as the birthplace of the Arab Spring. Popular demonstrations toppled the tiny North African nation’s longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January, inspiring the wave of pro-democracy protests that has swept the Arab world, from Morocco to Bahrain. While the uprising that ended Ben Ali’s 23-year-long autocratic rule went relatively smoothly in Tunisia — especially compared with the bloody and protracted conflicts that have since erupted in Syria, Yemen and neighboring Libya — the hordes of European tourists that long thronged to the country have largely evaporated. Tunisia’s border with warring Libya remains dangerous, and poor inland towns still see sporadic protests. But Tunis and the resort towns have regained their prerevolt calm, and the country is on a path toward democracy. Still, the country’s Mediterranean beaches and millennial ruins are largely deserted, and bargains abound. Travel operators who offer all-inclusive package deals at seaside resort hotels have slashed their already reasonable rates in a bid to lure visitors.
Bargain prices are starting to lure tourists back to Tunisia, less than a year after its revolution. Here, women sell colorful bolts of cloth in the marketplace of Tunis, located in the capital city’s historic old city or medina.
ing arched courtyard, mornings every day but Friday. Tourbet el Bey is also worth a visit. Buried deep in the medina, it’s an 18th century mausoleum where Tunisia’s monarchs, or Beys, as well as their children, wives and concubines were buried in elaborate marble sarcophagi.
A shopping bonanza Vendors in the medina who shuttered their shops during the revolution are again open for business. Here are some of the best shops in the sprawling, 667-acre medina, where you can procure everything from cheap Chinese-made flip-flops to hand-cast gold jewels, as exquisite as their price tags are exorbitant: • Ed-Dar: Equal parts shopping extravaganza and cultural outing, a visit to this chock-a-block store is a must. Every surface in the 15th century Arab houseturned-emporium is hung with antique rugs, stacked with hand-glazed ceramics, and shines with intricate silver jewelry. Three brothers, Ali, Youssef and Taoufik Chammakhi, founded the store in their childhood home in 1980 after their collection of handicrafts culled from the breadth and width of the country burgeoned out of control. Most of the pieces
here are one-of-a-kind heirlooms that were bought directly from families that had kept them — sometimes for centuries. Prices range from a few dozen dinars for a tile hand-painted by Ali Chammakhi himself, to tens of thousands of dollars for a collection of gem-covered military decorations with pieces dating back to the 1750s. Don’t miss the rooftop terrace, a lush oasis of potted plants with a knockout view over the medina. • Youssef Gassem: Just downstairs from Ed-Dar, affable rug-seller Youssef Gassem hawks his wares in a tiny shop piled high with Berber and Persian carpets, kilims and rugged tent rugs made from camel hair. There’s something for every budget, from small synthetic models that run for fewer than $100 U.S., to mammoth, century-old kilims in vegetable-dyed wool that fetch upward of several thousand. Gassem’s assistant works up a sweat as he unstacks the carpets, and you might be asked to help unfurl them. If something strikes your fancy, be prepared for marathon negotiations, which take place over seemingly endless glasses of sweet mint tea. Next door, Gassem’s brother Ridha sells See TUNISIA, page 46