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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Tunesia: Country and People

by Potato-Brigade

Personally, I´m VERY keen on Tunesia and I´ve been there many times. I may be overstating it but Tunesia has everything except wild night life, though I suppose if you´re a party person and on a charter holiday you could manage that too. If you´re like me though, and abhore throngs of "tourists" (the stereotypic ones) then getting away is so easy. Simply jump on a country bus! There are plenty of interesting places where you may not see a single European (besides the one in the mirror), or at worst mere day-trippers who surface about noon-time and vanish an hour or 2 later. These sort of places are very discrete and you´ll have to rely on your own motivation, but if you´re intereted in culture, ruins, people, etc. you should have no problem. A bonus, if you can speak French, is that the Tunesians are friendly, helpful, and interested in chatting about your culture as well as their own....

do not miss to visit Carthago

by hanspeter_W.

NAME: Deformation of "Kart Hadasht" ("the new town"), the name used by the Phoenicians in the 9th century B.C. LOCATION AND ACCESS: In the outskirts of Tunis (15 km north of the capital), on the Gulf of Tunis. Excellent paved roads from Tunis to Carthage. International Tunis-Carthage airport used by the major international airline companies. DIALING CODE: 01. ACCOMMODATION: Several hotels (see Hotels Listing)Who has not heard of Hannibal and this city who dared brave the might of Rome? Now the ruins of both these great empires lay open to the sun and wildflowers. Declared a national monument the town of Carthage and nearby Salammbo abound in vestiges of the Punic and Roman empires, baths, dwellings, temples, shrines and the fabulous naval port of the Carthaginians. The hill of Byrsa, where in the 8th century BC, Carthage was founded by the legendary Princess Elissa-Dido, is a storehouse...

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Phoning home from Tunisia

by Kevin-UK

Cheapest mobile calls are to buy a Tunisian sim card when you arrive.Calls to UK will cost around 1TD per minute about 45p, far cheaper than UK rates of £1.35 per min.When buying top-up's you pay extra (ie 20TD will cost a little more) but that is just the way it is done. Due to Tunisians not having large sums of money many outlets will just top the phone electronically (ie send you the mins from their donar phone). Do make sure that your pone is unlocked before you go though. When you return home either sell the card on ebay etc, or bring some top-up cards and add 5TD every 6 months so that it is not switched off. I use my card each year that I go.If your phone is too new to unlock cheaply get hold of an older 2nd-hand one, O2 do not lock their cheaper tariff phones, so they'll accept the Tunisiana card. Not all phones accept the text settings automatically, if you want to send text you...

ANDALUSIAN SMALL TOWNS

by Elisabcn

In Spain during the XIIth century all the people that were not Christians or however had Jewish or Muslim relatives had to leave the country. Some Andalusian immigrants came to Tunisia and they tried to build constructions using the styles and decorations they were used to in Spain. So thanks to these people we still can see in Tunisia "a piece of Spain", because these towns really look like some villages in Andalusia. Even if they are clearly an "off the beaten path destination" in Tunisia, they worth a visit.I'll try to visit and write about all these towns; Some examples are Zaghouan orTestour

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IIWW IN TUNISIA

by Elisabcn

After the English-American disembarks in Morocco and Algiers (8-11th November 1942) the French North Africa took part of the fight on the Allies’ side. On 9th November the German troops disembarked in Bizerte and landed in Tunis. Tunisia would be the scene of the first land combats lead by l’Armée d’Afrique on the Allies’ side. Some important dates to remember:* Since 19th November 1942 General Barre and his French Forces put up resistance to a German attack in Mejez el Bab (northwest Tunis). It was the beginning of the hostilities in the Tunisian Campaign* Different combats took place between November and December; Djebel Ahmara, that dominated the Medjerda Valley (named by the British troops the “Longstop Hill”) went over to the enemy’s hands* On 18th January 1943 the German “Tiger” tanks appeared for the first time in an offensive in Oum el Abouab. The American armoreds stopped this...

WHY SIDI BOU SAID IS SO BLUE AND WHITE…

by Elisabcn

Arabs don’t like the blue color very much. Take a look at the flags of Arabic countries: they are basically red (red means blood for them) and sometimes they use other colors like black, white or green but blue color does not form part of their culture. So why are Sidi Bou Said and Tunis in general so blue and white? This is thanks to Baron Erlanger. Baron Rodolphe d’Erlanger was a French-American nobleman who lived in Sidi Bou Said. He loved Sidi Bou Said and wanted to buy it and transform it in a kind of Monaco full of yachts, casinos and beautiful people. Fortunately this land was not for sale. The Baron was the responsible for Sidi Bou Said current look (blue was his favorite color). His palace (Palais Ennjema Ezzahra) with beautiful views to Sidi Bou Said’s bay is a good example. The Baron was also responsible for the revival of Tunisian traditional music. Nowadays there are...

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BYZANTINE AND CHRISTIAN TUNISIA

by Elisabcn

Byzantine era has always been neglected in Tunisia (and by tourists!) but there are some fine Byzantine remains that worth a visit. Most of the military structures (basically forts) in Tunisia have Byzantine origins; you can find remains of basilicas at most of the roman cities too like in Cartago, Thignica. Sbeitla or Haïdra.In 533 Byzantine (the western half of the Roman Empire) Emperor Justinian sent an army under his general Belisarius, which crushed the Vandals and took Carthage.Years later we can find an autonomous society with an independent character from Constantinople It seems that that period was marked by an administrative and economical revival and a vigorous religious life until the arrival of the Arabs, who defeated the Perfect Gregory in 647. Despite this, Christian and Muslim communities coexisted in Tunisia for some six centuries more and the disappearance of...

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NICE BEACHES

by Elisabcn

Tunisia has kilometers and kilometers of nice beaches and turquoise sea. You can swim and sunbathe in the morning, walk along its corniches during the afternoon and admire the Tunisian sunsets in front a cup of shaii at a nice cafè. Most of these sea villages have nice medinas too. Places like Hammamet or Sousse are very famous but full of tourists in summer time too; others like Mahdia or Nabeul are just hidden gems

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TIP 0: THE FOUR GOLDEN RULES TO SURVIVE IN TUNISIA

by Elisabcn

It took me ten months to write it but this is maybe the best tip about Tunisia that I can offer to the vt community.Resident or visitor, there are 4 basic rules that should help you to survive in Tunisia, specially if you want to interact with local people: 1-Don't ask yourself too many questions.2-Even the simplest operation can become a real Odyssey in Tunisia.3-Be patient . . . here everything is "inchallah". . .4-Always, remember always, contrast the information (specially the indications to find a place) that you receive. I could add an illustrative example based on my own experiences to any of these rules but i prefer that you discover them by yourselves. . . Am I a bad girl?? No, just "cherrira" ;-)))

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PHOENICIAN TUNISIA

by Elisabcn

Phoenicians arrived to the Tunisian coasts by the year 814bC when princess Elissa founded Cartago; They colonized the surrounded areas and converted them in trading ports. Cartago became an independent state with a population of 500.000 inhabitants. Utica was also a very important trading port and soon became Cartago’s rival (see my tips about Utica). Phoenician colonization was a commercial colonization but Cartago was becoming so important that Romans considered it “dangerous” and they started the Punic Wars (three wars!) that finished with the roman conquest of Cartago in 146 bC and the foundation of the roman province of Africa with Utica as its capital.Almost all the Roman cities in Tunisia like Dougga, Utica, Cartage, Thuburbo Majus… have Phoenician origins and you still can recognize some former Phoenician structures or constructions; The star of this tip is Kerkouane, the only...

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Top 3 Hotels in Tunisia

The Residence Tunis  Tunis

 1 Review and 76 Opinions  The Residence is right on the beach near Carthage, with it's own stretch of beach offering various... 

 Hotels in Tunis

Marhaba Tour Khalef  Sousse

 8 Reviews and 209 Opinions  We returned 17/7/2011 our kids aged both 8 years thought it was best kids club ever lots for them to... 

 Hotels in Sousse

Park Inn  Ile de Jerba

 3 Reviews and 23 Opinions  One of the oldest hotels in Djerba was the first one over the lagoon for years, which could be seen... 

 Hotels in Ile de Jerba

Questions and Answers

Vix79 profile photo

Q:  Easiest way to get from port el kantaoui to hammamet Please and approximate cost, would just be for 1 day thanks 

leics profile photo

A: Easiest way is probably to ask your hotel about organising a car + driver, or talk to local taxi drivers and get quotes. Otherwise, the official Tunisian railway... 

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