Monastir Things to Do

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I’ve always wanted to try parachuting. Parasailing was a good way to find out if it’s worth the effort. It definitely is. My flight took about 10 minutes and 3 days of getting ready ;) After some instructions in combined English and German I was kind of ready to fly. The first two minutes were terrible because I didn’t know if I could make a move and not fall down to the sea. When I became more comfortable I started really enjoying myself. That was pretty much it when I heard a whistle – the landing sign… Too bad. I must say, though, my landing was the best of all previous ones that we’d seen. Time for next step then – PARACHUTING! Do you fancy joining Antosiu? (Written by Asia Janusz).

Prices are about 30 Dinar, but most will give you a discounted price of 25 Dinar

The Alyssa diving centre runs from the Kuriat Palace hotel, and has 2 trips a day. A fully qualified team ensures that this outfit is run like a (relatively) tight ship. They also offer diving courses, from 1* all the way to instructor level.
The trip I did consisted of a 20-30 minute dive, on a coral reef. We were taken down one at a time, and when the instructor was happy with our progress he left us alone to go fetch the next member. While we saw many kinds of fish, and some sea urchins, we were slightly disappointed not to see a greater variety of sea-life.
The total cost for our trip was 60 dinar, which included a CD of photos from the trip. Longer dives obviously cost more, and they do wreck dives for more experienced divers. Courses start at about 400 dinar.

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Habib Borguiba was the first elected president of Tunisia (he negociated the independence from France), and is considered the father of the new nation. He was born in Monastir and is buried here in this magnificent Mausoleum. The building was built in 1963, it´s an imposing building, with three domes and two minarets marking the entrance. To reach the building you have to walk a long paved
road with palm trees and street lamps, it´s a nice walk with views of the Muslim cemetery nearby.

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Is a huge cemetery located northwest of the Ribat, wich dates back to the 12th century. The cemetery has some old and beautiful Marabouts, many muslims desire to rest close to the Ribat regarded as a sacred shrine. I can´t explain but i found the cemetery extremely aesthetic.

After visiting the Ribad we were taken to visit the Great Mosque (the building was built in the ninth century and enlarged by the Zirids in the 11th century) but it was closed. The building is quite dissapointing specially after visiting the Mosque of Kairouan.

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A beautiful park located between the Ribad, the Bourguiba Pavillions and the Bourguiba Mosque, we spent some time in this cool park under the palm trees, watching the local people wandering while we are waiting for the rest of the group.

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The Ribat is very well preserved and is full of passageways, corridors and staircases to explore. In the summer time the Ribat
houses various events that are part of the international festival of Monastir. ...

In the first floor of the Ribat there´s a museum of Islamic art built in the place of the ancient oratory. The museum displays various historical phases of the Islamic civilization in Tunisia. Is a small museum only four rooms but very interesting, with relics as wood and marble works carved with floral and gheometrical designs, Copt fabrics from the Abbasside era, old gold and silver coins, glass items and some wonderful astrolabes (an instrument used to meassure the height of the stars in the sky).