Fun things to do in Tunisia

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Ksar Hedada (its also used name Hadada) and its ghorfas are most famous from the film "Star Wars: the Phantom Menace" by George Lucas. The shooting was at 1997 and Lucas used this historic monument to create the town Mos Espa in Galactic planet Tatooine.
The old guarter of Ksar Hedada, including ghorfas, belong to the local hotel which is in its most part incorporated in the ksar.

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Medenine is extremelly interesting place to visit, especially for those who aren't much familiar with the North African culture and traditions. The Ghorfa which could be seen here is probably the biggest and most interesting in whole of Tunisia. Already in the pre-colonial times Medenine was the mos important trading centre in the south. Ghorfa complex at Medenine was one of the most important granaries depot in the north of Africa. Today it serves as a place for living.

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Douiret is alike one of those scenes we have seen in the documentary or play movies wich makes us wishing to visit it one day. There are ruins of an old town, situated on the top of the hill which dominates the rugged valley of wild beauty. Beneath the ruins is relatively big mosque and seems like still operating because this area isn't isolated, few people could have been seen moving around.
Opposite the hill are the army barraks with quiet a number of soldiers. It must be one of those important strategic positions.

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Your driver will pick you up from your Tozeur hotel in the morning. From here you will visit the stunning oasis of Chebika where you can swim in the pure water or explore the old village on foot. From there you will travel to Tamerza, witness the stunning waterfalls and wander through the abandoned town. Mides, a beautiful old village, is next. You will have time to witness the grandeur of the canyon and explore this abandoned village. Next, you will travel through the dunes, via Ong Jemel, to the Star Wars set of Mos Espa. After living out your Star Wars fantasies, you will drive through the desert and witness the sunset before continuing on to the beautiful oasis of Nefta. After this, you will return to Tozeur in time for dinner.

True oasis experience with an incredible Star Wars twist, the opportunity of a lifetime!

NAME: Kairouan (the "fortified town" in Arabic).
LOCATION AND ACCESS: Chief town of the governorate, 160 km south of Tunis, 67 km south of Sousse.
DIALING CODE: 07.
ACCOMMODATION: See Hotels Listing.
TOURIST INFORMATION: Syndicat d ' Initiative, place du Commandant Mohamed el Bejaoui, tel. 220-452.
AMENITIES: Post office, banks, service stations, shops.
SOUVENIRS: Typical Kairouan carpets, Brass work, Leather goods.

An hour drive from Sousse, discover Kairouan "the city of 50 mosques" . The spiritual home of all Tunisians, the city itself rises like a dream of ocher and tawny beige, serene in its 13 centuries of Islamic culture, authentic and proud of the wondrous beauty of its mosques, the symphony of its columns and arches, the exquisite delicacy of the stone work. The towering and sober dignity of the Great Mosque seems to embody the spirituality that has inspired artists and poets from its creation until the present day.

Dating from the 9th century its austere beauty dominates the entire city. Inside, visitors can wonder at the exquisite elegance of the wood carved doors and stucco arabesques, as well as the forest of columns (400) of the prayer room with their Phoenician, Roman and Arabic capitals.

The medina, with its imposing walls and monumental gates encloses lovely mosques, an ancient well and hundreds of shops where world famous Kairouan carpets of pure wool are woven and sold and where the visitor can admire the handicrafts of artisans in copper, leather, and in the traditional jebba and burnous, ornate and richly adorned or elegantly natural . The artisanat Center provides an excellent exhibit on carpets and carpet weaving and visitors who may be thinking of buying a carpet are welcome to consult the Tunisian National Handicrafts Organization or Artisanat ,as it is familiarly called, for advice on quality, prices, styles, care and shipping their carpet home.

As Kairouan is the oldest and most renowned carpet center in Tunisia, the selection is enormous .Undoubtedly the hand knotted pile carpet reigns supreme with the typical design of Kairouan, Alloucha, being of natural wool colors with a large border of parallel stripes of geometric patterns and a central lozenge with a floral design. However, the creativity and artistry of the weavers embroiders this basic scheme with a infinite variety of patterns and colors creating a masterpiece of harmony and elegance.

Carpets are graded by their fineness ,the number of knots in a square meter ,with a normal weave from 10,000 to 40,000, fine weave from 65,000-90,000 and extra fine from 160,000 - 500,000. Silk carpets may be over 500,000 knots per square meter.

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well worth a visit.
monastir has lots of interesting buildings and shops selling a good mix of souveniers and trinkets. The "monastery" after which the town was named, was built by an Islamic religious order in 797 to defend the town from roaming nomadic tribes and Byzantine warships. The fortress houses a lovely museum of Islamic art and artifacts.
you will be hassled.
there is a beach here also.
Post office, various shops, pharmacies, hospital, coach station, service stations.
monastir is a combination of both modern and traditional buildings.

There is a zoo like animal park in tunisia. They have a wide variety of animalssuch as antelopes, gazelles, camels, donkeys, lions, ostriches, flamingos and crocodiles. , and can be a nice day out for a family. The park also has zulu dancers and bedouin dancers who do set shows on an evening, some tour operators organise trips to these and are definantly worth a visit.

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Aside from well-known Carthage (see my Carthage page), Tunisia has a number of interesting archeological sites. The other two we visited are Dougga and Bulla Regia.

Dougga is on UNESCO's World Heritage List as the "best preserved Roman small town in North Africa", which is no small feat given the number of former Roman towns in this part of the world. In July and August, the renovated theatre is even host to the Dougga Festival, which features classical dramas. The guided tour takes about an hour, but it is clearly insufficient. Only take the tour to gain some background information before exploring the place at your own afterwards. Dougga is located west from Tunis, some 6 km from the town of Tebersouk. Unless you have your own transportation, it's a 1¾ bus ride and the only practical way to get there may be to get off at Tebersouk and hire a camionnette (pickup used as a taxi). There are many day tours offered from Tunis and especially Hammamet.

Bulla Regia was special because it is the only place where, in an odd parallel with Southern Tunisia's troglodyte homes, the Roman homes are underground. This is due to the excessive heat of the sun in the summer - the underground levels are actually exact replicas of the ground-level floors, which were used outside the summer when the weather was cooler. The floor mosaics here are particularly impressive. The most convenient major city near Bulla Regia is Jendouba, some 153 km west of Tunis.