Hello everyone! I cannot believe that I am writing my final blog! I want to thank everyone for reading and leaving comments. I hope you’ve had as much fun reading them as I have writing them. There are so many stories I want to share with everyone, I want to write more about my host family, Tunisian stalkers and hundreds of fascinating cultural differences. I don’t have time however and instead I will share advice as a survivor of my Tunisia program.
First of all everyone must spend some time living abroad, it is essential in becoming a well-rounded person. Also it only “counts” if you live in a non-western, developing nation (México, China, India, Africa, etc…). If I had chosen to study for eleven weeks in London, I would have never learned a quarter of what I have in Tunisia. I have become stronger as a person, both in my beliefs and in my ability to adapt (but not in my physical strength. Damn Ramadan food.). I also highly recommend living with a host family. Its much more difficult then living with other students and honestly you might have less fun. For example I went to a café once in the entire trip whereas my friends went at least twice a week. Yet I am now a new member of my Tunisian family. So what if I stayed at home, that’s what the Tunisians do and for eleven weeks, I was Tunisian. I had a mother, father and sisters. I have played shuba at nanas house, sang along to folklore with my host father and got traditional henna on my hands (don’t worry it only lasts three weeks). Living in a non-western world with a host family stripped my life of everything familiar and made day-to-day life into the largest challenge I have ever faced and I wouldn’t exchange it for the world.
I will be home on December 11th and I can’t wait to see everyone and share my stories. As for tomorrow I am off to Germany! Maybe if I’ll have time I’ll write an update about my adventures, although I doubt the can hold a candle to my experiences in Tunisia.
<3 Katie
P.s- How wants to come back with me next summer? I love my host family far to much to never see them again.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Friday, November 24, 2006
A Day In My Life
Hello everyone! Its hard to believe that I only have one week left of the program. The time has gone by relatively fast, with the exception of Ramadan, which seemed to slow time down to a crawl. For one of my last blog entries (which I’m glad everyone is enjoying by the way!) I am going to write about a average day of mine.
I wake up at seven and eat my breakfast of coffee, sick pre-made toast and more coffee. (I think I may be a new official member of “the club”). Then my host dad drives me to school so I can arrive by 830. Now if my daily commute doesn’t sound like it would be too inserting then obviously you are not acquainted with the Tunisian freeway system. First of all Tunisians find the idea of “lanes” quite optional, technically the highways have two but its common to have three and crazy taxis drivers often make four. While my life is flashing between my eyes my host father is smoking between four to six cigarettes and singing loudly to whatever arab song is on the radio, if the song is in English (which it is about half of the time) he drums on the steering wheel. After around 20 minutes of this I arrive at ISLT/Borgiba School/ Institute 7th November at Cartridge (its been ten weeks and i’m still not quite sure what the name of my school is).
There are two language schools in Tunis with the name Borguba School. One is a posh private school in downtown Tunis and the other is dilapidated, overcrowded and in a sketchy suburb by the train tracks. Guess which one I go to. Hint-the school has holes in the roof and one the rare occasion that it rains I have to slog through puddles to get to class. Today I took my camera to school in a poor attempt to document the building. The “highlight’ is the bathrooms and I took a picture which I will spare all of you because it literally makes me gag a little. Why? Well none of the toilets flush (and I have tried many in various locations…not that you really need to know) so by the time I took my picture at 11:30…they where full. This happens everyday! Who has to clean them at night I wonder? Ok, now that I have scarred you all for life I will continue with my day.
I have Arabic class from 8:30 to 11:30….in a perfect world. During Ramadan I had school from 8:30 to 2. My teacher is a wonderful man who is under the impression that if I don’t understand its because A- my handwriting is poor or B- he needs speak louder. After my 2 to 6 hours of class I eat lunch with my friends at “Pizza Mimosa” (sadly they do not serve mimosas) where I spend 2 dinar for my “salad various ” which lives up to its name by being different everyday.
After lunch I go to culture or literature class if its Monday or Tuesday (riveting I know). After my riveting day of class I hail a cab and take it home. I know its silly but I feel a little like a bad ass when I take a cab home by myself, speak to the driver in Arabic and sing along to the blasting arab music. My Arabic is far from fluent (or even conversational) but I am able to have simple conversations with my cab drivers. Usually the conversations sound something like this-
Me- Park Enaily please.
Driver-(Speaks French to me and then sees my blank look)Do you speak French?
Me- No
Driver -You speak Arabic?
Me- A little. I am a student of Arabic at Borgiba school.
Driver- Are you British?
Me- Yes/ No I am Canadian/American
Driver- How old are you?
Me- I have been in Tunisia for three months.
Driver- How old are you?
Me- September, October, November
Driver- How old are you?
Me- OH! 20.
Driver- Are you married?
Me- No (or if don’t feel like this conversation AGAIN-Yes. To a strong arab man)
Driver-Why not? You are so beautiful.
Me- (please drive faster..) Thanks….
Driver- Why are you not married?
Me- I am too young/ I hate men/ I’m engaged/ drop me off here.
Driver- Will you marry me?
Me- Ha ha ha ha, No thank you.
Driver- I love you!
Me- Uh….Stop here. Thank you!
After I arrive home more or less single. I do homework until dinnertime and then…do more homework…Wow. I can’t wait to come back to OSU where I have a social life again.
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We had a huge dinner together as a group. I asked my host mom if she could help me make a small bowl of Tunisian salad which Selwa turned into a HUGE bowl of salad, 35 briqs, silverware, 30 oranges and a platter full of pound cake. It was without a doubt one of the most memorable thanksgivings but I missed my family.
One more week!
-Katie
I wake up at seven and eat my breakfast of coffee, sick pre-made toast and more coffee. (I think I may be a new official member of “the club”). Then my host dad drives me to school so I can arrive by 830. Now if my daily commute doesn’t sound like it would be too inserting then obviously you are not acquainted with the Tunisian freeway system. First of all Tunisians find the idea of “lanes” quite optional, technically the highways have two but its common to have three and crazy taxis drivers often make four. While my life is flashing between my eyes my host father is smoking between four to six cigarettes and singing loudly to whatever arab song is on the radio, if the song is in English (which it is about half of the time) he drums on the steering wheel. After around 20 minutes of this I arrive at ISLT/Borgiba School/ Institute 7th November at Cartridge (its been ten weeks and i’m still not quite sure what the name of my school is).
There are two language schools in Tunis with the name Borguba School. One is a posh private school in downtown Tunis and the other is dilapidated, overcrowded and in a sketchy suburb by the train tracks. Guess which one I go to. Hint-the school has holes in the roof and one the rare occasion that it rains I have to slog through puddles to get to class. Today I took my camera to school in a poor attempt to document the building. The “highlight’ is the bathrooms and I took a picture which I will spare all of you because it literally makes me gag a little. Why? Well none of the toilets flush (and I have tried many in various locations…not that you really need to know) so by the time I took my picture at 11:30…they where full. This happens everyday! Who has to clean them at night I wonder? Ok, now that I have scarred you all for life I will continue with my day.
I have Arabic class from 8:30 to 11:30….in a perfect world. During Ramadan I had school from 8:30 to 2. My teacher is a wonderful man who is under the impression that if I don’t understand its because A- my handwriting is poor or B- he needs speak louder. After my 2 to 6 hours of class I eat lunch with my friends at “Pizza Mimosa” (sadly they do not serve mimosas) where I spend 2 dinar for my “salad various ” which lives up to its name by being different everyday.
After lunch I go to culture or literature class if its Monday or Tuesday (riveting I know). After my riveting day of class I hail a cab and take it home. I know its silly but I feel a little like a bad ass when I take a cab home by myself, speak to the driver in Arabic and sing along to the blasting arab music. My Arabic is far from fluent (or even conversational) but I am able to have simple conversations with my cab drivers. Usually the conversations sound something like this-
Me- Park Enaily please.
Driver-(Speaks French to me and then sees my blank look)Do you speak French?
Me- No
Driver -You speak Arabic?
Me- A little. I am a student of Arabic at Borgiba school.
Driver- Are you British?
Me- Yes/ No I am Canadian/American
Driver- How old are you?
Me- I have been in Tunisia for three months.
Driver- How old are you?
Me- September, October, November
Driver- How old are you?
Me- OH! 20.
Driver- Are you married?
Me- No (or if don’t feel like this conversation AGAIN-Yes. To a strong arab man)
Driver-Why not? You are so beautiful.
Me- (please drive faster..) Thanks….
Driver- Why are you not married?
Me- I am too young/ I hate men/ I’m engaged/ drop me off here.
Driver- Will you marry me?
Me- Ha ha ha ha, No thank you.
Driver- I love you!
Me- Uh….Stop here. Thank you!
After I arrive home more or less single. I do homework until dinnertime and then…do more homework…Wow. I can’t wait to come back to OSU where I have a social life again.
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We had a huge dinner together as a group. I asked my host mom if she could help me make a small bowl of Tunisian salad which Selwa turned into a HUGE bowl of salad, 35 briqs, silverware, 30 oranges and a platter full of pound cake. It was without a doubt one of the most memorable thanksgivings but I missed my family.
One more week!
-Katie
Friday, November 17, 2006
Days 3-8 In the South
Day 4
Today we went to the University of Gabes for a guest lecture on the nationalist heroes of Tunisia. We then ate lunch in Gabes and continued to Matamata.
The local saying in Matmata is that it’s “the only place where the living live beneath the dead.” While due to recent development this is no longer true, many of the local Berber people live in the world famous troglodyte homes. Our first stop in the city was the Hotel Sidi Driss, it was here that Luke Skywalker ate breakfast with his uncle and aunt and the bar is where he met the first love of my life, Han Solo. While this place was without a doubt a tourist trap, I really didn’t care. Around half of my classmates stayed on the bus and talked down about people who would come to Tunisia to see Star Wars sites, once again…I didn’t care. I ran around the hotel in all of my middle school glory and unleashed my nerdhood for all to see.
After taking around a million pictures we walked behind the hotel to see a tiny museum that was a restored troglodyte home. Our guide to the museum was the cutest little old woman I have ever seen and upon presenting her with a tip, Kareem discovered that she only makes one dinar (around 70 cents) a day. (Upon my travels I have been told that Americans and Germans tip the best while the French are famous for giving nothing.) This is just a friendly reminder stressing the importance of tipping in your travels to developing nations.
After our day in Matmata we continued to the small village of Tamezret. I can’t imagine many tourists ever making here and without Kareem’s expertise I would have never known it existed. The village is perched on top of a hill with a spectacular view of Nefzaoua plains. We wandered around the village where I met a local girl who offered to take my picture and a group of boys who I attempted to play soccer with. After this we drank tea and watched the sun set from a local café.
Day Five
Today we drove through the town of Tataouine despite the name the town isn’t really that special. Our first stop in the area was the Cliffside village of Chenini. The village was founded in the 12 AD and is a crowded tourist destination. The effect that this has had on the villagers is evident in the crowds of children asking for euros and the brash young men grabbing at the female tourists. Other than this the view from the top of the village is quite lovely.
The next stop was quite possibly the highlight of my trip to the south. We traveled to the abandoned village of Douiret, the homes are like that of Chenini except the site is basically unknown to tourists and we got to explore the ruins at our pleasure. The ruins are a budding archeologists heaven and although the homes are ancient the residents left quite recently (The town was abandoned in the 1960’s due to flooding) leaving behind trash turned treasure. The abandoned village also houses a hotel and restaurant run by a NGO dedicated to historical preservation. To anyone traveling to Tunisia I highly recommend visiting Douiret and spending the night. The NGO offers guided hikes around the area and you will feel like you are living on mars with the desolate red landscape. If I had one more free weekend (and magical transportation) to spend in Tunisia I would return here.
After we visited Douiret we went to Tatouine for lunch and had time for one more moment of Star Wars nerd heaven in the city of Ksar Haddada. This city is the home to the distinctive orb-like Berber architecture. This was used as the slave dwellings in episode one and they are very remarkable in their own right. After yet another long day we returned to Gafsa hotel where I was reunited with my new friend Carl the Cockroach.
Day Six
Today we traveled on the short ferry ride to the island of Jerba. The island is famous for its pristine beaches but seeing as we visited in November (although the weather has still been in the 70’s) we didn’t go swimming. The majority of the trip was dedicated to shopping. I hate bartering and the shopkeepers where extra tricky with ripping tourist off, nevertheless I still managed to purchase some Christmas presents without the usual shopkeeper groping that some of my friends experienced.
The highlight of the trip to Jerba was the El-Ghriba Synagogue, as the oldest synagogue in north Africa, its name means ‘The Stranger’. The site was founded in 586 BC although the building we saw was built in the 19 century. The building is decorated with a wonderful mix of traditional Tunisian and Jewish styles. (For example the raised sanctuary for the torah is decorated with the hand of Fatima and the evil eye.) The Jewish community in Jerba is one of the oldest outside of Israel but was greatly lessened by the creation of the state of Israel and pressure to leave for France after Tunisia’s intemperance. Now the population is only a few hundred.
In 2002 there was a terrorist attack on the Synagogue where terrorists drove a gas truck through the barrier killing a total of 19, a tour group Germans and a few Tunisians. The building remained unharmed and it is for this reason that we had to pass through a metal detector on our way into the Synagogue. It was the tightest security I have encountered in the country so far and it proved to be an unnerving experience.
Day Seven
We began our day with a trip to a carpet co-op that makes a thin style of carpets called “maaguum”. Kareem let us go crazy in the carpet showroom and the madness that ensued was somewhat similar to the day after Thanksgiving. However, we all spent a lot of money so I doubt the owner was upset. After our purchasing spree, we where given a tour of the factory. The machinery looked like it was out the film “Modern Times’ and to be truthful it gave me the creeps. We didn’t get to see the women actually weaving the carpets but we did see the processes of dying and carding the wool.
After this we traveled back to the university of Gafsa in order to have a conversation with the students of English there (the conversations that I can have in Arabic are quite limited, are usually with taxi drivers and nearly always end with a marriage proposal). This conversation was a real learning experience and merits a blog entry of its own.
We left the university stressed and ranting therefore it was a real treat to be dined at the “Hamdy Estates”.
I’m not exactly sure of the details but Kareem’s brother owns the oasis that his family grew up on. We had a modest picnic that consisted of a huge tray of roasted vegetables, pomegranates that we picked ourselves, tea, pistachios, the only cheese I have ever liked, some incredible flat bread that we dipped in olive oil and honey and a ENTIRE lamb. After we had stuffed ourselves to the point of pain we rolled to the home where Kareem was born and I have to say (sorry dad) that being born in a cave in an oasis is infinitely more cool than in a house in Chicago.
What a wonderful way to end our last full day in the south!
Day Eight
The majority of this day was driving with the exception that we stopped at one of Tunisia’s eight world heritage sites, El-Jem.
There is no way I could possibly describe the feelings that rushed trough my veins upon being dwarfed by the massive coliseum. As I walked under the symmetrical arches and into the sun I could hear the roar of the crowd and the silence of the vastness of space. The coliseum was the third largest in the roman world and is now the best preserved (the movie gladiator was filmed here) and would even better preserved if not it being the site of revolutions in the 1800’s. Built between 230-238 AD the coliseum could hold 30,000 people, which was more than the population of the town. You can explore from the top deck of the upper seating to the creepy pitch-black catacombs underneath. This place took my breath away and I could have easily spent over two hours here just soaking it all in however, we had to make it back to Tunis sometime.
My trip to the south was an experience I will always remember. I encourage anyone visiting Tunisia to spend as much time in this region as possible!
-Katie
P.s I can’t believe it but I will be done with the program in exactly two weeks! Wow! Time has flown.
Today we went to the University of Gabes for a guest lecture on the nationalist heroes of Tunisia. We then ate lunch in Gabes and continued to Matamata.
The local saying in Matmata is that it’s “the only place where the living live beneath the dead.” While due to recent development this is no longer true, many of the local Berber people live in the world famous troglodyte homes. Our first stop in the city was the Hotel Sidi Driss, it was here that Luke Skywalker ate breakfast with his uncle and aunt and the bar is where he met the first love of my life, Han Solo. While this place was without a doubt a tourist trap, I really didn’t care. Around half of my classmates stayed on the bus and talked down about people who would come to Tunisia to see Star Wars sites, once again…I didn’t care. I ran around the hotel in all of my middle school glory and unleashed my nerdhood for all to see.
After taking around a million pictures we walked behind the hotel to see a tiny museum that was a restored troglodyte home. Our guide to the museum was the cutest little old woman I have ever seen and upon presenting her with a tip, Kareem discovered that she only makes one dinar (around 70 cents) a day. (Upon my travels I have been told that Americans and Germans tip the best while the French are famous for giving nothing.) This is just a friendly reminder stressing the importance of tipping in your travels to developing nations.
After our day in Matmata we continued to the small village of Tamezret. I can’t imagine many tourists ever making here and without Kareem’s expertise I would have never known it existed. The village is perched on top of a hill with a spectacular view of Nefzaoua plains. We wandered around the village where I met a local girl who offered to take my picture and a group of boys who I attempted to play soccer with. After this we drank tea and watched the sun set from a local café.
Day Five
Today we drove through the town of Tataouine despite the name the town isn’t really that special. Our first stop in the area was the Cliffside village of Chenini. The village was founded in the 12 AD and is a crowded tourist destination. The effect that this has had on the villagers is evident in the crowds of children asking for euros and the brash young men grabbing at the female tourists. Other than this the view from the top of the village is quite lovely.
The next stop was quite possibly the highlight of my trip to the south. We traveled to the abandoned village of Douiret, the homes are like that of Chenini except the site is basically unknown to tourists and we got to explore the ruins at our pleasure. The ruins are a budding archeologists heaven and although the homes are ancient the residents left quite recently (The town was abandoned in the 1960’s due to flooding) leaving behind trash turned treasure. The abandoned village also houses a hotel and restaurant run by a NGO dedicated to historical preservation. To anyone traveling to Tunisia I highly recommend visiting Douiret and spending the night. The NGO offers guided hikes around the area and you will feel like you are living on mars with the desolate red landscape. If I had one more free weekend (and magical transportation) to spend in Tunisia I would return here.
After we visited Douiret we went to Tatouine for lunch and had time for one more moment of Star Wars nerd heaven in the city of Ksar Haddada. This city is the home to the distinctive orb-like Berber architecture. This was used as the slave dwellings in episode one and they are very remarkable in their own right. After yet another long day we returned to Gafsa hotel where I was reunited with my new friend Carl the Cockroach.
Day Six
Today we traveled on the short ferry ride to the island of Jerba. The island is famous for its pristine beaches but seeing as we visited in November (although the weather has still been in the 70’s) we didn’t go swimming. The majority of the trip was dedicated to shopping. I hate bartering and the shopkeepers where extra tricky with ripping tourist off, nevertheless I still managed to purchase some Christmas presents without the usual shopkeeper groping that some of my friends experienced.
The highlight of the trip to Jerba was the El-Ghriba Synagogue, as the oldest synagogue in north Africa, its name means ‘The Stranger’. The site was founded in 586 BC although the building we saw was built in the 19 century. The building is decorated with a wonderful mix of traditional Tunisian and Jewish styles. (For example the raised sanctuary for the torah is decorated with the hand of Fatima and the evil eye.) The Jewish community in Jerba is one of the oldest outside of Israel but was greatly lessened by the creation of the state of Israel and pressure to leave for France after Tunisia’s intemperance. Now the population is only a few hundred.
In 2002 there was a terrorist attack on the Synagogue where terrorists drove a gas truck through the barrier killing a total of 19, a tour group Germans and a few Tunisians. The building remained unharmed and it is for this reason that we had to pass through a metal detector on our way into the Synagogue. It was the tightest security I have encountered in the country so far and it proved to be an unnerving experience.
Day Seven
We began our day with a trip to a carpet co-op that makes a thin style of carpets called “maaguum”. Kareem let us go crazy in the carpet showroom and the madness that ensued was somewhat similar to the day after Thanksgiving. However, we all spent a lot of money so I doubt the owner was upset. After our purchasing spree, we where given a tour of the factory. The machinery looked like it was out the film “Modern Times’ and to be truthful it gave me the creeps. We didn’t get to see the women actually weaving the carpets but we did see the processes of dying and carding the wool.
After this we traveled back to the university of Gafsa in order to have a conversation with the students of English there (the conversations that I can have in Arabic are quite limited, are usually with taxi drivers and nearly always end with a marriage proposal). This conversation was a real learning experience and merits a blog entry of its own.
We left the university stressed and ranting therefore it was a real treat to be dined at the “Hamdy Estates”.
I’m not exactly sure of the details but Kareem’s brother owns the oasis that his family grew up on. We had a modest picnic that consisted of a huge tray of roasted vegetables, pomegranates that we picked ourselves, tea, pistachios, the only cheese I have ever liked, some incredible flat bread that we dipped in olive oil and honey and a ENTIRE lamb. After we had stuffed ourselves to the point of pain we rolled to the home where Kareem was born and I have to say (sorry dad) that being born in a cave in an oasis is infinitely more cool than in a house in Chicago.
What a wonderful way to end our last full day in the south!
Day Eight
The majority of this day was driving with the exception that we stopped at one of Tunisia’s eight world heritage sites, El-Jem.
There is no way I could possibly describe the feelings that rushed trough my veins upon being dwarfed by the massive coliseum. As I walked under the symmetrical arches and into the sun I could hear the roar of the crowd and the silence of the vastness of space. The coliseum was the third largest in the roman world and is now the best preserved (the movie gladiator was filmed here) and would even better preserved if not it being the site of revolutions in the 1800’s. Built between 230-238 AD the coliseum could hold 30,000 people, which was more than the population of the town. You can explore from the top deck of the upper seating to the creepy pitch-black catacombs underneath. This place took my breath away and I could have easily spent over two hours here just soaking it all in however, we had to make it back to Tunis sometime.
My trip to the south was an experience I will always remember. I encourage anyone visiting Tunisia to spend as much time in this region as possible!
-Katie
P.s I can’t believe it but I will be done with the program in exactly two weeks! Wow! Time has flown.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Days 1-3 In the South
Hello everyone! Sorry its been so long since my last update but that was because I just returned from my trip to the South of Tunisia on Sunday. The south is the land of mountainous steppes, oasis and the grand erg oriental. There is no doubt in my mind that it is one of the most bleakly beautiful places in the world and if you visit Tunisia I suggest you spend as much time in the south as possible.
My trip was eight days and I will attempt to sum up each day and post as many pictures as the internet allows.
Day One
We returned to the holy city of Kairouan where we saw the courtyard of the great mosque. Built in 670 AD the mosque is the oldest in north Africa. The city of Kairouan is one of the seven holiest cities in Islam and all it takes is a quick glance at the towering minarets to figure out why, at one time it was the most powerful Islamic city in the Maghreb. We had all ready been to the city but we dropped by quickly to visit the mosque because the doors where closed to us the first time (it was time for prayer). The massive courtyard was magnificent and the doors to the prayer room where propped open so non-Muslims could look inside. During my tour around the mosque I met my three new boyfriends, I smiled at them and then they followed me and stole shy glances my way for the rest of the trip. Sure they were eight but I’m sure it was love at first sight. Once I was torn away from my new loves we continued traveling south to the ancient roman city of Sufetula. I thrive on these visits, I prefer to explore the ruins alone and I am always filled with a sense of awe for where I am and ancient everything is. The city of Sufetula was especially interesting because it was an important center of Christianly in the 4th century. It was a regional capital of the Byzantines and I was filled with wonder and humility when I stumbled upon the baptistery of the Basilica of St. Vaitalis in a hidden corner of the site. After a successful day of driving and ruin-hopping we drove to Gafsa where we spent the night in out five star hotel.
Day Two
We started of the day with a chat with students from the university of Gafsa. I felt like nothing much was discussed due to the language barrier and overbearing English teacher who was only interested in her opinions.
After we left the hotel we traveled to the cities of Chebika, Tamerza and Mides. The town of Mides is only one km from the Algerian border and home to the “grand canyon” of Tunisia. While that might just be a massive stretch of the imagination, the canyon is nevertheless picturesque and has been used in The English Patient. (Which I have never seen and I am a little ashamed about because I have seen just about ever site where it was filmed.)
At the end of the day we traveled to Tamerza where we hiked up a steep hill (and I discovered how out of shape I now am. Thanks to eating fatty Ramadan foods and never leaving the house) and watched the sunset. The view from the top of the mountain was magical and although I took plenty of pictures I couldn’t capture the feeling of watching the sunset over the abandoned village in the mountain oasis. That night we returned to Gafsa.
Day Three
On this jam-packed day we went to the desert oasis of Tozeur. When we first arrived we hired house drawn carriages that took up around the town. The first visit was at the tomb of the national poet of Tunisia. This stop inspired me to follow in is footsteps and ask to be buried in a huge boulder with my face tastefully craved into the sides. Afterward we where taken to the second largest palmeraie in the country. It is here that the highest quality of fates are harvested, the “Finger of Light” because they are almost transparent. The dates are harvested by farmers who miraculously climb the palms (with no shoes of course unless you want to be called a girly man by the other farmers) and then they pass down the date branches so the dates never touch the ground. This I highly doubt, it seems like a good thing to tell the tourists but not a good idea for general profit. However its done the dates were beyond delicious! (Minus the one I ate that was infested with worms. Luckily for me I am dating a world famous parasiteologist who was able to determine that I will be all right.)
After I said goodbye to my overly flirtatious carriage driver we got back in van and travels across the Chott El-Jerid. The Chott El-Jerid is a surreal salt lake that stretches across 5000 sq km. With great drifts of salt on the side of the road we where lucky enough to drive across when the lake had some water (although the majority was still dry). It can cause some mirage like effects and if you are huge nerd (which I am not) you will recognize it from the scene where Luke watches the two moons rise (<3!!!!).
Finally when I thought the day couldn’t get any better, we…went….CAMEL RIDING!
It was at sunset and we rode out into the Sahara from the town of Douz. We rode at sunset for around one hour and that was all it took for me to fall in love with the endless dunes of the Grand Erg Oriental. When I return in Tunisia in (?) years it is here that I wish to spend more time in. The actual camel riding was a blast with graceful mullet to its lurching up and down. At the end of a memorable day we drove to our knew and not so memorable hotel in Gabes.
Ok…I’m beat. I’ll continue this travel log tomorrow.
-Katie
p.s- I’ll be done with the program in 15 days!
My trip was eight days and I will attempt to sum up each day and post as many pictures as the internet allows.
Day One
We returned to the holy city of Kairouan where we saw the courtyard of the great mosque. Built in 670 AD the mosque is the oldest in north Africa. The city of Kairouan is one of the seven holiest cities in Islam and all it takes is a quick glance at the towering minarets to figure out why, at one time it was the most powerful Islamic city in the Maghreb. We had all ready been to the city but we dropped by quickly to visit the mosque because the doors where closed to us the first time (it was time for prayer). The massive courtyard was magnificent and the doors to the prayer room where propped open so non-Muslims could look inside. During my tour around the mosque I met my three new boyfriends, I smiled at them and then they followed me and stole shy glances my way for the rest of the trip. Sure they were eight but I’m sure it was love at first sight. Once I was torn away from my new loves we continued traveling south to the ancient roman city of Sufetula. I thrive on these visits, I prefer to explore the ruins alone and I am always filled with a sense of awe for where I am and ancient everything is. The city of Sufetula was especially interesting because it was an important center of Christianly in the 4th century. It was a regional capital of the Byzantines and I was filled with wonder and humility when I stumbled upon the baptistery of the Basilica of St. Vaitalis in a hidden corner of the site. After a successful day of driving and ruin-hopping we drove to Gafsa where we spent the night in out five star hotel.
Day Two
We started of the day with a chat with students from the university of Gafsa. I felt like nothing much was discussed due to the language barrier and overbearing English teacher who was only interested in her opinions.
After we left the hotel we traveled to the cities of Chebika, Tamerza and Mides. The town of Mides is only one km from the Algerian border and home to the “grand canyon” of Tunisia. While that might just be a massive stretch of the imagination, the canyon is nevertheless picturesque and has been used in The English Patient. (Which I have never seen and I am a little ashamed about because I have seen just about ever site where it was filmed.)
At the end of the day we traveled to Tamerza where we hiked up a steep hill (and I discovered how out of shape I now am. Thanks to eating fatty Ramadan foods and never leaving the house) and watched the sunset. The view from the top of the mountain was magical and although I took plenty of pictures I couldn’t capture the feeling of watching the sunset over the abandoned village in the mountain oasis. That night we returned to Gafsa.
Day Three
On this jam-packed day we went to the desert oasis of Tozeur. When we first arrived we hired house drawn carriages that took up around the town. The first visit was at the tomb of the national poet of Tunisia. This stop inspired me to follow in is footsteps and ask to be buried in a huge boulder with my face tastefully craved into the sides. Afterward we where taken to the second largest palmeraie in the country. It is here that the highest quality of fates are harvested, the “Finger of Light” because they are almost transparent. The dates are harvested by farmers who miraculously climb the palms (with no shoes of course unless you want to be called a girly man by the other farmers) and then they pass down the date branches so the dates never touch the ground. This I highly doubt, it seems like a good thing to tell the tourists but not a good idea for general profit. However its done the dates were beyond delicious! (Minus the one I ate that was infested with worms. Luckily for me I am dating a world famous parasiteologist who was able to determine that I will be all right.)
After I said goodbye to my overly flirtatious carriage driver we got back in van and travels across the Chott El-Jerid. The Chott El-Jerid is a surreal salt lake that stretches across 5000 sq km. With great drifts of salt on the side of the road we where lucky enough to drive across when the lake had some water (although the majority was still dry). It can cause some mirage like effects and if you are huge nerd (which I am not) you will recognize it from the scene where Luke watches the two moons rise (<3!!!!).
Finally when I thought the day couldn’t get any better, we…went….CAMEL RIDING!
It was at sunset and we rode out into the Sahara from the town of Douz. We rode at sunset for around one hour and that was all it took for me to fall in love with the endless dunes of the Grand Erg Oriental. When I return in Tunisia in (?) years it is here that I wish to spend more time in. The actual camel riding was a blast with graceful mullet to its lurching up and down. At the end of a memorable day we drove to our knew and not so memorable hotel in Gabes.
Ok…I’m beat. I’ll continue this travel log tomorrow.
-Katie
p.s- I’ll be done with the program in 15 days!
Saturday, November 04, 2006
My Trip to the Tunis Medina/ The day Katie was spoiled beyond all reason
This morning I woke up early because I was told my host sister and her husband were going to take me to a mosque. I was very excited and thought that I would be attending a prayer service with them. Instead it was the start of an individual tour through a world heritage site, the Tunis Medina.
The first place I was taken was to the Sidiki School. The almamater of my host brother-in-law, the university was built in the 1700’s. The school is the classical style of an old Arab home and is based around a center courtyard. I would have been given a tour but the classes were in session. After I left the university we walked through the government place where all the magistrates are held. Next week is a national holiday so all of the buildings where decked out in red, white and of course, pictures of the president.
Both my host sister and her husband Sofen work toward preserving historical houses in the medina, for this reason they have free rein of all the historical sites in the city. Sofen was born in the Medina and knows the ins and outs of the labyrinth of souks. For this reason I was given the precious opportunity to be shown by a expert historian who not only knew the meanings behind each product but he seemed to know each shopkeeper by name and brought me treats and gifts (read the title). I have entered the medina before but each time from the main tourist gate that faces avenue Bourguiba. Once I enter I usually get overwhelmed by the pushy shopkeepers who have absolutely no concept of personal space. This time however, I was traveling with Tunisians and I felt safe and was unaccosted even in the “dicey” parts of town where the leather tanners work (now I think this is because Sofen looks like a shorter version of Andre the giant but that could just be me).
The old Arab cities seem to be senseless maze to western outsiders but in reality everything has a reason. The high winding walls keep the heat out in the summer and in during the winter however the major reason for these walls is for defense. The medina is in a strict layout based around the central mosque with the “superior” trades like in the grand souk of the chechias (the small red hat worn by respected men) and gold to the souks of leather and blacksmiths. Sofen took me around all of these souks teaching me about each one, I learned about how the Souk of gold was originally a Jewish souk and in the souk of perfumes I learned that musk is the basis for all traditional perfumes. For my breakfast we found this tiny hole in the wall that sells delicious breakfast sandwiches make of butter, dates and honey in soft sweet bread. After the adventure in the souks we went to Sofens work, which just happens to be in the place of the Bey (king) in the 1500’s before they moved to Bardo. There was no one else in the massive house and I was given a private tour of the courtyard, parlors and individual apartments (once again see title).
After all this I imagined that I was being spoiled enough for one day by we had to drop by Emna’s work. If I thought that this would be dull I was sorely mistaken, Emna also works in a old mansion about 300 years old. I was given free rein to explore while she took care of her work. As you may imagine I went a little crazy running up and down old stairways but I didn’t stray to long because her desk was set up in the mens salon, which is the most ornate part of the house. During this time I met some of Emnas co-workers and they suggested that she take me to a few more museums (heartbreaking I know). I then was given a whirlwind tour of the center for popular arts and traditions which has recreated 19th century life be using hilariously fake dummies. After that we went to the tomb of the Bey, which was four central rooms filled with tombs (women separated of course). The tombs are bizarre with the bays chosen headwear on top the tomb but no mention of the name. As we where all heading home (after I ate my delicious cactus fruit and washed it down with Turkish coffee) Emna tried to smuggle me into a mosque. She knew how disappointed I was that I didn’t get to see the interior of the Zitouna Mosque and was determined to so me the interior of another. We covered our heads with scarves she brought for the occasion and she took my hand. We were quickly ushered into a small side door by the groups of men standing outside of the mosque. This was the room for the women that was surrounded by walls made of something like straw. These walls allowed in sound from the main room but didn’t allow anyone to see out or in. Emna was not happy about this because she wanted to me to see the main room. We left and then she lead me to the main door of the Mosque where I looked into the main room. It was quite beautiful with mats covering the entire floor and marble columns. Emna then told me to take a picture, I asked her if that was rude. She told me no, prayer was not going on now and the mosques where for all people. The moment I took my camera out of my bag, men started yelling at me and grabbed my arm. Emna then got into a argument with them and I put my camera back not wanting to make things worse. We where then forcibly escorted from the courtyard. Emna was very angry and told me that those men “where not the guardian of the mosque’ and that it should have been fine to take a picture from the doorway. She is a very religious person (for example I asked her about how she felt about the small women’s room and she said “at peace”) yet she was very shook up by how we where treated.
After all of this it was time to go home except….I had told them when I first came that I had worked at a zoo. So they took me to the Tunis zoo! It was a little zoo with outdated cages and exotic animals like raccoons and mallard ducks. Still I had a great time and it was a great way to end one of my favorite days in Tunis.
Ok this is my 4th time trying to post this....So i'm not even going to try adding on pictures. I promise to add picture when I return to the south in a week. Thats right im going to the land of palms, dates, sand and STAR WARS. I AM SO EXCITED!
anyway I promise to add many many pictures when I return. I won't be able to get online for a week but I will have my cell on me if you need to contact me.
I really miss everyone and will be home in five weeks!
<3
Katie
The first place I was taken was to the Sidiki School. The almamater of my host brother-in-law, the university was built in the 1700’s. The school is the classical style of an old Arab home and is based around a center courtyard. I would have been given a tour but the classes were in session. After I left the university we walked through the government place where all the magistrates are held. Next week is a national holiday so all of the buildings where decked out in red, white and of course, pictures of the president.
Both my host sister and her husband Sofen work toward preserving historical houses in the medina, for this reason they have free rein of all the historical sites in the city. Sofen was born in the Medina and knows the ins and outs of the labyrinth of souks. For this reason I was given the precious opportunity to be shown by a expert historian who not only knew the meanings behind each product but he seemed to know each shopkeeper by name and brought me treats and gifts (read the title). I have entered the medina before but each time from the main tourist gate that faces avenue Bourguiba. Once I enter I usually get overwhelmed by the pushy shopkeepers who have absolutely no concept of personal space. This time however, I was traveling with Tunisians and I felt safe and was unaccosted even in the “dicey” parts of town where the leather tanners work (now I think this is because Sofen looks like a shorter version of Andre the giant but that could just be me).
The old Arab cities seem to be senseless maze to western outsiders but in reality everything has a reason. The high winding walls keep the heat out in the summer and in during the winter however the major reason for these walls is for defense. The medina is in a strict layout based around the central mosque with the “superior” trades like in the grand souk of the chechias (the small red hat worn by respected men) and gold to the souks of leather and blacksmiths. Sofen took me around all of these souks teaching me about each one, I learned about how the Souk of gold was originally a Jewish souk and in the souk of perfumes I learned that musk is the basis for all traditional perfumes. For my breakfast we found this tiny hole in the wall that sells delicious breakfast sandwiches make of butter, dates and honey in soft sweet bread. After the adventure in the souks we went to Sofens work, which just happens to be in the place of the Bey (king) in the 1500’s before they moved to Bardo. There was no one else in the massive house and I was given a private tour of the courtyard, parlors and individual apartments (once again see title).
After all this I imagined that I was being spoiled enough for one day by we had to drop by Emna’s work. If I thought that this would be dull I was sorely mistaken, Emna also works in a old mansion about 300 years old. I was given free rein to explore while she took care of her work. As you may imagine I went a little crazy running up and down old stairways but I didn’t stray to long because her desk was set up in the mens salon, which is the most ornate part of the house. During this time I met some of Emnas co-workers and they suggested that she take me to a few more museums (heartbreaking I know). I then was given a whirlwind tour of the center for popular arts and traditions which has recreated 19th century life be using hilariously fake dummies. After that we went to the tomb of the Bey, which was four central rooms filled with tombs (women separated of course). The tombs are bizarre with the bays chosen headwear on top the tomb but no mention of the name. As we where all heading home (after I ate my delicious cactus fruit and washed it down with Turkish coffee) Emna tried to smuggle me into a mosque. She knew how disappointed I was that I didn’t get to see the interior of the Zitouna Mosque and was determined to so me the interior of another. We covered our heads with scarves she brought for the occasion and she took my hand. We were quickly ushered into a small side door by the groups of men standing outside of the mosque. This was the room for the women that was surrounded by walls made of something like straw. These walls allowed in sound from the main room but didn’t allow anyone to see out or in. Emna was not happy about this because she wanted to me to see the main room. We left and then she lead me to the main door of the Mosque where I looked into the main room. It was quite beautiful with mats covering the entire floor and marble columns. Emna then told me to take a picture, I asked her if that was rude. She told me no, prayer was not going on now and the mosques where for all people. The moment I took my camera out of my bag, men started yelling at me and grabbed my arm. Emna then got into a argument with them and I put my camera back not wanting to make things worse. We where then forcibly escorted from the courtyard. Emna was very angry and told me that those men “where not the guardian of the mosque’ and that it should have been fine to take a picture from the doorway. She is a very religious person (for example I asked her about how she felt about the small women’s room and she said “at peace”) yet she was very shook up by how we where treated.
After all of this it was time to go home except….I had told them when I first came that I had worked at a zoo. So they took me to the Tunis zoo! It was a little zoo with outdated cages and exotic animals like raccoons and mallard ducks. Still I had a great time and it was a great way to end one of my favorite days in Tunis.
Ok this is my 4th time trying to post this....So i'm not even going to try adding on pictures. I promise to add picture when I return to the south in a week. Thats right im going to the land of palms, dates, sand and STAR WARS. I AM SO EXCITED!
anyway I promise to add many many pictures when I return. I won't be able to get online for a week but I will have my cell on me if you need to contact me.
I really miss everyone and will be home in five weeks!
<3
Katie
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