Tunisia is a fairly young tourist country in the modern sense – its intensive development began only in the 80s of the twentieth century. But in historical terms, this is one of the most ancient resorts in the world – back in the days of the Phoenicians, Ancient Egypt and the Roman Empire, representatives of the nobility rested here. Now Tunisia is 1200 km. sandy beaches, hundreds of modern hotels, excellent sources of thermal waters, on which modern balneological centers are built, as well as many historical monuments.
Visit to Carthage.
Almost no one can see all the ruins of Carthage – some of the objects are still being excavated, some are located on the territory of a special regime (a complex of buildings of the presidential residence), and everything else is scattered over a vast territory (after all, in its heyday it was a whole city!) and bypassing this territory is physically impossible. Therefore, tourists usually stop their attention on the best preserved and largest monuments. Unfortunately, almost all of these monuments were created not by the Puns, but by the Romans.
According to Top-mba-universities, Kairouan is a city that is the religious capital for the countries of the entire Maghreb. It ranks fourth among the spiritual Islamic monuments after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.. In the countries of the Maghreb, it is still believed that the sevenfold pilgrimage to the holy city of Kairouan replaces the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Tunisia is the capital of the state. It is an administrative, political and cultural center. For most European tourists, Tunisia gives the impression of being a bit of a provincial town. Mostly these are low-rise buildings of 2-5 floors – only a few buildings in the city exceed 14 floors. Narrow chaotic streets, with the exception of a small business center, planned during the French protectorate according to all the rules of European urban planning – with wide avenues and several high-rise buildings. In terms of architecture, it is more of a European than an Arab city.
Well preserved so-called “medina” Tunisia – the historical part of the city, reminiscent of the Arab Middle Ages: the city wall surrounding several old quarters with shops, workshops, oriental cafes. The medina of the city of Tunisia is considered the largest in the country. Many government offices are even located on its territory.
Dougga
At 120 km from the capital city of Tunis, you can see, perhaps, the most interesting ancient center of Tunisia – Dougga, is considered one of the best preserved ancient cities. There are a huge number of monuments belonging to different eras. Phoenician history is represented by a Phoenician mausoleum from the 3rd century BC. In good condition in Dougga there is a Roman theater for 3.5 thousand spectators with an arena diameter of 65 m, the Roman Capitol, which was built in 166 AD. Fragments of a statue of Jupiter were found here, which are now in the capital of Tunisia in the Bardo Museum. In the southern part of the city there are magnificent private villas, such as the Villa of the Seasons and the Shamrock Villa, located 5 meters below ground level and named after their unique mosaics. There is also the Triumphal Arch of Septimius Severus.
Settlements of Tozeur and Nefta in the southwest of Tunisia the way of life is determined by the date palm. El-Jerid – a palm fan – gave its name to the region, oases and salt marshes. The main in the chain of oases stretching along the salt marshes are Tozer (20,000 inhabitants) and the neighboring oasis of Nefta (15,000 inhabitants).
A trip to the Sahara
This excursion changes the perception of the Sahara as a dull sandy expanse. Sahara is different, many-sided and surprisingly interesting. Herds of sheep and goats graze on the slopes of the Greater and Lesser Atlas mountains and in the green valleys, buffaloes and camels can be seen resting in the dry riverbeds. Well-groomed vineyards and precious olives run in orderly rows over the horizon, and the sands of the Sahara bristle with bunches of date palms. The Sahara is contrasting: a serpentine of mountain roads, sheer cliffs, not a patch of greenery around, only lifeless stones, and suddenly – a waterfall, a stream, grass, palm trees, in general – life. Feelings are indescribable.
An excursion to the village of Dover will not take long. Departure from the hotel produced at 19:00. The entertainment program starts at 20:00. The ensemble in national costumes, meeting tourists, invites them to plunge into the customs and customs of the indigenous people. The aroma of exotic flowers, flower beds, plexus of cacti will add a special flavor to the excursion. Here you can see how carpets were woven by hand, how bread was baked, how pottery was made – you can try to do all this with your own hands. Skilled embroidery artists will show their painstaking work. After that, they will invite you to dinner, which will be accompanied by a wonderful performance: belly dance, performances of fakirs and snake charmers, folklore dances.
City of Fysdrus, now El Jem, is located halfway between Sousse and Sfax. The Colosseum is perfectly preserved in it – an oval building (148 x 122 m), surrounded by three-tiered arcades (height – 36 m).
In Sousse , located on the site of a Phoenician city founded in the 11th century BC, the fortress walls (IX century) with a 30-meter Al-Khalifa tower have been perfectly preserved. Of interest are the square ribat, the Great Mosque (built in 850), the Bu-Fatata Mosque (IX century); there is a Museum of Archeology and Islamic Art. In the vicinity of Sousse are the remains of Phoenician tombs, Roman houses, Christian catacombs.
Matmata
in the south of Tunisia the most interesting object is Matmata. In its vicinity you can see numerous underground dwellings built by the Berbers. Most of these caves, dug to a depth of 10 m, are still inhabited by people.
