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After Breakfast, departure for the holy city 'Kairouan' ,
city of " the 50 Mosques " to see the basins of the Aghlabites, the 9 th
century Great Mosque, the Mausoleum of the Prophet’s Barber and the 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
Sousse is the centre for some of the fastest advancing investment schemes
of Tunisia. All along the northern beach, modern hotels have been, and are still
being, built. They all come in the same fashion: Hotel with bar, restaurant and
swimming pool. If you cross the main road, you're right on the
beach.
The
beach strip closest to the centre of Sousse is extremely crowded, mainly by
Tunisians, coming here as full sized families.
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NAME: From the French " monastère", or " monastery").
LOCATION : 165 km south-east of Tunis, 24 km east of Sousse, 80 km east of Kairouan. Railway station at Sousse. Skanes-Monastir international airport.
DIALING CODE: 03.
Monastir, 9th century walls and an imposing Ribat tower over a modern resort complex and the result is amazingly harmonious.Monastir captures that blend of the traditional and modern that characterizes Tunisia. A marina nestled in the shade of the walls provides a enjoyable promenade as does the long avenue that offers the bluest of Mediterranean seas on one side and open air terraces of hotels, restaurants and coffee houses from where you can enjoy the view.
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.
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The promise of Mahdia has a tendency of coming almost true. While wandering around the city, many of the elements of the city's past is spotted, but it either is too obviously restored, or too little. In the 10th century Mahdia was a very important city, but even more, it was the capital of one of the Muslim worlds most important line of rulers, the Fatimids. The first Fatimid ruler declared himself as the Mahdi, the last prophet of Islam.
The Fatimids moved their centre to Egypt after conquering Cairo, and Mahdia had been the capital for just 50 years.
Mahdia was chosen as the capital because of the proximity to the sea, and the promontory on which an important military settlement had been since the time of the Phoenicians. With a wall 10 metres thick, man and nature had built one of this coast's best fortresses. The move of the Fatimids did mean that it was less thoroughly defended, and invasions by Christians, Normans and Turks in the following centuries lead to heavy destruction of the original bastion.
Entering today's Mahdia is greatest part of the visit. As you pass through the 10 meter thick wall, that functions as the gate to the city, history feels close. The city never opens after this, and all over Mahdia narrow streets never extends beyond small squares. Mahdia's great charm are the narrow streets, trees, the life of the locals, the cafés. The only really open part of the city is in front of the Great Mosque, which is only great in size,- otherwise it is a sad attempt to reconstruct the mosque of the first Fatimids. The base of the old city of Mahdia is not tourism, but weaving. In the Arab world, quarters and cities often specialized in one product which they sold widely around, and Mahdia has a large part of the production of wedding cloth for the rest of Tunisia.
Transfer to hotel Salem ( 3 Stars ) or a similar one . in Sousse Accomodation , dinner and overnight
After breakfast ,visit
of the historic sites of ( Punic Ports , Antonius Pius Baths , Roman
amphitheatre and Villas , Punic cemetry )
Carthage is
delenda. And they really did,- destroy Carthage. It is hard to imagine that
this place housed the most beautiful and the richest sea port of ancient times,
lasting for centuries until the destruction by the Romans in 146 BC. Carthage
was destroyed simply because this capital had a tendency of surviving anything,
and as it almost changed world history in the century before, Rome could not
rest until three years of destruction, ending in 17 days of conflagration, had
wiped Carthage out.
For a change of pace and a late lunch, you will drive to Sidi
Bou Said, a charming Andalou village on a cliff overlooking the
sea.
Walk in the picturesque village of Sidi Bou Said . After tasting the traditional green tea with mint.
Lovers' walk Sidi Bou said is one of those tourist traps, that retains its charm no matter how many loud-talking tourists walk the streets. Sidi Bou Said is really just the one main road, going up the hill, have some vendors, selling handicrafts or sweets, but their business seems to run well, and they keep a low profile, as they have understood that keeping the atmosphere up, si the best way of marketing. The marina is quite good, and walking around you pass a couple of yachts big as houses. The stairs going down from the mountain where the village itself lies, goes through green and luscious vegetation, but is sadly destroyed by litter. The best thing to do here, though, is relaxing in one of the nice cafes. OK on both, but even if nothing is cheap, value for money is surprisingly Good.
After Launch , transfer to Tunis-Carthage International Airport. Assistance to the departure .
some travelers may want to linger on to discover the fortified cities along the Mediterranean coast, such as Monastir, Hammamet,Port El Kantaoui or Sousse...it is so easy to want to stay in Tunisia.
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