Tunisia Explorer

We drive to the Andalucian city of Testour, founded by Andalucian Muslims evicted from Spain in the 1600s. The square is very Spanish in style and the Great Mosque dominates the old town. We continue to the Roman site at Dougga, which was given UNESCO World Heritage status in 1997. It is the largest in Tunis and considered the most magnificent. We spend the night at the mountain town of Le Kef, which clings to the side of the cliff - 1 night (B,D)

We visit the Roman site of Sufetula near to Sbeitla before continuing to Tozeur on the edge of the Sahara. Tozeur has earned a reputation for the lush beauty of its oasis in which 200,000 date palms thrive and is now a popular tourist town - 1 night (B,D)

We drive across the 2,000 square miles of the Chott El Djerid (salt lake), which appears mirage-like against the sand. Continuing onto Douz, the gateway town to the Sahara we visit the town centre and Sahara Desert museum before meeting with the camel drivers for a trek into the Sahara.  

Leaving the desert behind as you drive on into the lunar-like hills to Matmata (approx 1 hour). The Roman historian Herodotus first wrote about its underground houses in the 4th century BC, when he described the Berbers who lived here as troglodytes (cave dwellers). Homes have been excavated out of the softish yellow rock of the rounded hillsides – some are still inhabited although the number is dwindling. The main advantage of living in this kind of dwelling is that it provides a relatively constant environment (much like a wine cellar) in an area which suffers wide extremes of temperature and so it feels warm in winter and cool in summer. There’s not much to the village, and little in the way of agriculture - due to the almost complete absence of water - the principal reason why most people emigrate from here to work in the north. Cinema enthusiasts will immediately recognise the location of Luke Skywalker’s home as featured in Star Wars which we visit the remains of them.

We then drive to Sfax, the most sofisticated city in Tunisia where we spend the night - 1 night (B,L,D)

This morning we drive to Tunis renowned medina, listed as a UNESO World Heritage site.  Explore the medina and visit the Bardo Museum, which houses one of the greatest collections of Roman Mosaics in the world. It also has many pieces of scuplture and artwork from the places you will visit throughout the rest of the trip. 

After lunch we visit Roman Carthage. Legend has it that Carthage was founded in 814 BC by the Phoenician Princess Dido who fled from Tyre (in modern day Lebanon) when her husband was killed by her brother, Pymalion. She arrived here as a refugee but the city she founded grew to be a powerful trading centre – the third largest in the Mediterranean after Rome and Alexandria – and competed for empire. After Hannibal led his ill-fated attempt on Rome, accompanied by an army of 40,000 soldiers and 38 elephants, Carthage was besieged for three years  by vengeful Roman armies and finally razed to the ground in 146 BC. Although it rose again from the ashes to become the cultural and intellectual capital of the Roman province of Africa, and its fertile hinterland was known as the ‘bread basket’ of Rome, it eventually lapsed into relative insignificance after successive invasions by the Vandals, Byzantines and the Arabs.

A short way up the coast, the cubist whitewashed houses of the delightful cliff top village of Sidi Bou Said overlook the sea. Long beloved by the bohemian set, it has been the home of many an artist, writer, musician, poet or filmmaker.

Return to Tunis, the political and economic capital of Tunisia. It was founded on a traditional Muslim settlement – still evident in the medina that was constructed some 13 centuries ago. Although its old walls were dismantled by the French, its winding labyrinthe streets are too narrow for cars so inside life goes on pretty much unchanged. This provides welcome relief from the congested boulevards of the new city. Here every house once had its own well, and a shady courtyard offered relief from the heat of the midday sun. The hubbub of street life continues unabated in colourful souks that spill out onto the pavement, where veiled women go about their everyday business - (B,L)