Tunisia-Med-Sahara Day 6

Day 12-07 - Saturday, March 21, 2009 - Travel to Kairouan/Introduction to Islam Discussion and Mosque Visit/Visit Carpet Factory/Home-hosted Lunch

The telephone rang at 6:15 this morning – someone else’s wake up call! We got up at 6:45 so we had plenty of time to pack our bags for our travel day and get ourselves ready for the day’s adventures.

Riadh and the porters loaded up our luggage; it seems to be getting heavier as we leave each hotel. Our departure time was set at 8:30 and we actually left the hotel at 8:35.

The streets were almost empty this Saturday morning when we left Sousse. It was chilly again. The temperature was 55º and the humidity was 67%. Needless to say, there were not many tourists on the beach this morning!

As we left Tunisia's seacoast and journeyed inland to Kairouan, the topography changed dramatically. The land is flat, rocky, and covered mainly with olive trees and prickly pear cactus for miles and miles.

Wheat fields and also fruit groves are also a source of income. Small adobe homes dot the horizons. Khamis told us that the United Nations helped Tunisia after their independence from France to build up the agricultural development.

Khamis also gave us information about Kairouan, the 4th largest city in Tunisia and the 4th holiest of cities in the Islamic religion. There are many mosques and minarets we could see as we entered the city.

As we approached the city we also saw many butcher shops that specialize in camel meat. When they have fresh meat they hang the camel’s head on the awning as an advertisement.

Kairouan was founded in AD 670 by Oqba ibm Nafi who, according to legend, slipped on a golden cup that came from Mecca and was hidden in the sand at the spot where Kairouan is now located. When he picked up the cup, water burst forth from the ground.

We made a brief stop at the Welcome Center and climbed to the top of the tower to see the rain water reservoirs and cisterns used by the town for water storage.

In front of the office a man had a camel with the wedding canopy covering the ornate saddle. The bride rides in this special way to the home of the groom’s family completely secluded to begin her new life.

Our next stop was the ornate Great Mosque dating from the early Islamic period and is the fourth-holiest site in Islam after Mecca, Medina, and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.

When we entered the courtyard of the mosque, Khamis told us of the construction and the way the builders recycled materials from Roman temples. Legend says that if you count the many columns in the mosque, you will die. No one counted!

We were not able to go into the mosque, but were able to peek into the main area of worship and see the fine carpets, the oil lamp chandeliers, and the hundreds of marble columns.

In the courtyard after we had learned about the mosque, Khamis gave us an interpretation of the prayers and the movements associated with the prayers.

Raising the open hands above your head symbolizes that you are praying with nothing and giving up the pleasures of family and wealth to concentrate only on Allah.

He also explained the process for ablution, washing before prayers. First you wash your hands, then your face, then your head and then your feet, always from right to left so you do not leave any thing unclean.

Our next stop after leaving the mosque was to go to the Tunisian Experience, a multimedia presentation. We watched a film that gave us the history of the founding of Islam and the spread of the religion through the Middle East through the Muslim Knights.

After the movie, we went up to the balcony of the building and Cheikh Achour Mohammad, a former Imam of the Great Mosque in Kairouan spoke to us about the Islamic religion.

While Khamis translated, the gentleman welcomed us to his city. He told us of the duties he preformed as the Imam and then we were able to ask questions of him.

He was born in 1937 and educated in a typical school. He then studied theology and religion and then was selected to be an advisor. He became an Imam and had led his faithful for many years.

Muslim clerics are not seen to be an intermediary between God and the faithful. Each person prays directly to God. Imams have private lives, do not stay at the mosques all week, and are allowed to marry.

He reminded us that all Muslims in North Africa are Sunni, but that the Koran encourages differences in thinking and that the radical fundamentalists are giving all of the Believers a bad name.

We thanked the gracious Imam for his time in helping us to understand his religion. He allowed me to photograph him and then we left the center at 1:00.

Our next stop was at still another mosque, where a holy man, a close friend of Mohammad is buried. We had to stop at the doorway of the tomb but a Muslim gentleman agreed to take my camera and snap a few photos of the crypt.

We got back on the bus and drove just a short way through the city. Riadh parked the bus and then we walked a short block to our Home-Hosted lunch.

We were greeted by the host, Mr. Rannen and then welcomed by the Grandmother, the wife, and all of the children and also a niece here for the day just to meet us!

Our meal was flat bread with olive oil and red chili paste and then either spicy barley with fish or vegetable soup. The main course was wild turkey and vegetables served over couscous with two types of oranges for desert.

We gathered in the living room to take a few minutes to talk and get to know each other a little more. Ireland is a gift to our group. She is nine years old and traveling with her mother, Nancy and her Aunt Paula and Uncle Verne.

She is a delightful young lady, very well mannered, and willing to be photographed by all of us. Our host family loved her to say the least. The mother asked Nancy if she could have her to marry her son.

Uncle Verne started negotiating – many camels and many sheep! The youngest daughter (eight years old) gave Ireland a stuffed camel as a remembrance.

While we were talking, the niece got out her henna ink and made tattoos on several of the ladies hands. We had a wonderful conversation and were very grateful to meet this welcoming family.

Kairouan is Tunisia's leading center of carpet-making. We left our new family at 3:45 and then went to the Tapis des Aghlabites Carpet Factory. The selection was limited but the process was interesting.

We came back to the bus at 4:45 and then Riadh took us to the medina. We walked through the streets and only looked.

We are getting very good at saying “la la” or “no no”, then smiling, and walking away. Bargaining is a way of life here so Gennie is in heaven, but she has not found anything she cannot live without!

As we exited the medina, Khamis pointed out the local brothel. Even in this holy city, there is prostitution. It is regulated, inspected, and taxed, but never discussed.

We got to our hotel, a beautiful facility designed to recreate a sultan’s palace. The tiles in our room are incredible and the furniture is made in the typical Tunisian style.

We hurried to write the journal, took a shower, and then went down to dinner at 7:30. The buffet was very well presented and we were able to sample different varieties of Tunisian cuisine.

We only stay in Kairouan for one night and we have an early morning and long drive to Tozeur in the morning.

Accommodations: La Kasbah Golden Yasmin Hotel - - - Meals: B, L, D

Please see our Trip Evaluation -- Click Here -- A Complete Review of Overseas Adventure Travel's Tunisia: From the Mediterranean to the Sahara.

If you wish to travel with OAT Click Here.

To receive up to $200 per person off your first reservation with OAT, mention the following information when reserving your Overseas Adventure Travel Trip: Mr. Victor Garcia Customer #673062

More native interaction. The Muslin cleric and the family for lunch. Looks like they were educational and fun.

Day 13: Azores & Madeira: Portugal's Unspoiled Archipelagos

Island Beauties

Island Beauties

Island Beauties

Island Beauties

Island Beauties

Previous Next

Day 13 - Saturday, April 22, 2022 - Depart for U.S.

The hotel prepared a box breakfast for us as we had to be in the lobby way before the breakfast room was open.

Last night we found out that our departure flight back to...

Continue Reading Day 13