Tunisia-Med-Sahara Day 7

Day 13-08 - Sunday, March 22, 2009 - Travel to Tozeur/Visit Sbeitla

We had a long day on the road so we set the alarm for 6:30. Our luggage had to be out at 7:30 and then we went down to breakfast.

The buffet this morning was as nice as last night’s dinner.

It has been chilly, but today was cold! It was 50º with 61% humidity. The departure time was set at 8:00 but there were a few missing keys so we were delayed for a few minutes.

We had not gone more than a mile when we stopped at a bakery where the men were baking and frying the Makroudh, the sweets we have been eating here in North Africa.

There was also a Sunday vegetable market outside of the bakery so we had two discoveries at one stop. Linda asked the price of the fresh artichokes, the first price quoted was 1 dinar ($0.75) for three large ones!

The sensory overload was incredible; the sweet smells of honey, hot cooking oil and the loud calls from the vegetable vendors was an exciting way to begin our day.

We left the city and continued southwest into the center of the long narrow country of Tunisia. We were still in olive country but more date palms are evident. There were a few hills, lots of rocks, and emerging hills.

At 10:20 we arrived at Sbeitla where we stopped at the 3rd Century Diocletian arch. This town is near the Roman ruins of Sufetula containing some of the best preserved forums and temples in Tunisia.

Our usual morning coffee stop was at the museum and café. We had 15 minutes that turned into 25 and then we were off to see the ruins.

Khamis gave us an overview of the site built by the Romans and then occupied by the Byzantines. We followed the old Roman road through the city to see an ancient olive press.

We saw the Byzantine Cathedral and then the three main temples. The main temple in the center is Jupiter and then the one to the left is to Minerva, the goddess of wisdom and on the right Juno, the wife of Jupiter.

Continuing on our journey back in time, we saw the well preserved Baptistery, the baths, and the gymnasium.

As a special treat, we met a group of young boy and girl scouts who were on a field trip. They were taking a break to eat their sack lunches.

They sang several songs for us and then Linda suggested we sing for them. Gennie and Linda started America the Beautiful, a song that most of us knew well. Then Linda taught them the Hokey-Pokey and we were all involved in the fun.

We took photos and videos and talked to the children and their scout leader. He asked if we could take a photo of us.

He put the leader scarf on my neck and then he took a photo of us with the children. What a unique and spontaneous opportunity to get to know the North African children and for them to get a chance to meet a few friendly and admiring Americans!

We left the archeological site at 12:45and continued on to Gafsa. Our trip through the dry countryside took about 90 minutes.

Gafsa is a large well developed city founded centuries ago around an oasis. Now there are over 90,000 inhabitants, many employed by the phosphate mining industry.

We stopped for lunch at the Ramses Restaurant on the outskirts of the city. The set menu for lunch was vegetable soup, then chicken and rice for the main course, and oranges for dessert. Gennie is about ready to kill for a Snickers bar!

We were back on the road again at 3:35 continuing on our journey south to Tozeur, our destination for the day. Along the way we saw flat land and a few dry land olive trees.

Traveling through this barren land we saw camels, many storks, and flocks of sheep. There were mountains of sand dunes on both sides of the road miles away on the horizon.

The soil is sandy and we all wondered how anything could grow. In the villages surrounding the occasional oasis are date palm plantations.

Khamis explained the topography and the unique fences made of dried palm branches. The trees lean to the left because of the severe winds.

We entered our destination for tonight, Tozeur at 5:00. This ancient city is made of yellow sand bricks and is home to 250,000 date palms. The metropolis is located in a four-square-mile oasis, quite a contrast to the surrounding Sahara.

Riadh let us off so we could walk through the medina for about 50 minutes and some people actually did some shopping. We made our way back to the bus and were off to go to the hotel.

When we arrived at 6:30, we got our keys, found our rooms and settled in for the next three days. While I sorted pictures, Gennie washed a few things and hung them out on our little portico. They should dry quickly here in the cold desert.

Dinner was at 8:00 and was another very delicious buffet. We left the dining room at 9:00 to go back to the room to finish the journal and go back to the lobby to post it. There is no internet in the rooms, but the wi-fi is available in the lobby.

Accommodations: Ras El Ain Hotel - - - Meals: B, L, D

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

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