Tunisia (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

360 Pages·2005·71.59 MB·English

eyewitness travel guide s
T N S A
ancient sites
beaches
mountains
resorts
markets
The Guides that show you what others only tell you
Tunisia Region by Region
Béja
Le Kef
CENTRAL
TUNISIA
TUNIS
Pages 64–89
NORTHERN Gafsa
TUNISIA
Pages 122–143
Tozeur
SOUTHERN
TUNISIA
CENTRAL
TUNISIA
Pages 212–241
0 km 100
0 miles 100 SOUTHER N
TUNISI A
Pages 190–211
GREATER TUNIS
TUNIS
Sousse
Kairouan
THE
SAHEL
GREATER TUNIS
AND CAP BON
PENINSULA
Pages 90–121
Medenine
THE SAHEL
Pages 144–173
JERBA AND THE
MEDENINE
AREA
Pages 174–189
EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDES
TUNISIA
E Y E W I T N ESS TRAVEL GUIDE S
Tunisia
EL˚BIETA AND ANDRZEJ LISOWSCY
TUN 004-005 (Contents) U S2.6q/x1d1 / 042 6/ 131:/3074 P M3 : 5P3a gPeM 4 Page 4 (TEXT BLACK plate)
CONTENTS
HOW TO USE
THIS GUIDE 6
Produced by Wydawnictwo Wiedza i ˚ycie, Warsaw
SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Pawe∏ Pasternak
EDITORS Robert G. Pasieczny,
Joanna Egert-Romanowska, Agnieszka Majle
AUTHORS Andrzej and El˝bieta Lisowscy
GRAPHIC DESIGN Pawe∏ Kamiƒski, Piotr Kiedrowski
CARTOGRAPHERS Magdalena Polak, Olaf Rodowald
PHOTOGRAPHERS Artur Paw∏owski,
Nicolas Fauque, Krzysztof Kur
ILLUSTRATORS Bohdan Wróblewski,
Micha∏ Burkiewicz, Pawe∏ Marczak
CONTRIBUTORS MaDar sc
and Sabina Kocieszczenko
For Dorling Kindersley
Ruins of a Roman temple on the
TRANSLATOR Magda Hannay capitol hill in Dougga
EDITOR Matthew Tanner
SENIOR DTP DESIGNER Jason Little
PRODUCTION CONTROLLER Rita Sinha
Reproduced by Colourscan, Singapore
Printed and bound in by L-Rex Printing Company Ltd., China INTRODUCING
TUNISIA
sriF t emA acir n tidE oi n , 2005
05 06 07 0 8 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
PUTTING TUNISIA ON
Psilbu eh d ni teh Unti e d tS ates yb KD Psilbu nih g , nI ,.c THE MAP 10
375 sduH on tS er et , Ne w oY ,kr Ne w oY kr 10014
Cogiryp th 2005 © oD nilr g niK ed sr el y timiL e ,d oL nod n A PORTRAIT OF TUNISIA
12
A L RIGHTS VED RE S E R UNDER I NTERNTA IONAL AND PAN -A MERICAN
COPYRIGHT CONVENTIONS . N O PART OF THIS PUBLICTA ION MY A BE REPRODUCED , STORED
IN A RETAL RIEV S Y STEM , OR TRANSMITTED IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS , ELECTRONIC , TUNISIA THROUGH
MECHANICAL , PHOTOCOPYING , RECORDING , OR OTWISE HE R , W ITHOUT THE PRIOR WR ITTEN THE YEAR 38
PERMISION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER .
Psilbu eh d ni erG at tirB ani yb oD nilr g niK ed sr el y timiL e.d
NSI 1542-1554
ISBN 0-7566-0912-7
The information in this
Dorling Kindersley Travel Guide is checked regularly.
Every effort has been made to ensure that this book is as up-to-date
as possible at the time of going to press. Some details, however,
such as telephone numbers, opening hours, prices, gallery hanging
arrangements and travel information are liable to change. The publishers
cannot accept responsibility for any consequences arising from the
use of this book, nor for any material on third party websites,
and cannot guarantee that any website address in this book
will be a suitable source of travel information. We value the views and
suggestions of our readers very highly. Please write to:
Publisher, DK Eyewitness Travel Guides
Dorling Kindersley, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, Great Britain Comfortable tents for visitors in
Ksar Ghilane
Mosque in Chenini – a town built on rocky terraces
TUN 004-005 (Contents) U S.2qxd 6/ 1216/0141 / 043 :3 73 :P5M3 P MP a geP ag5e 5 (TEXT BLACK plate)
SURVIVAL GUIDE
PRACTICAL
INFORMATION 310
TRAVEL INFORMATION
320
GENERAL INDEX 328
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
348
GLOSSARY 350
Tourist centre in Port el-Kantaoui
THE HISTORY OF TRAVELLERS’
TUNISIA 44 NEEDS
TUNISIA REGION WHERE TO STAY 244
BY REGION
WHERE TO EAT 266
TUNISIA AT A GLANCE
62 SHOPPING IN TUNISIA
290
ENTERTAINMENT IN
TUNISIA 298
SPORT IN TUNISIA 302 Vegetable stall at Menzel
Temime market
ACTIVITIES FOR
VISITORS 304 ROADMAP OF TUNISIA
Inside back cover
Seafood – a mainstay of Tunisian
cuisine
TUNIS 64
GREATER TUNIS AND
CAP BON PENINSULA 90
NORTHERN TUNISIA 122
THE SAHEL 144
JERBA AND THE
MEDENINE AREA 174
SOUTHERN TUNISIA 190
CENTRAL TUNISIA 212 Fortress in Monastir
(see pp156–7)
6 H O W T O U S E T H I S G U I D E
6 6 T U N I S I A R E G I O N B Y R E G I O N T U N I S 6 7
Tunis Town Centre IGHTS AT A GLANCE
Areas, Streets and Squares Dar el-Haddad o
WO WORLDS ARE side by side in the Avenue Habib Bourguiba k Dar Hussein i
Tcentre of Tunis. On the one hand, e Dar Lasram d
there is the historic district, almost Belvedere Park z Dar Othman r
unchanged since medieval times, on the Place du Gouvernement 6 Hôtel Majestic g
other, a modern metropolis. The Rue de la Hafsia s National Library q
western area of the centre is occupied a Théâtre Municipal j
by the medina, full of ancient palaces, Rue Jemaa Zitouna w Tourbet el-Bey y
mosques, medersas and souks. The Tourbet of Aziza Othmana 9
eastern part comprises the Ville
The Great Souk 7 Religious Buildings
l Cathedral h
Souk el-Attarine 0 The Great Mosque (Zitouna
3 Mosque) pp70–71 1
Hammouda Pasha Mosque 8
Museums & Historic Buildings Jellaz Cemetery x
Bardo Museum pp88–9 c Kasbah Mosque p
Dar ben Abdalah t Medersa Mouradia u
Sidi Mehrez Mosque f
Sidi Youssef Mosque 4
The Three Medersas 2
GETTING AROUND
The most convenient way
of exploring Tunis is on
foot. The buses and trams
n can be crowded, but are
useful for reaching sites
further out, such as the
Bardo Museum. The TGM
train’s main station is at
the end of Avenue Habib
Bourgiba and links the
centre of Tunis to the
suburbs. See pp326–7 for
more details.
F
threa gBmarednot oMfu as emuomsaic from N 6 8 T U N I S 6 9
Street-by-Street: The Medina
UNIS’S ANCIENT MEDINA
TUNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Bustling with life for over one thousand
years, it is full of narrow alleys, mosques,
oriental markets and unexpected
courtyards. It also has many mysterious
and colourful doorways beyond which
are ancient palaces and wealthy homes.
The medina is centred on an axis
formed by the Great Mosque and its
many surrounding souks.
Place du
Gouverne brary
is the town ibrary
m
c
fthoaraen ies nxbta pesr lqtuoiurnsiae mtoielfdl it ohanet
the medin na, in
former
ilitary
rracks
uilt by
mouda
ha q
ouk el-
traded
ncense,
andles
nce the
ury 0
50
50
7 2 T U N I S I A R E G I O N B Y R E G I O N 7 3
his is one of the of the Palm Tree, the . The Great
The Three Sidi Youssef most colourful Bachia and the Mosque
Medersas 2 Mosque 4 tcroandsauccttiionngs ,f iansa nwceiall as opths eosf faenridng Slimania 2 mThoissq ius et hine lTaurgneist.
MRueed
HdereEsa GL 1iRb3Er.aAiTresM 1O1S,Q 1U9E &i sRue de la RTue SHthiIdSei bBfeUirnIsL tZD ifaIlNdoG.orIS alboocavtee dth oen womtiahtrhek ret hpdeo oimnnta sii tno. fs inghtetrse asnt dclearly absEosue cironioapgplp etloihafsene. dcmAe tarnoartbkre s tos,fuks, ae Otm pnereod vsinhidoaeps3 haas a KEY Suggested route waIt8st hbcoe cgneusntnrtu irncyt i to1hne
Tadjoined by a group of shops, which provided Muslim The palace was built as a were never places of
three medersas. Built by the mosques with a revenue guest house by a Husaynid residence for the
Husaynids as residential during the Turkish era. One of monarch in 1795, on the ruins merchants. The Great
Islamic schools in the 18th the most interesting Ottoman of a royal residence dating Mosque was always
century, each of them has a sacred buildings, the mosque from the Muradid period. It the seat of learning
similar layout, with a has the the oldest Turkish was extensively remodelled in and faith, while the
courtyard flanked on three minaret in the medina (1616). 1876 when it was used by the souks constituted the
sides by students’ cells. Used The octagonal minaret is set Bey of Tunis as a place to town’s economic
by students studying the on a square base and is typical receive important visitors. It centre. Souks may
Koran, the fourth side of the of Ottoman architecture. Most was here that he received seem chaotic but
medersas’ courtyards adjoin of the 48 columns (eight rows many heads of state from actually have a strict
the mosque. Inside a carpet shop in Souk of six columns) in the prayer Germany, England, France hierarchy. The
The oldest of them is the et-Trouk hall feature antique capitasl and the Ottoman Empire. immediate vicinity of
Medersa of the Palm Tree and are North African in The bey himself lived the Great Mosque was
(1714). Its name derives from Souk et-Trouk 3 design. Adjacent to the outside Tunis in the Bardo reserved for the up-
the palm tree that stands at mosque is the mausoleum of area at this time. Prior to that, market bazaars selling
the centre of the courtyard its founder – Sidi Youssef – until the Husaynid period Busy alley in one of the medina’s souks articles such as
surrounded by arcaded HIS 17TH-CENTURY Turkish which has a pyramid roof of (18th century), the sultan’s religious books,
galleries. The arcades, with Tmarket is situated between green tiles. The complex is main residence was the The Great Souk 7 perfumes, carpets and
their horseshoe arches, have Souk el-Attarine (the scent completed by the medersa, nearby kasbah. The change jewellery. In Muslim
columns with richly market) and Souk el-Berka which was built in 1622. was partly brought about by countries, the market was, and
ornamented capitals. The (formerly the site of the old the fashion for building HE MEDINAI N Tunis has continues to be, an important
Medersa of the Palm Tree slave market). It contains the summer residences that Tmore than 20 souks. The element of Islamic life. The
now houses the headquarters north gateway to the Great prevailed at the beginning major ones are adjacent to the souk is a place where people
of the organization concerned Mosque and also Au Palais of the 19th century. Great Mosque and together come to shop, trade and
with Koranic law. d’Orient – one of Tunis’s form one vast, colourful, meet friends. According to
grBouapch, wiaa, st hbeu islet cionn 1d7 5in2 tbhye bvieeswt-iknngo pwoni nctasr. pHeet rseh, ovpisi taonrsd Place du atenrimmsa, tebdo tmh amrkeeatnpilnagce. Two Mthue ssliwme etrtaedsti tioocnc,u tpradtiionng. is
Ali Pasha. Standing next to will also find Café M. Rabet Gouvernement 6 “market”, compete with each The medieval Arab scholar
the entrance is a small with its miniature garden (a other in the Muslim world: al-Ghazali, for instance,
fountain with miniature pools kind of verandah) and a more the bazaar (from the Persian) considered commerce as a
that are always full of water. expensive restaurant on the HIS BUSY square is full of and the souk (from the form of preparation for the
The adjacent tourbet first floor (overlooking a Tgovernment buildings, Arabic). For centuries a souk rewards of the next world.
(mausoleum) houses the section of the Great Mosque). fountains, palm trees and had a distinct, cohesive Haggling is a strictly
Cultural Society. Slimania This is the place to come to flowers. It is also a popular character based on the scripted performance: both
also owes its existence to Ali enjoy some traditional meeting place for young traditions of the eastern and parties must end up believing
Pasha, who built it in memory Tunisian music, a cup of tea Sidi Youssef Mosque with its people and serves as a useful Mediterranean nations, and that they have struck a good
of his son Suleyman who had and, for those that want it, a 17th-century minaret starting point for expeditions featured clearly identified bargain. Any customer who
been murdered by his puff of tobacco through a into the heart of the medina places for various types of engages in a long bargaining
younger brother. chicha (hookah). (it is just a short distance from goods. From the beginning, process should not pull out of
Dar el-Bey 5 the Great Mosque). this was a venue for trading the deal at the end (see p291).
Place du Gouvernement is
Place du Gouvernement. situated in what would once
¢ to visitors. have been the western limit
of the medina. It is flanked
HE FORMER SEAT of the bey on the west by the Boulevard
Trulers, and later of the Bab Benat (Tunis’s local
French Protectorate government building stands
administration, this is now the on the opposite side of the
prime minister’s office. Dar avenue), and on the east
el-Bey, with its imposing and north by the Government
18th- and 19th-century Secretariat and the Ministry of
fa˜ade, is the most important Religious Affairs.
building in Tunis’s Place The Dar el-Bey (see
du Gouvernement. Next to opposite) stands at its
the west wing of the southern end on the side of
government’s seat (in Rue the Sidi Youssef Mosque. This
Sidi ben Ziad) is the start of a former bey’s residence has
marked walking route that been renovated several times
leads towards the Great and now houses the offices of
Arcaded courtyard in the Medersa of the Palm Tree Mosque and further, to Tunisia’s prime minister. Fountain in Place du Gouvernement
R U E D E T U R Q U I E

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B A K R
HACHED
AO U I