"Sorirart biro" Tunisia by seagoingJLW

Tunisia Travel Guide: 6,272 reviews and 13,242 photos

Tunisia is a fascinating place. It is really three cities in one. First, the modern capital of the Tunisian Republic. Second, the medival Arab medina. Third, Carthage, the ancient Phoenician and Roman city.

History

The Phoenicians founded the city of Carthage in 814 B.C. During the Punic Wars, Hannibal crossed the Alps into Italy but was eventually defeated and all Punic lands became the Roman province of Africa in 146 B.C. At that time, Carthage was destroyed. A century later, Julius Caesar ordered it rebuilt.

Tunisia remained Roman for six centuries. The Vandals ruled for a while but they fell to the armies of the Byzantine general, Belasarius, in 534 A.D.

Led by Oqba Ibn Nafi, the Arabs conquered Ifriqiya in the 7th century. Carthage fell to ruins and Tunis was built up as the northern stronghold in 698. After a succession of Arab dynasties, the Ottoman Turks took over in 1574.

Tunisian pirates made their country rich and powerful in the 17th and 18th centuries operating independently.

Ahmed Bey made the first important attempt to bring Tunisia into the modern world. Slavery was abolished. New factories, banks and communications were set up. Then Tunisia became a protectorate of France in 1881. During World War II Tunisia became a center of action.

The country was granted internal autonomy in 1955 and full independence a year later.

Miscellaneous Information

Tunisia is the smallest of the four countries in North Africa that make up the Maghreb. It borders the Mediterranean sea with Algeria to itw west and Libya to the southeast. It has a total area of 163,610 sq km. and 1,148 km of coastline.

The country has three distict physical regions: Northern Tunisia, Central Tunisia and Southern Tunisia. The Atlas Mountains form the Northern Tell and High Tell ranges in the north. The Sahel, in Central Tunisia, is a low lying flat semi-arid steppe with seasonal salt lakes and olive groves. Seasonal salt flats and spectacular date palm plantation are in Southern Tunisia. the extreme south is the Sahara Desert.

The climate is temperate with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers except for the south which has a combination of hight humidity and high temperatures in the summer. Temperatures along the coast average 45 degrees F in winter and 90 degrees F in summer. In the south, hot dry Sirocco winds from the Sahara take temperatures much, much higher. The best times to visit are Spring and Fall.

The population, as of July, 1995, was 8,879,845. It is 98% Arab-Berber, 1% European and even fewer Jews. The religious make up is 98% Muslim, 1% Christian and 1% Jewish.

Arabic is the official language and French is the language of commerce. Berber speaking people form less than 1% of the population.

The photo shows the modern section.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Interesting and different
Cons:You can get lost easily. especially in the old medina.
In a nutshell:Stay with a guide

Last visit to Tunisia: Apr 1999
Intro Updated Apr 1, 2004
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Reviews (9)

Map of Tunisia Transportation (1)

Here is a map of Tunisia for orientation purposes. more travel advice

Shopping Favorites (6)

Shopping the souks is great fun. Your best buy in Tunisia is a rich, hand woven carpet of soft wool. more travel advice

Go to Sidi Bou Said Favorites (6)

Go to Sidi Bou Said with buildings all trimmed in blue--blue doors, blue windows, etc. There are bulbous blue and white... more travel advice

Tunisian Cuisine Restaurants (1)

Try these foods in Tunisia:couscous, mechouia tomatoes, hot peppers, onionsand capers topped with chunks of tuna and... more travel advice

Things to Do (1)
Do not miss the Bardo Museum...

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Comments (28)

JLBG Jan 12, 2005 at 2:42 AM Report Abuse

It is difficult not to fall in love with Tunisia when visiting. I can see that you, too, enjoyed this pleasant country.
nomorewars Feb 1, 2003 at 11:16 AM Report Abuse

Stunning.
BorderHopper Aug 4, 2002 at 11:05 AM Report Abuse

You`ve had some amazing travels!
Tanechka Jun 11, 2002 at 11:12 AM Report Abuse

Good page, reminding me nice days of holiday spent there!
Armani23 May 31, 2002 at 8:29 AM Report Abuse

fantastic page, some info I don´t know about before, thanks
acemj Apr 15, 2002 at 12:52 PM Report Abuse

C`mon Irwin, buy your wife some jewels!!
Ronald_T Apr 14, 2002 at 7:49 AM Report Abuse

I like Couscous too Joan. Great info/pics and a good Tlogue..
chrissyalex Mar 13, 2002 at 2:32 PM Report Abuse

The Bardo Museum looks amazing!
KaiM Feb 28, 2002 at 2:49 PM Report Abuse

Some spicy Couscous! Mmh, love it!
seratonin Feb 7, 2002 at 11:36 AM Report Abuse

Interesting page, thanks!