Longing for some sun, I treated my girlfriend and myself to a week in Tunesia.
A beautiful tradition: the bed was made up artistically. Imagine our surprise when we found
our room like this.
Of course, the chambermaids appreciate a tip for this.
We hadn't realised it would be ramadan during our break, and since we were not staying in a resort
but near the heart of the city, we were in the middle. Sousse was bustling during the daytime, but only
tourists were sitting down for a drink. And around sunset, everything came to a standstill.
No traffic. No cars. Everything closed. Even the street vendors sitting down, gathering together
on blankets. The big three-lane boulevard along the city beach absolutely quiet.
Then, at sunset, calls for prayer from the minarets.
We can recommend climbing the tower of the lighthouse. The lighthouse keeper makes a bit of extra
money by guiding visitors around, and why not? It's not official; no sign on the
door, tourist information only talks about the view from the ribat tower, but the view
from the lighthouse over the medina is simply stunning.
The entrance is a small door to the south of the entrance to the city museum,
which is definately worth a visit also for the roman mosaics.
The view is more impressive than a photo at the height of day can capture.
Note the strength of the noon light, even in november.
The lighthouse keeper is a nice man, and he's very intent on giving
visitors value for money; I guess his extra income would come to a halt if
someone would complain about it and officials would be involved...
So he overloads you with information in a very formal, archaic German or English.
You also get to see the machinery. Built in Paris in 1888, nowadays with
a halogen lamp, but the petroleum lamp is still in place to take over
if the electricity fails.
Which occurs more often than it should, the man said, a little sad.
And what's a holiday without snapshots? Here they are.
So what else to say but that we enjoyed it very much.