Tunisia, Northern Africa

Sunday, May 26, 2024

Monday, May 27, 2024

La Goulette, Tunisia

We’ve sailed over 36,311 nautical miles since Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Tunisia, is the northernmost country in Africa bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. It features the archaeological sites of Carthage dating back to the 9th century BC, as well as the Great Mosque of Kairouan. Known for its ancient architecture, souks which are market places, medinas and blue coasts. It contains the eastern end of the Atlas Mountains and the northern reaches of the Sahara desert. Tunisia is home to Africa's northernmost point, Cape Angela.The population of Tunisia is essentially Arab Berber and the language spoken is Arabic., but French is also spoken as well as English and Italian. The county is Sunni Muslim, but the Tunisian form of Islam is not extreme and they are officially open to religious diversity.

We went on a four-hour tour of La Goulette, Carthage, and Sidi Bou Said. We passed the North American Cemetery where 2,841 American soldiers who fought in WWII are buried and wished we had time to stop and pay our respects. Sidi Bou Said was a picturesque little town with white buildings and blue doors and trim — pretty! Home of a massive mosque and some handicraft shops.

Tunis Medina is a UNESCO world heritage where we saw how beautiful rugs are handmade, and resisted a tempting opportunity to buy an authentic Tunisian rug and other handicrafts. From the top of the Medina, we photographed a panoramic view of the city.