Buffet at the 5-star Africa Hotel in Tunis |
Buffet at Africa Hotel |
Buffet at Africa Hotel - Note carved veggies |
Buffet at Africa Hotel - spoiled for choice! |
Buffet at Africa Hotel - Tunisian seafood & rice |
Buffet at Africa Hotel - stuffed calamari |
Buffet at Africa Hotel - elegant desserts! |
Buffet at Africa Hotel - elegant desserts! |
Tunis - excavated ancient water system |
Beautiful Sidi Bou Said, near Tunis |
Sidi Bou Said |
Sidi Bou Said |
Sidi Bou Said |
Sidi Bou Said |
Sidi Bou Said - those lovely blue doors everywhere |
Sidi Bou Said |
Street in Sidi Bou Said |
Sidi Bou Said |
Unique souvenir shop in Sidi Bou Said |
Another gorgeous doorway in Sidi Bou Said |
Storm clouds over Sidi Bou Said |
Inviting doorway, Sidi Bou Said |
Restaurant, Sidi Bou Said |
Sidi Bou Said |
Orange juice anyone? Sidi Bou Said |
Carthage, near Tunis - part of the ancient Roman port/boat basin |
Ali (our guide) explains original port design |
Historic house at Carthage boat basin |
Carthage, World Heritage Site |
Carthage, baths entry |
Carthage - walkway to baths complex |
Carthage - lovely view approaching baths |
Carthage - seaside baths complex |
Carthage - seaside baths complex |
Carthage - seaside baths complex |
Carthage - seaside baths complex |
Carthage - what baths looked like in Roman times |
Inside Carthage baths |
Inside Carthage baths |
Inside Carthage baths |
Carthage - fallen ornate architectural detail |
American WWII Cemetery, in the rain |
Proprietor of small kosher restaurant, "Mamie Lily, " in La Goulette |
Terracotta wine bottle covers at Mamie Lily |
Kitchen staff at Mamie Lily |
Bardo Museum, Tunis |
Baptismal piece - Bardo Museum, Tunis |
Learning about incredible Roman mosaics at Bardo Museum |
Hunting scene mosaic - Bardo Museum |
Bardo Museum - once a Bey's palace |
Carved ceiling details - Bardo Museum |
Hand carved wall detail, Bardo Museum |
Elegant door, Bardo Museum |
Tiles & carved details, Bardo Museum |
Roman sculpture - Bardo Museum |
Bardo Museum |
Ceiling, Bardo Museum |
Fanciful mosaic, Bardo Museum |
Architectural detail, Bardo Museum |
BIG foot, Bardo Museum |
Big foot's owner, Bardo Museum |
Exquisite carved details, Bardo Museum |
Beautiful niche, Bardo Museum |
Islamic section, Bardo Museum |
Tunis traffic circle, near the Medina |
Tunis traffic circle, near the Medina |
Tunis - in the Medina |
Narghille Cafe in the Medina |
Medina hat shop - we learn how the "shechia" is made |
Tunis Medina street with Zitouna mosque minaret |
Medina shop - wedding baskets, given by groom's family to bride |
Interesting shop, Tunis Medina |
Perfume shop, Tunis Medina |
The venerable Zitouna, The Great Mosque |
Tunis - Arch at Place de la Victoire |
Place de la Victoire, Tunis |
Elegant Theatre Municipal on Ave. Habib Bourguiba, Tunis |
Dinner out at the Dar El Jeld, in the Kasbah, Tunis Medina |
Zither player at Dar El Jeld |
Diners Louise, Clyde, George & Judith at Dar El Jeld |
The rest of the group at Dar El Jeld |
Stop at a citrus stand, enroute to Dougga |
View of farm land, enroute to Dougga |
Young salesman at citrus stand |
Visit to small farm town, Testour - laden donkey cart |
Men at cafe, Testour |
Catching up, cafe in Testour |
Main Street, Testour |
Testour tailor - we learn how he makes the "cachabia," the winter coat of Tunisian men |
Side street, Testour - 4 men & a motorbike |
Testour - 2 men & a motorbike |
Pedestrians walk by colorful shop, Testour |
Muffin box |
Here's the beef - Testour |
Moooooo! |
Ali buys us Tunisian sheep cheese in Testour |
Donkey cart, Testour |
Donkey cart, Testour |
View of local mosque, Testour |
Street scene, Testour |
More men at a cafe, Testour |
Date seller, Testour |
Dougga - one of the best-preserved Roman ruins in Tunisia |
Dougga |
Dougga |
Dougga |
Dougga - high on a hill... fiercely cold & windy the day we were there |
Dougga - amphitheatre |
Roman sculpture, Dougga |
Dougga - excavated Roman street |
Dougga |
Dougga |
Dougga - view of Capitol |
Dougga - approach to Forum & Capitol |
Dougga - the impressive Capitol |
Dougga - sepia view, Capitol & partial remains of Ottoman wall |
Dougga - Forum, with shops in background |
Dougga panorama |
Dougga - sepia panorama |
Dougga - Capitol |
Dougga - hitching post |
Dougga - Dar el-Achab doorway (sepia) |
Dougga - original mosaic floor, in situ |
Dougga - sepia rendition of baths dressing room |
Dougga - spectacular arch to Lycinian baths |
Dougga - sepia photo of columns |
Dougga panorama |
Dougga - public toilets |
Double rainbow on the way back from Dougga (shot through bus window) |
Nabeul - famous for pottery & stone carving. Visit to stone cutter's shop (Dar Chaban) |
Nabeul - stone cutter's products |
Outside stone cutter's shop, Nabeul |
Nabeul - stone cutter |
Nabeul - would you take your child to a Dr. Gastli? |
Nabeul - Market Day |
Nabeul - Market Day |
Nabeul - side street scene |
Nabeul - Market Day |
Nabeul - carpet shop |
Nabeul - cafe entrance |
Nabeul - still life with oranges |
Nabeul - architectural details |
Nabeul - hair salon |
Nabeul pottery |
Hammamet - beached boats |
Hammamet - Kasbah (Fort) walls - entrance to Medina/Souk |
Hammamet Medina |
Hammamet - Kasbah walls - inside Medina |
Hammamet Medina |
Elegant doorway in Hammamet Medina |
Hammamet Medina - Mosque minaret |
Hammamet Medina - yellow door usually means bath house or hammam |
Hammamet - elegant grilles |
Hammamet's lovely little Medina |
Hammamet - artist in front of his gallery |
Hammamet - pottery display outside of Medina |
Hammamet - beach structure |
Hammamet - Yes, the water really is that gorgeous turquoise color! |
Hammamet seafront view |
Hammamet beach |
Hammamet - we visit a narghille (water pipe) cafe |
Hammamet narghille cafe |
Some of us try the narghille... |
Sousse - visit to lovely home to learn about a marriage between European woman & Tunisian man. Here's the woman & her mom |
El Djem - 3rd Century Roman amphitheatre |
El Djem - Roman amphitheatre, Tunisia's best-preserved ruin |
El Djem - Roman amphitheatre |
El Djem - Roman amphitheatre - detail |
El Djem - Roman amphitheatre - interior (sepia) |
El Djem - Roman amphitheatre - interior |
El Djem - Roman amphitheatre - interior (sepia) |
El Djem - Roman amphitheatre - underground arches (sepia) |
El Djem - Roman amphitheatre - underground cells for prisoners and/or lions |
El Djem - Roman amphitheatre - long view of interior (sepia) |
El Djem - Roman amphitheatre - exterior |
El Djem - juxtaposition of old & new |
El Djem - Quick food & drinks |
El Djem - entrance to museum |
El Djem - museum courtyard |
El Djem - museum - peacock mosaic |
El Djem - museum - hall with mosaics |
El Djem - museum - mosaic featuring Bacchus |
El Djem - museum - detail, Bacchus |
El Djem - museum - hunting scene mosaic |
El Djem - museum - dolphins & geese mosaic |
El Djem - museum - detail, dolphins & geese |
El Djem - museum - sculpture in courtyard |
El Djem - very well preserved Roman villa (sepia) |
El Djem - Roman villa restored mosaic floor |
El Djem - Roman villa - bedroom with Venus mosaic motif on floor |
Sousse - monument to the 1943 bombing - Place des Martyrs |
Sousse Medina |
Young shopper in Sousse Medina |
Sousse Medina - walls shared with Great Mosque |
Sousse Medina - walls shared with Great Mosque |
Kairouan - 1 of 2 Aghlabid basins (cisterns, c. 860 AD) |
Kairouan - visit to local mosque - entrance wall |
Kairouan - local mosque courtyard |
Kairouan - mosque doorway |
Kairouan - mosque entrance |
Kairouan - mosque courtyard vignette |
Kairouan - small mosque interior - anti-chamber carved details |
Kairouan - small mosque hallway to courtyard (sepia) |
Kairouan - small mosque hallway - details |
Kairouan - small mosque hallway |
Kairouan - small mosque hallway - details |
Kairouan - small mosque courtyard, entrance to mosque |
Kairouan - small mosque courtyard - local color |
Kairouan - small mosque courtyard - rugs made by brides |
Kairouan - street & walls surrounding the Great Mosque |
Kairouan - Great Mosque, c. 9th Century - courtyard |
Kairouan - Great Mosque courtyard with minaret |
Kairouan - Great Mosque colonnade (sepia) |
Kairouan - Great Mosque - small doorway into minaret |
Kairouan - Great Mosque - minaret |
Kairouan - Great Mosque - entrance doorway |
Kairouan - Great Mosque - interior |
Kairouan - Great Mosque - the cloister's elegant arcades (sepia) |
Kairouan - Great Mosque - we have a discussion about Islam with a (retired) Imam |
Kairouan - ceiling of multimedia show building |
Kairouan - beautiful building |
Kairouan - elegant bath, 4-star La Kasbah (Golden Yasmin) Hotel |
Kairouan - my gorgeous bedroom at La Kasbah Hotel |
Kairouan - my gorgeous bedroom at La Kasbah Hotel |
Kairouan - even a little sitting porch off my room - La Kasbah Hotel |
Kairouan - La Kasbah Hotel lobby |
Kairouan - La Kasbah Hotel, bar off lobby |
Kairouan - La Kasbah Hotel lobby |
Kairouan - THE place to buy carpets - Tapis Aghlabites shop |
Kairouan - Tapis Aghlabites shop |
Kairouan - Tapis Aghlabites shop - ceiling detail |
Kairouan - Tapis Aghlabites shop - MY purchases! |
Kairouan - Tapis Aghlabites shop, exterior |
Kairouan - pretty shop |
Kairouan - Medina entrance |
Sign to Sbeitla, southernmost Roman town in Tunisia |
Sbeitla - entrance arch |
Sbeitla - walkway to ruins |
Sbeitla - long view of temples |
Sbeitla - stonework |
Sbeitla - Roman olive press |
Sbeitla - what the olive press looked like |
Sbeitla - panorama of ruins |
Sbeitla - small villas |
Sbeitla - cistern |
Sbeitla - temples dedicated to Juno, Jupiter & Minerva |
Sbeitla - entrance arch to Forum & temple area |
Sbeitla - sepia shot of dramatic entrance arch to temples & Forum |
Sbeitla - view of temples through Forum entrance arch |
Sbeitla - the three temples: to Jupiter, Juno & Minerva |
Sbeitla - sepia shot of back of Forum entrance arch |
Sbeitla - temple to Minerva |
Sbeitla - Forum with mosaic floor - one of the best-preserved in No. Africa |
Sbeitla - baths area, with hole showing underground heating system |
Sbeitla - walkway to amphitheatre |
Sbeitla - amphitheatre |
Sbeitla - amphitheatre columns - note rugged setting |
Our Sbeitla guide's cute little girl |
Seen leaving Sbeitla... carrots & leeks (or onions) on the way to market |
Kasserine Pass memorial - site of WWII battle |
Kasserine Pass |
Camels!!! NOW we're in the desert! |
Tozeur - an oasis town in SW Tunisia - horse & buggy ride upon our arrival |
Tozeur - horse & buggy drivers |
Nice shady avenue in Tozeur |
Tozeur date plantation |
Tozeur date plantation |
Tozeur date plantation - man selling dates |
Tozeur date plantation - how they fertilize dates - by hand |
Tozeur date plantation - workers climb date palms 3 times per year |
Tozeur date plantation - workers climb barefoot |
Tozeur buggy ride - Barb swaddled in scarf |
Backstreets of Tozeur - just about the only street trash we saw in ALL of Tunisia |
Our drivers wait while we visit the Tozeur brick works |
Tozeur brick works |
Tozeur brick works - kiln firing in background |
Tozeur brick works - first you mix the mud by hand |
Tozeur brick works - form for bricks |
Tozeur brick works - pack the mud into the form |
Tozeur brick works - stack hardened bricks like so, and when you have enough, you put them in the kiln and fire it for days |
Tozeur - our greeter at another gorgeous Golden Yasmin hotel |
Tozeur - the beautiful Ras El Ain Hotel |
Tozeur - the beautiful Ras El Ain Hotel pool |
You know you're in the desert when... |
Near Tozeur - desert scenery |
Near Tozeur - desert scenery |
Metlaoui train station |
We ride the vintage French "Lezard Rouge" train |
Metlaoui - boxcars carrying raw phosphate to be processed for export in Sfax |
The town of Metlaoui, as seen from the Red Lizard |
Seen from the Red Lizard train |
Seen from the Red Lizard train |
Seen from the Red Lizard train |
Dramatic scenery - Red Lizard train excursion |
Entering the Seldja Gorge, Red Lizard train excursion |
Selja Gorge |
Selja Gorge |
Wildflowers everywhere - Selja Gorge |
Selja Gorge |
More wildflowers, Selja Gorge |
Selja Gorge wildflowers |
Selja Gorge |
Selja Gorge - Red Lizard train excursion |
Phosphate mining works, Red Lizard train excursion |
Superb scenery, Red Lizard train excursion |
Red Lizard train excursion scene |
Tozeur - home-hosted dinner at home of date plantation owner |
Home of date plantation owner |
Beautiful home of date plantation owner |
Beautiful home of date plantation owner |
Plantation owner & son |
Nefta - La Corbeille, water works for date plantation |
We visit a Berber camp in the desert - mother & daughter (with fox kit) |
At the desert Berber camp |
Louise with two young Berber women |
Star Wars set, in the desert at Lariguett |
Star Wars set |
Star Wars set (sepia) |
Star Wars set |
Star Wars set |
Star Wars set |
Star Wars set |
Star Wars set |
Star Wars set (sepia) |
Desert camels |
Desert scenery |
Mountain oasis of Chebika |
Mountain oasis of Chebika - ruins of old village |
Mountain oasis of Chebika - crumbled stairway to old village |
Mountain oasis of Chebika - scenes from "The English Patient" were filmed here |
Mountain oasis of Chebika - waterfall |
Mountain oasis of Chebika |
Mountain oasis of Tamerza |
Our elegant lunch restaurant, Tamerza |
Abandoned Berber village, old Tamerza |
Abandoned Berber village, old Tamerza |
At Mides, another mountain oasis, a stone's throw from the Algerian border, Judith & Louise go native |
Dramatic gorge at Mides |
Rugged borderland with Algeria |
Chott el-Gharsa, a salt lake, near Tozeur |
At Judith's birthday celebration in a Tozeur restaurant, Ben displays camel meat in his traditional couscous dish |
A walk through Tozeur's old Medina |
A walk through Tozeur's old Medina - carpets |
A walk through Tozeur's old Medina - pottery |
A walk through Tozeur's old Medina - interesting doorway |
A walk through Tozeur's old Medina - ornate brickwork the town is famous for |
A walk through Tozeur's old Medina - a great shop! |
More beautiful Tozeur brickwork in the old Medina |
Typical Tozeur doorway |
Chott el-Jerid, between Tozeur & Douz |
Chott el-Jerid, a large salt lake in the desert |
Cooling tower for the very hot water coming from the deep well in Souk-Lahad |
At a pit-stop cafe in Souk-Lahad/Kibili, Brenda dances with the cute proprietor |
Oasis of Douz - the camel is its symbol |
Douz market day |
Douz market day - a town at the edge of the Sahara |
Douz market day |
Douz market day |
Douz market day |
Our beautiful Golden Yasmin hotel in Douz, the Sun Palm |
Lobby of the Sun Palm Hotel |
Wall mural, Sun Palm Hotel |
Barbara goes native at the Sun Palm |
Bedouin wedding traditions - youngest member of the family |
Grandmother & OAT group, Bedouin wedding demo |
Judith "volunteers" to be a Bedouin bride |
George & Judith in Bedouin wedding finery |
Another cute daughter of the Bedouin household |
Judith with Bedouin women |
Our waiting camels for the ride in the Sahara |
Denizon of the desert... isn't he cute? |
And, we're off! A truly grueling hour's ride |
Is that a 2-headed camel? Liz, back in the saddle again! |
View of old village, enroute to Matmata |
View of old village, enroute to Matmata |
We visit a family's underground dwelling, near Matmata |
Entrance to underground dwelling, Matmata |
Ali demonstrates well operation in courtyard |
Main entrance to underground home |
Long tunnel into interior dug-out rooms off interior courtyard |
Dug-out interior courtyard |
Woman grinding grain |
Birds have a noisy home here, too |
Lady of the house in local costume |
Undergroud kitchen |
Sitting room or bedroom |
Bedroom |
Another bedroom |
Exit - note how thick the walls are to keep year-round temperature moderated |
Ravine (often a river) next to underground home |
Matmata - Underground hotel, used as film set for Star Wars |
Underground hotel bar |
On the island of Djerba, we visit a very old Synagogue complex |
Djerba - the La Ghriba Synagogue complex entrance |
Street in La Ghriba Synagogue complex |
Inside La Ghriba Synagogue |
La Ghriba Synagogue interior |
La Ghriba Synagogue interior - ceiling detail |
La Ghriba Synagogue interior - glass case holding covenant |
La Ghriba Synagogue interior |
La Ghriba Synagogue cloister |
La Ghriba Synagogue cloister |
Island of Djerba - Guellala - two popular modes of transportation & pottery |
Djerba - View of town of Guellala |
Djerba, Guellala - visit to pottery shop |
Guellala pottery |
Guellala pottery |
Guellala pottery |
Guellala pottery |
Guellala pottery |
Guellala pottery |
Guellala pottery - so much to love, so little luggage space! |
Guellala street scene |
Djerba - we visit an olive press - olives awaiting processing |
Djerba - olive press |
Djerba olive press truck |
Cafe in Houmt Souk, Djerba |
Rug merchants, Houmt Souk, Djerba |
Djerba - we go for a great cruise on a galleon |
Wild & crazy crew on the galleon cruise |
Crew antics, galleon cruise from Djerba |
Galleon crew demonstrates net fishing |
Ben, our fabulous bus driver for whole trip, plays the drums |
Lunch is ready! And, it was fabulous! Fresh fish grilled on board, couscous, etc. |
After lunch, music & dancing aboard the galleon |
Returning to Djerba port after galleon cruise |
Djerba - old fort |
Djerba - flamingos off-shore |