Here is the place of cultural didactics, of bits and pieces of history coming alive, maligning by a vast golden Sahra desert surrounded by great continents and civilizations. To the east, is the Arab world proper, to the south is Africa and to the north is glittering Europe.
There is a tour-de-force quality about visiting the country, tip toeing through its capital, Tunis and beyond. Here you are introduced to different settings for the picturesque element is always binding whether in its rolling urban life or its Andulsian-style architecture and famous mosaics.
In Carthage for instance, you see a glowing yester-year civilization, stomped by its world-famous Roman Theater that is part of a beautifully manicured town for the wealthy as well as being the location of the state presidential palace.
It is first impressions, losing yourself in an ancient architecture with the frills of modernization. As you enter the stage of the theatre you are immediately struck by the size of the auditorium, unable to size its form, being the place of the world famous Carthage Arts Festival, but you soon get your bearings as you climb up its scalaria, between the tiers and the seatings.
From the top and sideways, the theatre grows on your being as you consume the breadth of its 105-meter diameter, spanning from east to west, north to south, fitting I was told 10,000 people who come to watch plays, films and modern art shows during the festival that has been running since 1968.
The theatre is part of an enduring cultural complex. With the deep blue sea waves beyond, there is the antiquated amphitheatre, the odium, and a look to the east, is an architecturally pleasing grand mosque. The Theater is supplemented by the Carthage Museum that lies dominant on the horizons, representing an archaeological panorama of 50 ancient theaters dotted across Tunisia and built by the Romans in ancient times when the northern part of the country was a bread basket of Rome because of its rich and fertile land, I was told
Slightly further to the north is Sidi Abu Said, a palatial rolling town of hills, plush villas, cafes, marooning a slippery-slope that goes upwards. Getting there is a memorable experience of white houses with blue stripes and old gates painted in blue and other distinct decorations.
It is an ambiance of traditional structure and quaint architecture, people live in these old revamped houses with their alleyways, corners and driveways, it is modernity with a past, yet there are very much a great attraction for the visitor.
At the top of the hill, there are trinket shops and Jasmine sellers, Tunisia’s national flower and further up there is a courtyard with a traditional café in an almost Andulsian-style format as people kick off their shoes and sit on elevated platform drinking tea and sipping lemonade, surrounded by the blue sea. Beyond is the Bay of Tunisia, very blue, dark alluring waters, it is the old traditional part of Said Abu Said, of concrete, intermingled with different kinds of flowers, foliage and shrubbery. Further down there is the marina of boats huddled together waiting for their intrepid owners to be taking out to sea. On one of the sides as well you find the sea smacking you in the face.
This is indeed a narrative of cherished memories. Because of the short distance to Sidi Abu Said, tourists will inevitably make Tunis, the capital, their resting hub. There are many hotels sprawled over a city of discoveries.
Tunis meanders between its modern section that holds such famous roads as the Rue de Paris and the Habeeb Abu Ruqaibah Street housing the Theater House, the Municipality building, shopping centres and a host of cafes and eateries while nitpicking through another era.
The capital’s traditional part is indeed heavenly, holding different colleges of the University of Tunis, the old town of marketplaces and closed souqs of traditional stuffs with its winding labyrinths that lead to the famous 8th century Al Zaitounah, a centre of Islamic learning and a mosque.
Walking inside its large courtyard is a magnificent reverie of all the people and civilizations that set themselves in this place throughout the centuries and ages, in moments of contemplation, study and prayers. The 12th century market labyrinths, which opens up to a multitude of government departments, academic institutions such as the Institute of Literature and Human Sciences of the University of Tunis and different hospitals, provides a unique shopping opportunity spree where anything can be had from trinkets, leather, shoe-making, traditional Tunisian wear to incense and bridal preparations. Tunis shows the alignment of cultures first-hand. The people are warm and friendly with Arabic and francophone tongues wagging in perceptible accents that indeed show the country is a crossing point of civilizations. Students from the surrounding African countries study here, Arabs from the east increasingly visit the country, and of course it has long been a tourist attraction for Europeans, including the Italians, French and British and many more.
Besides Carthage, one of the best archaeological ruins to see is in the city of Dougga, presently a UNESCO World Listed Heritage Site, about 110 kilometres from the capital in the north west of the country.
This former Roman enclave has an adrenalin of cultural excitement with its impressive archaeological and architectural trappings, structures and niches as you examine its famous landmarks and ancient theatre which holds around 3000 people. This is not to say anything about its archaic residential areas, enclosed Roman baths, sinks, resting places, facades, columns, niches and trappings that remain in a relatively good condition. It’s a walk-in-time, visiting another civilization with its sturdy structures in front of you.
This is a bird’s eye view of Tunis for the cultural tourists. Indeed, it is a place for everyone to visit because of its diversity, like taking a trip down memory lane.

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