Tunis & Carthage

About 7AM we backed into our berth in La Goulette, the exotic birthplace of Claudia Cardinale. It is a prettier than average port city with lots of attractive cafes and restaurants as well as souvenir shops and quaint neighborhoods. We were on a HAL Excursion to see Carthage and the city of Sidi Bou Said. We left port at 9:15 and were at Carthage in 15-20 minutes. The temperature was approaching 100 already and the humidity was high. We stopped at the first of two separate and distinct archeological sites in a very upscale section of Carthage. Until Unesco named it a World Heritage Site there was uncontrolled development there and even the fabulous Governor’s mansion was built on top of promising archeological treasures. This site consists mainly of the remains of a vast public baths and the area is strewn with column fragments and architectural details. Corinthian capitals are everywhere. The site is on the Mediterranean and the baths once sported the largest saltwater pool in its time.
The next stop was Sidi Bou Said a beautiful little cliff-top town of white homes with “celestial” blue doors and windows. This lovely combination is not a design decision so much as a practical environmental application. The white paint reflects the heat, of course, but the blue doors repel insects. Decorative DEET. There is a lovely little park as you enter town. It was financed by Monaco’s young prince as a “sister city” gesture. Outside the perched town is a much larger park developed by the president of Tunisia. It has lovely walks, children’s attractions, benches and water features.
We then returned to Carthage, to Byrsa Hill and the site of the old Forum. This site is much more developed and displays statuary and mosaics. There are more shaded areas and a museum in a deconsecrated French church [St. Luis’]. Even with the extraordinary heat it was much more comfortable to explore.
We returned to the ship through a gigantic “housing development.” Small but stylish homes were being built on the flat land surrounding the port. Tunisia, at least Tunis, shows great potential as a lovely and exotic tourist attraction. Tomorrow, Palermo.