Trip to Tunisia - Part 3 (and hopefully the last)

I'm BACKKKK!!....

Dead tired but had great fun during my trips. As mentioned in my previous enry, was away for 10 days in Arizona for conference and a bit of sight-seeing. Then, back to Glasgow for a week for my graduation (which mum and dad attended!). Next, bro and I brought mum and dad to Prague/Vienna/Ljubljana for 8-days. Now, back in Glasgow resting and recuperating from the overdose of jetlag and travelling. Nevertheless......I'm happy!

Have lotsa photos to show but those of you who've followed my blog since the very beginning will know I DO tend to take my own sweet time writing blog entries (busy marrr...). Promise I'll upload the photos in due course.

Alrighty, more about Tunisia (again....)

All in all, the highlight of my Tunisian trip was the 2-day excursion to the Sahara and surrounding areas, where we clocked approximately 1100 kilometres by bus and jeep (not forgetting, a short distance by camel!).

~Underground Troglodyte house in Matmata, which is surrounded by rocky desert~

The first of our many stops was the town of Matmata, a name that would ring a bell to true fans of the epic Star Wars (Matmata was the home planet to hero Luke Skywalker). In Matmata, we visited the troglodyte houses of the Berbers, the native people of North Africa, who lived in the region long before the arrival of foreign imperialists. These houses were also homes to Skywalker and his family in the film.

~Rocky terraces in Matmata~

~A peek inside a bedroom in the Troglodyte house~

Like any house, these troglodyte houses comprise of bedrooms, kitchen, living room, and a courtyard, built in double-storeys. The unique feature of these dwellings are that they are naturally thermostable. The clay and sandstone walls keep the rooms warm during the cold winters, and cool during the hot summers, hence the reason these troglodyte houses remain used until today. Can't give you the precise thermodynamics explanation but pretty neat, huh?

Next, we drove to the village of Douz, the gateway to the Sahara Desert. In Douz, we mounted camels and rode into the heart of the Sahara to witness the sunset along the horizon. The Sahara landscape is unlike that of Matmata. No rough, rocky terraces, but instead stretches of fine sand dunes with an occasional plot of date palm trees. Was initially anxious about mounting a camel but was comforted by the picturesque sight of the desert during dusk. The beauty of the Sahara is like no other and one can only fully comprehend its splendour by being there and experiencing it in person.

We rode along the Sahara for a good whole hour and was fortunate enough to take with us a bit of the desert, a handful of Saharan sand, before heading off to our stop for the night.

~ My furry friend and me ~

The next day’s itinerary began with the journey to the Atlas Mountains on 4x4 land cruiser jeeps to catch the sunrise. The mountain ranges and canyons were impressive but unfortunately there wasn't enough sunlight to capture any good shots.






We next drove past the salt desert of Chott El Jerid, which again, displayed an entirely different landscape - flat and desolated piece of land stretching as far as the eye could see. Looking across acres and acres of barren land during the very sunny morning, our eyes kept deceiving us as we spotted mirages several times. Very intriguing!

Subsequently, we visited an oasis village, Chebika, a spot of green among the dry and barren flatlands and mountains of the Tunisian desert. The village is built near a charming palmeraie (‘palm grove’), which is sustained by a small stream from mountain springs. Remains of the old village of Chebika, which was destroyed by floods in the late 60’s still stands at the top of a hill. We were told that this was the location for the filming of ‘The English Patient’. This now abandoned old village overlooks the new village that has settled further down the hill.

~ Left: Oasis village Chebika, near the palmeraie


Top: Directly behind me is the old town ruins of Chebika
and further down the hill, the new town ~

~ More shots of Chebika ~


Finally, after lunch, we were driven on coach to Tozeur to visit the local fig and date plantation. We were educated about the running and maintenance of the plantation, from the design of the irrigation system to the harvesting of the fruits. Before we left the plantation to head back to Sousse, we managed to sample some fresh dates and took some photos.

All in all, I had an splendid time in Tunisia. It was a combination of the diverse culture, splendid historical heritage, scenic landscape, brilliant food, great weather and, last but not the least, the warm hospitality of the local Tunisian people that made the trip exceptionally memorable. Having often spend my holidays in Europe, which presented richer and more developed countries, it was a humbling experience visiting Tunisia. The simple and contented lifestyle of her people not only reminded me of how caught-up the world sometimes is with riches, technology and status but also of how much my own country, Malaysia, has progressed through the years. May we all never forget our roots no matter where we journey forth in our lives and be thankful always for the comfortable lives we presently live in.

CATNAP!


~ I thought this photo was so cute, I had to find a space to slot it into my blog. Tunisians love cats...and oranges.... ~