So my final two days of being in Tunisia included a brief half hour ATV ride in the desert followed by an offroad excursion to a camp in the desert for an overnight stay. This was one of the most impressive parts of my trip. Being so remote in the Sahara is always incredible. The lack of sound and remote light sources is unusual in the human world. The tent in which I stayed was super hot—just as it was when I stayed in a tent in Morocco a few years ago. Its far better to sleep outside of any heavy structure in the open air. The next morning followed a reverse offroad path out of the desert and then visiting an underground home that is still commonly used by locals for environmental and security reasons while finishing up with visiting the Star Wars bar locale. A long drive back to Tunis included a final lunch with my guide for the prior few days and a hotel stay for one night in the heart of the city near the famous Tunis Medina which warranted a visit as well. Then it was off for home. A great trip overall. A bit disappointing in the are that locals take of their own natural and historic resources. I’m a bit Africa’d out at this point. There are a few “bucket list” items I’d return for (Luxor, climbing Kili, overlanding in Namibia) but in truth I’m more interested in visiting other continents and cultures hoping to find a bit more positive environment.
Tunisia Trip: Final Days
Tunisia Trip: Camels, Mos Espa, and more...
Well, these photos here are of the last part of the journey through southern Tunisia before heading deeper into the Sahara to spend a night in the dunes. After visiting a few oasis and Mides Canyon we crossed a one of the largest salt lakes in the world (far bigger than the “Great Salt Lake” in the US) as well as some two hours of “off piste” driving where no roads but the tracks of those who came before lead the way.
We also plunged down into some smaller dune sections where the Mos Espa set from Star Wars is located. Oversold in terms of what it is, Lucas and company built the set and then abandoned it much like other filmmakers have done with what you see here of a “castle” that was done for a different film. Not much thought is given to what happens to these things after the filming is wrapped. In the case of the castle it is left to rot in the middle of nowhere, falling apart, adding to the garbage in the desert and attracting others to leave garbage with it. In the case of Mos Espa, a junkyard of hangers on and the destitute surround it trying to hawk their wares to tourists and offering a moment with a Fennec Fox on a leash for a few pennies. The items that looked like “machines” in the movies are just plywood spraypainted grey and the buildings just chickenwire plastered with mud. Again, all of it left to decay in the sun and quite the sad site to see.
Camels abound in this area and are not “wild” in the sense that they are in theory owned by local herders and they reportedly return to their home pens on a regular basis. They are not fenced in however and wander the desert in herds and only allow unknown humans to approach within about 30-50 yards or so before rambling on.
After these stops it was off for an evening spent in a tent in the Sahara.
Tunisia Trip: Dar Horchani, Mides Canyon, Chebika
After the visit to El Jem early in the day it was then off for a good 3 hour ride to where I would spend the night which happened to be in a little place called “Dar Horchani” which is more than a hotel but less than a bed and breakfast. It was wonderful however and my guide and myself were literally the only ones staying the night. I had the pool to myself and cats roamed the dirt alleys. Just a perfect little resting spot in the middle of the desert.
The following day it was up and off for a tour of a number of oasis, canyons, dunes, and more…it was to be a rapid fire visit to numerous locations. Chebkia oasis was where scenes from the English Patient were filmed among other movies. It really is remarkable to watch clean water springing from a rockface and causing acres and acres of sandstone to sprout palm trees and life. Deep in the middle of a 110 degree heat was to be found a grassy pool with frogs swimming about. There were a few of these to visit and then it was off to Mides Canyon which is right on the Algerian border and was the most impressive natural feature of the day. Deep and vertical, the canyon is not quite a “slot” canyon and more “eroded” than carved as one might get in Utah sandstone it begged for longer exploration along its bottom where you could hear birds and other animal life chirping among its cooler and wetter depths.
Tunisia Trip: El Jem and Hammamet Beach
Hammamet Beach I visited on the same day I visited Dougga and is about an hour and a half south of Tunis. The beach which in Tripadvisor and elsewhere is described as one of the best beaches in Tunisia and in other locations as one of the best in the world was far short of the expectations created by those printings. I guess its a “clean” beach for Africa as I’ve been on worse in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa but it is a literal dumpster compared to American beaches. Watching mothers handhold their 6 year olds as they defecate in the sand is not an advertisement for visiting, nor are the heaps of bottles and assorted refuse that line every waterline. The water itself? Warm and pretty clear given its the Med but I sure wouldn’t want to test what is in the water.
El Jem was the first stop on my three day wandering around other parts of Tunisia with a guide and driver. It is the third largest Roman colosseum in the world and the best preserved despite 1/3 of it having been blown away by cannons in conflict long after the Romans had departed. It is also the location for the filming of many Gladiator scenes that should look familiar. Reportedly capable of holding some 30,000 spectators it is a wonder of the ancient world with cages for the animals and gladiators under the floor of the colosseum and stairways leading up to the 90+ foot heights where the poor would be relegated to watch the spectacles. It, like Dougga, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Unfortunately this site is far more well known and visited and the Tunisians do it no favors. In the West, such a resource and monument would be protected and cared for and visitors would treat it with a sense of respect (at least generally, yes there are knuckleheads who deface things and leave trash behind, but are of a far more rare event). Here? Again…every knock and cranny is filled with trash…every reachable sandstone block is defaced with carvings and modern scrawl etched into the soft stone. It was disgraceful and materially ruined my feelings. Its monumentally impressive…there is nothing like it and stands as another testament to the brilliance of Rome some 2000 years ago…but is being destroyed by those who should benefit the most from its continuing existence.
The ACAB photo here? From the streets leading to Hammamet beach showing that ANTIFA is just glomming on to old communist, socialist, terrorist garbage…The ACAB graffiti was common throughout Tunisia and all dating to well before the Arab Spring events as this photo indicates. In America, our educated but idiot class is not even original in their stupidity…they just copy from other global morons and call it their own.
Tunisia Trip: Dougga
Just going to separate the various locations I visited while in Tunisia along with the associated photos and comments.
Dougga was my first location visited and I rented a car to get there as I did not have an accompanying guide. Renting a car in Tunisia was easy. Just headed to the airport, grabbed the VW Polo or something or other and off I went. Time from Tunis to Dougga was a couple hours of steady driving. Highways and side roads were all well maintained. I encountered one checkpoint at which as soon as I said I was an American and going to Dougga, I was waived on.
The site itself lies in the countryside with no real major towns immediately near it and is surrounded by olive trees and other agriculture. Much of the site still lies buried under the farmland and owned by private parties and has not been excavated. What has been uncovered is phenomenal. A city of thousands in both Berber and Roman rule it contains architecture from many influences. Homes, theaters, temples, marketplaces, wind dials, baths, brothels, theaters, aqueducts, sewers, cisterns…all remain in identifiable forms after 2000 years. Inscriptions are legible, statues intact (except for the heads of course as each time there was a new Caesar, the head would need to be replaced). The most impressive mosaics and statues have been carried away to the national Bardo museum in Tunis but the larger elements remain for view and exploration. Allowing at least 2 hours for a visit is advised as it is a large complex—the entire town is essentially walkable and can be “touched” by a visitor today.
The city itself on a high hill and surrounded by armed and visible outposts was less subject to violence than Carthage or other locations which helped preserve it then and its more remote location protects it from trampling today. I was accompanied on my visit by only a handful of others in my several hours. The site also suffers from less of the garbage and carelessness of the local visitors as other sites would reflect in my other stops.
