Tunis
29/05/2012 20:16:20
Hi there!!
The first thing we did when arriving at Tunis was to apporach the door of France. This door was the Entrance of Tunis at the time of the Archduke, and it was just besides the laguna of Tunis.
Nowadays this laguna is at several kilometers from the door. This part of the laguna was covered with land during the French domination. On this new piece of land we find the ville nouvelle, and in the middle of the ville the Habib Bourguiba avenue.
Quite a long way before arriving to the door of France and on the same avenue Bourguiba we can see the famous square were the Tunisian revolution took place around one and a half year ago. In the center of this square we can see the tour and the clock that are now famous for that reason.
Just behind the door of France we see the square from where multiple small streets form the medina. In the same square we can see a group of children playing football, some merguez selling points, some policemen that control some people, and a seller of turtles.
All around the square we can see cafés, always full of men that drink coffee or tea; however, in ths capital no only men but also some women can be seen siting in these places. The coffee places are usually situated at the ville nouvelle and not as much in the medina these days.
Just as the Archduke mentioned we can still see come situated zouks for some concrete products. For instante we can see the zouk of the gold, or the zouk of the wool. In any case, nowadays there are plenty of touristic shops selling all types of products all over the place.
In the middle of the medina we find ourselves in front of the largest mosque. We can also find small mosques when turning any corner in the medina; or some beautiful ones finely decotated just as the Archduke mentioned.
Just wander around and get lost around the center of the medina is a wonderful experience. In some of the streets we can still see the old stone floors, and also there are plenty of arches all over in many of the streets.
Just above the main mosque we can find one of the old palaces of the Bey at Tunis. Nowadays a large commerce owned by the governement, and where one can find many traditional products.
We were able to see some of the rooms of the house, and the terrace on the top from where we have a beautiful view of the city.
On the top of the city we arrive at the place were the old Kasbah was situated. In this zone we find now most of the governement buildings.
It seems that the fort that the Archduke took in one image could be now inside the area reserved for the ministry of defense of Tunisia. Some of the new buildings are integrated with the old ones.
Finally we pay also attention to the barber shops and some of the hammams that can still be found at the center of the city.
We will be back soon to share with you a description of the sorroundings of Tunis.
Best regards!
