The insiders view (Tunis)

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Product:	Tunis
Date:	01/05/01 (49 review reads)
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Advantages: A gentle introduction to Africa

Disadvantages: Hot in summer, petty crime and the dust!

I lived in Tunisia for a year and have seen the tourist season come and go as a local. I lived in Tunis, up the north near Parc Nahili, the city's 'amusement' park, full of over-sized plastic animals, a few tired looking camels and a lot of sand. (Tunisian's haven't quite understood the idea of kitsch although they are very good at it!)

Living in a non-white area (not where most ex-pats lived, such as Gammarth or Sidi Bou Siad) I was immediately very aware of how much I 'stuck out' from the crowd. So much so, in fact, that the place I was living in was twice targeted by burglars. (Once involved me chasing him away - but that's another story!).

The local amenities comprised of a briliant bakery (Pain au chocolat is lethal - it's on Rue Habib Bourghiba in City el Ghazala), a post office and a couple of veg shops. In order to get your weekly shop, the marche centrale in the centre of town is your best bet. Basically a market for the whole of Tunis, it has fish and meat areas, veg and fruit, flowers and the deli section. There is a wide array of fresh pasta, pickles, harrissa (chillis ground up with garlic and olive oil), bread and cheeses. Tunisians don't do cheese very well. It's either spongey and tasteless or hard and strong...there is no in-between!

Make sure you have learned your numbers well as most stalls operate in kilo's or grams. Try saying I want one lettuce and they will look at you as if you have gone mad. You buy 4 or 5 at a time cause that's how they come! (We had some interesting meals in the first month or so!).

Meat does not come in portions or recognisable cuts. You could pay 4 dinar (the currency) for a piece of meat and get sirloin steak or mince! Get fussy and point to what you want. Some stalls have the animal's head outside to show how fresh the meat is. The duller the eyes, the older the meat. Also, don't be offended if your bag of chicken is stil
l warm. It means it was freshly killed and good quality (It is still a shock though to feel it though!!)

Forming a queue is not in a Tunisian's vocabulary. They push and jostle for position over you. Give an inch they'll take a yard. Also, most will talk to the man if you are together. This is normal so women don't get offended!

Getting around is cheap...it was about 12-15 dinar maximum for us to get right out of the city. Hail the yellow taxi's anywhere - they'll stop and make sure they put the meter on...they get a bit cute and try to make up the price as they go along.

An interesting fact about taxi's in Tunisia is that they have there light on when they have a fare already and off, when they are free. Also if you are driving in Tunis, watch out for roundabouts and junctions. Roundabouts operate on the French system of letting those entering the roundabout have priority. What this means is you end up with a mass of cars grinding to a halt on the roundabout! Also junctions - if there are two lanes at a set of traffic lights, they will force at least four out of it! Then they race away at the lights. If you are at the front of the queue expect to be beeped at least twice before the lights even go orange!

A brilliant restaurant is Carcasonne off the Main drag, Rue Habib Bourghiba (yes, there are a lot of them in Tunisia!). A four course meal is about 4 dinar and you will be stuffed! Their couscous and brochettes are very good.

The souk (the market - clothes and other items) is packed in summer but better in February/March time. You get better bargains at this time as they can't rely on passing trade so much. Don't be afraid to haggle and send in the wife or kids to do it as they love arguing with kids! I've walked down the road away from a shop and had the man run after me shouting that he would sell at my price even though his kids wouldn't be able to go to school anymore! It
9;s all part of the game. You get good olive wood, reasonable leather, silver is good but sold by weight and can be pricey and makrooh (possibly a wrong spelling). These are small diamond shaped sweet buscuits which are polenta flour, honey and dates, fried and dipped in honey. Very sweet and surprisingly more-ish!

You get a good deal for your money but spend it all as it is a closed economy and you can't change it back once outside the country. Dollars or sterling can be changed for roughly the same rate.

Women be advised that although it is a lax Muslim country, it is still Muslim. Don't wear shorts or skimpy tops as you will get attention you may not want. Western women are seen as easy targets and respectable clothes will fend off most unwanted advances. Also make sure your bag is tough leather or something similar as bag-slashing is common. A canvas bag means you will lose your money, camera and whatever else they can get before you notice - and they are quick. Also be aware of the decoy system they operate. One person will stop ahead of everyone in a crowd pretending to fiddle with a bag or jacket and in the meantime the target (you) gets pick pocketed by the second person. You won't know until you go to pay for something that you've been robbed.

Having said that I felt safe almost all of the time, there is a lot of culture and interesting sites (the Bardo museum is good for the mosaics) and travel is cheap and reliable between areas of the country. On the whole I recommend it as a place to visit!

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