For the first few days, we were staying in a GIANT diplomat’s mansion (they have a friend who works for the embassy and were house sitting while she was away) which was, as I mentioned, GIANT. And had marble floors and palm trees in the garden and a sun porch with a view of the sea. It was actually less strange than I would have expected (maybe I’ve moved around and been in so many different places lately that nothing is strange at all…) it’s nice though—there is heat and toilets and plenty of hot water… and a really sweet kitty!!! That sometimes bites…but is sweet nonetheless. It was definitely a bit strange walking around the gated community—it seemed pretty dead.
Soumaya works during the day so I’ve been doing a fair amount of solo exploring, but her brother, who is off from work, has been playing tour guide and entertainer. On my first day, he showed me around Sidi Bou Said, the town where they live, which is also populated with quite a few diplomats and politicians, but also seems to house normal people and is much more alive. It’s a really pretty little town—everything is painted blue and white (with a few yellow doors), which they tell me is mandated (I guess it’s some sort of national heritage site). Narrow, cobbled streets wind up the hill to some beautiful views of the sea.
Another day, I explored Carthage (where we were staying in the diplomat’s house), which is now a quiet, ritzy suburb of Tunis, but was once a Phoenician and then a Roman settlement. It was cool to wander around and see Roman ruins scattered around the town. I thought it was cool that they actually use the old amphitheater. My guidebook described lighting fixtures marring the views, but I thought it was an interesting mesh of ancient and current.
The next day, I decided to venture into Tunis. At first, I was pretty nervous walking around a strange city alone—I’m not sure if it’s as much of an issue here to be alone or if I was just used to Morocco, but I felt pretty conspicuous. However, after traversing the entire medina and coming out the other side I began to relax (maybe that reminded me that if I got lost, I could just walk until I found my way out). I also started to feel better after I bought a few things and talked t the vendors. I think that’s how it worked in Rabat, too—I began to feel comfortable when I began to interact with people. The Tunis medina seemed distinctly different from Moroccan ones, but I couldn’t pinpoint why. There were a lot more buildings like mosques and palaces with really ornate architecture randomly thrown in.
To be continued…
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