Tunisia, May/June 2007

Tunisia, May/June 2007

On this page you can find pictures of our trip to Tunisia in May/June 2007, including pictures of the Sheherezade evening dinner in Yasmine Hammamet's Medina, our two-day trip to the South of Tunisia with visits to El Jem, Matmata, Douz, a camel ride in the Sahara, the Chott el Jerid, oasis towns/gardens (Tozeur, Chebika, Temerza), and a one day trip to a few Berber towns and archeological sites.

Sheherezade - Yasmine Hammamet Medina

A restaurant in the medina of Yasmine Hammamet. While eating great Tunisian food we were entertained by a show that takes you right into the 1001-night fairytales.

Two-day trip to the South of Tunisia

We thoroughly recommend this two-day trip to anyone visiting Tunisia. We covered a distance of about 1200 km in those two days and saw a large part of Tunisia. Mind you, I do recommend taking the trip where you stay in a hotel overnight. There's also a version where you can stay in tents, but that group got stuck in a sandstorm and actually had people missing for a while! So take the hotel, and enjoy!

El Jem / El Djem

Amphitheatre built by the Romans during the 3rd century AD. It's the third largest amphitheatre in the world and now a World Heritage Site (since 1979)

Matmata

Matmata is probably more known these days for the fact that it was used to film parts of the Star Wars movies than for it's more ancient history, including the underground caves which the local Berbers used (and some still do) as houses. These houses were built by digging a large pit in the ground, creating a courtyard. Along the sides of these courtyards you can find the caves/houses. Each cave used to house an entire family. We had lunch in one of the caves, now in use by a hotel/restaurant.

Camel Ride in the Sahara, near Douz

Towards the end of the first day those who wanted could take a 1-hour camel ride in the desert. As you can see they put us in some suitable clothing. This was especially necessary for those folks that showed up wearing shorts, slippers and sleeveless shirts - not really suitable desert attire!

Chott El Jerid / Chott El Djerid

The Chott el Jerid is a large salt lake, actually the largest salt pan of the Sahara. In the summer the water in the lake evaporates almost entirely and numerous fata morganas / mirages occur. Apparently Chott el Jerid also features in the Star Wars movies. As you can see there were some stunning reflections of the clouds in the water. The last picture in this series shows the toilets, regular and 'luxury' alongside the road ;-)

Oasis Towns Tozeur, Chebika & Temerza

The oasis areas are very important to Tunisia. These fertile areas in the desert are used to grow for example dates, bananas, jasmin trees etc. In Tozeur we took a trip into the oasis with horse and wagon. Chebika and Temerza have been destroyed by rain in the past. The old sites of these villages still have a spring, waterfall etc. and are quite touristy. New villages have been built since then, but we didn't see those.

One Day Berber Tour

Well, that's what the name of the tour was.... In real life we saw two Berber villages. First of all Hergla, on the sea side and second we saw a Berber village on top of a mountain. Next we went to see a couple of archeological sites. The first one had ruins of a forum, temple and shops. The second one in Zaghouan had the ruins of a water temple.

Hotel Marillia & the Hammamet Area

These last pictures give an impression of the hotel we stayed at, Hotel Marillia. The hotel was fine, the people friendly (the animation team sometimes a bit too friendly), the food was good. Only the beds were rock hard, and the pillows showed more resemblance to a piece of wood than an actual pillow. As in most resorts, good tips provide better service. You can see what the maid created for us in our room :-) The last few pictures are of the area close to the medina in Hammamet itself.

This page and its contents are ©2007 Copyright by Geraldine Voost, & Roy van Uffelen and may not be reproduced without the authors' permission. Send feedback and comments to

Sheherezade - Yasmine Hammamet Medina A restaurant in the medina of Yasmine Hammamet. While eating great Tunisian food we were entertained by a show that takes you right into the 1001-night fairytales.






Two-day trip to the South of Tunisia We thoroughly recommend this two-day trip to anyone visiting Tunisia. We covered a distance of about 1200 km in those two days and saw a large part of Tunisia. Mind you, I do recommend taking the trip where you stay in a hotel overnight. There's also a version where you can stay in tents, but that group got stuck in a sandstorm and actually had people missing for a while! So take the hotel, and enjoy!
El Jem / El Djem Amphitheatre built by the Romans during the 3rd century AD. It's the third largest amphitheatre in the world and now a World Heritage Site (since 1979)




Matmata Matmata is probably more known these days for the fact that it was used to film parts of the Star Wars movies than for it's more ancient history, including the underground caves which the local Berbers used (and some still do) as houses. These houses were built by digging a large pit in the ground, creating a courtyard. Along the sides of these courtyards you can find the caves/houses. Each cave used to house an entire family. We had lunch in one of the caves, now in use by a hotel/restaurant.






Camel Ride in the Sahara, near Douz Towards the end of the first day those who wanted could take a 1-hour camel ride in the desert. As you can see they put us in some suitable clothing. This was especially necessary for those folks that showed up wearing shorts, slippers and sleeveless shirts - not really suitable desert attire!






Chott El Jerid / Chott El Djerid The Chott el Jerid is a large salt lake, actually the largest salt pan of the Sahara. In the summer the water in the lake evaporates almost entirely and numerous fata morganas / mirages occur. Apparently Chott el Jerid also features in the Star Wars movies. As you can see there were some stunning reflections of the clouds in the water. The last picture in this series shows the toilets, regular and 'luxury' alongside the road ;-)










Oasis Towns Tozeur, Chebika & Temerza The oasis areas are very important to Tunisia. These fertile areas in the desert are used to grow for example dates, bananas, jasmin trees etc. In Tozeur we took a trip into the oasis with horse and wagon. Chebika and Temerza have been destroyed by rain in the past. The old sites of these villages still have a spring, waterfall etc. and are quite touristy. New villages have been built since then, but we didn't see those.








One Day Berber Tour Well, that's what the name of the tour was.... In real life we saw two Berber villages. First of all Hergla, on the sea side and second we saw a Berber village on top of a mountain. Next we went to see a couple of archeological sites. The first one had ruins of a forum, temple and shops. The second one in Zaghouan had the ruins of a water temple.




















Hotel Marillia & the Hammamet Area These last pictures give an impression of the hotel we stayed at, Hotel Marillia. The hotel was fine, the people friendly (the animation team sometimes a bit too friendly), the food was good. Only the beds were rock hard, and the pillows showed more resemblance to a piece of wood than an actual pillow. As in most resorts, good tips provide better service. You can see what the maid created for us in our room :-) The last few pictures are of the area close to the medina in Hammamet itself.