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Explore Tunisia's Magnificent Ancient Ruins Ahead of the Tourist Curve

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Explore Tunisia's Magnificent Ancient Ruins Ahead of the Tourist Curve COVER STORY COVER STORY URBAN JUNGLE As featured in Exploring São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro Lakeside luxury: Relax in style on the Swiss Riviera Saint-Barthélemy: Robert La Bua’s CEO Travel The crown jewel of the Caribbean GRAND CIVILISATIONS Tunisia: Where the Mediterranean meets the Roman Empire The splendid climate of the Mediterranean has beckoned travellers for centuries, the ancient ruins for far longer. Add into the mix exuberant locals, delicious cuisine, and cosmopolitan beachside resorts, and this part of the Roman Empire is as picture perfect as anything Italy has to offer. Except it is not Italy where all of the above are Explore Tunisia’s magnificent ancient ruins found. It is Tunisia, North Africa’s most surprising ahead of the tourist curve. holiday destination. A well-kept secret among everyone except Europeans, who have long known about the allure of the continent’s northernmost country, Tunisia lies fewer than 200 kilometres west Tof Sicily (yes, that’s west, not south). True, many of the Europeans who come to Tunisia are package tourists who swarm to the beaches; most of them never leave the grounds of their all-inclusive resorts, which means the riches of this fascinating country are left for the rest of us to enjoy. Like Morocco, Tunisia is a superbly appealing destination for travellers wanting an exotic holiday with cosmopolitan flair; unlike its fellow former French colony, though, Tunisia remains a destination for the more adventurous souls who seek satisfaction in knowing they go places ahead of the mainstream. In other words, they like to be the ones to create trends rather than follow them. The Romans were certainly not the first people to appreciate all that Tunisia’s bountiful land offers. Before them were the Phoenicians, those masters of seafaring trade whose legacy lives on in the Tunisia of today, an enterprising country trying to make a better life for its people after years of dictatorship. Tunisians are a spirited, well-educated people who are proud of their past and eager for a bright future. After the Romans came the Vandals, who did what vandals everywhere do and destroyed everything they could. Vestiges of the Ottoman Empire are still visible today, most obviously in the octagonal minarets that defined its mosques. Of course, the French have had the most 15 ROBERT LA BUA'S CEO TRAVEL - JUNE 2015 ROBERT LA BUA'S CEO TRAVEL - JUNE 2015 16 COVER STORY COVER STORY place of historical significance by the local government in 1915, thus becoming the first place in the world to have protective status in retaining its unique character. Small cafés share footpaths with the requisite souvenir shops along the main street going up the hill, but other than this bit of business, Sid Bou Saïd is a quiet place where views of the sea are seen from practically every building, including the beautiful Dar Ennejma Ezzahra. The former residence of musicologist Baron Erlanger is sited in a splendid location well suited to the sumptuous building where the wealthy owner indulged in his patronage of the arts, seen in abundance throughout the house, which marked impact on modern Tunisia, not least in the The whitewashed walls of large mansions serve as the is now a museum as well as the headquarters of the language of business and tourism, and not to mention backdrop for colourful bougainvillea and lush Centre for Arab and Mediterranean Music. It was the construction of the Ville Nouvelle, adjacent to the greenery. Both mansions and vegetation are even here in this extraordinary home that a fellow medina, that is today the city’s business centre. more spectacular in Sidi Bou Saïd, adjacent to Australian was encountered, a CEO in fact, The compendium of Tunisian history can be seen Carthage. One of the most beautiful villages in the corroborating the statement by a Tunisian hotelier in one place, the ancient city of Carthage, where entire Mediterranean region, the stark white walls that Australians are already making their way to vestiges of the cleverly designed Punic Ports are still Tunisia in increasing numbers. Another expansive discernible amid modern-day construction. With private home in Sidi Bou Saïd named Dar el-Annabi layers of history reflecting the country’s rich past, the The compendium of Tunisian history can be seen in one is still occupied in part by its owner, but most of the pleasant landscape and the man-made constructions place, the ancient city of Carthage, where vestiges of the house, including its expansive rooftop terrace, has colonies. So does El Jem, the location of a remarkably built upon it make Carthage an evocative place. The cleverly designed Punic Ports are still discernible amid been opened to the public and is worth a visit. well-preserved amphitheatre, the third-largest in the view from Byrsa Hill, the centre of both the Elsewhere in Tunisia are other ancient Roman Roman Empire. The impressive amphitheatre is still Phoenician and Roman colonies here, encompasses modern-day construction. sites to be explored, among them the underground in use today as the spectacular venue for the annual the lands below as well as the Gulf of Tunis and the villas of Bulla Regia and the hillside town of Dougga. El Jem International Symphonic Music Festival. Cap Bon peninsula beyond. It is here on the hill and blue trim of the buildings that give Sidi Bou Saïd Dougga is among the largest ancient Roman towns in A bit further west is the bastion city of Le Kef. Set where the Carthage National Museum reveals some its distinctive style can be attributed to the Andalusian the world. A two-hour drive from Tunis, this site is high on a plateau nearly 800 metres above a sweeping of the grandeur of Roman times when Tunisia was Muslims who were forced to leave Spain during the best known for its Capitole and amphitheatre, in use plain, Le Kef’s main attraction is its kasbah, a prized territory inhabited by a privileged class—and Inquisition. As have so many other people of various to this day as a venue for an annual drama festival (former) fort situated on the town’s highest point. Le their servants. Next to the museum is the Acropolium, cultures and religions, they found safe haven in the every August. Dougga makes an interesting daytrip Kef makes a good base for exploring the Roman sites the former St Louis cathedral erected on this site in beautiful harbour below the town, which sits on a from Tunis and can be combined with Bulla Regia, in the west of the country, which besides Dougga and 1884 as an emphatic stamp of French colonial power. bluff with spectacular views of the sea. Sidi Bou Saïd the largest repository of Roman mosaics in the world. Bulla Regia also include Haïdra and Sbeitla, but the No longer a religious building, the elaborate décor may be a de facto suburb of Tunis, connected to the Though most of the best mosaics from both Dougga town is itself worthy of attention thanks to its provides an atmospheric space for temporary art city centre by a light-rail line that is part of an and Bulla Regia have been relocated to the Bardo carefree atmosphere and various vestiges of cultures exhibitions and special events. extensive and efficient public transport network, but Museum in Tunis, they are still worthwhile attractions past. Given the militarily strategic value of its Carthage is no dusty repository of ruins relegated it is worlds away from urban life. Now part of the set in scenic landscapes that look strikingly similar to location, Le Kef has been continuously occupied for to history; it is, in fact, still a place for the privileged UNESCO World Heritage site that includes the Tuscan countryside. These sites offer great insight 2,500 years by every civilisation in Tunisia’s history class as the most elegant residential suburb in Tunis. neighbouring Carthage, the village was declared a into what were among the wealthiest of Roman from the Carthaginians and Romans to the Arabs, 17 ROBERT LA BUA'S CEO TRAVEL - JUNE 2015 ROBERT LA BUA'S CEO TRAVEL - JUNE 2015 18 COVER STORY COVER STORY Peeking into open doors leading into dark rooms on the ground floor of the various buildings in the medina will reveal a beehive of entrepreneurship among the craftsmen, seamstresses, vendors, and others earning their living. attraction in Tunis is the impressive Bardo Museum, various buildings in the medina will reveal a beehive home to the largest collection of ancient Roman of entrepreneurship among the craftsmen, mosaics in the world. There is no sacrifice of quality seamstresses, vendors, and others earning their living. for quantity, though; the finest mosaics in the world The souks are, of course, active throughout the day are also found here. Why not in Rome? The Roman with the busyness of commerce. Empire was very big and, as today, wealthy people Rue Sidi Ben Arous is the most sophisticated of the Ottomans, Jews, and French. Outside of town is a could pick and choose where they lived. With renovated streets of the medina. Here one finds country manor, Dar Chennoufi, where the lady of the Tunisia’s agreeable climate, appealing landscapes, Diwan, a bookshop with books about art, culture, house, Madame Raoudha, welcomes guests to stay and abundant materials for the construction of fine and architecture in French and English; further along overnight in her stylish home full of curious artefacts homes, places such as Bulla Regia, Dougga, and El is la Maison du Parfumeur, where the oils of orange and wonderful books.
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