CY-2019-067 A SIAM SOCIETY STUDY TRIP A Cultural Trip to Tunisia Tuesday 3 to Friday 13 March 2020 With Khun Bilaibhan Sampatisiri Honorary Advisor to the Siam Society Council The Republic of Tunisia is a country in North Africa, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the northernmost country in Africa and at almost 165,000 square kilometres in area, the smallest country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. As of 2019, its population is estimated just under 11.7 million. Its name is derived from its capital city, Tunis, located on the country’s northeast coast. Northern Tunisia has a typical Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winter. The mountains of the north-west occasionally get snow. Annual rainfall ranges from 1,000 mm in the north down to 150 mm in the south, although some Saharan area go for years without rain. From October to beginning of December is ideal for touring. At the beginning of recorded history, Tunisia was inhabited by Berber tribes. Its coast was settled by Phoenicians starting as early as the 10th century BC. The city of Carthage was founded in the 9th century BC by Phoenician and Cypriot settlers. After the series of wars with Greek city-states of Sicily in the 5th century BC, Carthage rose to power and eventually became the dominant civilisation in the Western Mediterranean. A Carthaginian invasion of Italy led by Hannibal during the Second Punic War, one of a series of wars with Rome, nearly crippled the rise of Roman power. After the Battle in 149 BC, Carthage was conquered by Rome, the region became one of the main granaries of Rome and was fully Latinised. During the Roman period the area of what is now Tunisia enjoyed a huge development. The prosperity of the area depended on agriculture, called the Granary of the Empire. In addition to the cultivation and the capture and transporting of exotic wild animals from the western mountains, the principal production and exports included the textile, marble, wine, timber, livestock, pottery and wool. 1 Around the second half of the 7th century and the beginning of the 8th century, the region was conquered by Arab Muslim, who founded the city of Kairouan, which became the first city of Islam in North Africa. In AD 670, the Great Mosque of Kairouan was erected; it has the oldest standing minaret in the world, it is also considered a masterpiece of Islamic architecture. The Arab governors of Tunis founded the Aghlabid Dynasty, which ruled Tunisia, Tripolitania and eastern Algeria from AD 800-909. Tunisia flourished under Arab rule, as extensive irrigation installations were constructed to supple towns with water and promote agriculture. This prosperity permitted luxurious court life and was marked by the construction of new palace cities such as Al- Abassiya and Raqadda in AD 809 and AD 877. During AD 972-1148 the area was conquered by local Zirids and the invasion of Tunisia by the Banu Hilal sent the region’s urban and economic life into further decline. The coasts were held briefly by the Normans of Sicily in the 12th century but following the conquest of Tunisia in 1159-1160 by the Almohads the last Christians in Tunisia disappeared either through forced conversion or emigration. Tunisia remained part of the Almohad state until 1230 when the son of Abu Hafs declared himself independent. During the reign of the Hofsid dynasty, fruitful commercial relationships were established with several Christian Mediterranean states. In the 16th century it became part of the Ottoman Empire. Under loose Turkish rule, Tunisia became a centre of piratical activity in the 16th - 19th century before its establishment as a French protectorate in 1886. Tunisia achieved independent from France in 1956 led by Habib Bourguiba, who later became the first Tunisian President. The majority of Tunisia’s population (98%) are Muslims while about 2% follow Christianity and Judaism or other religions. The bulk of Tunisia belongs to the Maliki School of Sunni Islam and their mosques are easily recognisable by square minarets. However, the Turks brought with them the teaching of the Hanafi School during the Ottoman rule, and their mosques traditionally have octagonal minarets. Arabic is the official language and Tunisian Arabic known as Derja. In 2010, there were about 6,639,000 French-speakers in Tunisia or about 64% of population. The culture of Tunisia is mixed due to their long-established history of outside influence from people such as Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks, Italian, Spaniards and the French who all left their mark on the country. Under the leadership of Khun Bilaibhan Sampatisiri, Honorary Advisor to the Siam Society Council, The Society will arrange a cultural trip to The Republic of Tunisia from 3 March to 13 March 2020. We will have an opportunity to visit the amazingly diverse landscape of the Mediterranean coastline to glimpses of the Sahara Desert. Experience Tunisia culture both ancient and modern, discover the mysterious troglodytes houses of the Berbers and visit main archaeological & historical monuments of Tunisia. The tentative programme will be as follows: Day 1: Tuesday 3 March: Bangkok – Istanbul 9pm Meet at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Row U, Check in counter for Turkish Airways. 11.30pm Depart Bangkok for Istanbul by TK69 Day 2: Wednesday 4 March: Istanbul – Tunis 6.25am Arrive at Istanbul International airport, transit for flight to Tunis. 9.05am Depart Istanbul for Tunis by TK 661 10.15am Arrive Tunis-Carthage International airport, transfer to a restaurant for lunch. Afternoon: Visit the National Bardo Museum, housed in an 18th century Beylical palace. It was the first museum to be founded in Africa and contains the country’s rich archaeological collections, including the world’s largest collection of Roman polychrome mosaics. 2 After that, check in at the hotel Mövenpick du Lac Tunis. Dinner and overnight at the hotel. Day 3: Thursday 5 March: Tunis Breakfast at the hotel. 9am Proceed to visit the World Heritage site of Carthage, the great Carthaginian Empire, yet today little remains of its former glory. Carthage’s strength came from its trading ships, access to metals, and African manpower which, from the 5th century BC onward, began to dominate southern Spain, Sardinia, western Sicily and the Northern African. Carthage’s most famous hour was when Hannibal Barcu launched his invasion of Italy at the end of the 3rd century BC. For much of its history, Carthage was in a constant state of struggle with the Greeks on Sicily and the Roman Republic, which led to a series of armed conflicts known as the Greek-Punic Wars and Punic Wars. In 148 BC, after the third and final Punic War, Carthage was destroyed and then occupied by Roman forces. Nearly all of the other Phoenician city-states and former Carthaginian dependencies fell into Roman hands from then on. We will visit the Byrsa Hill with its vestiges of Carthaginian and Roman buildings and the Carthage Museum. Next, continue to see the Punic ports, including the Salammbo Tophet, where urns containing the ashes and milk teeth of 8th century BC children have been unearthed, and the Antonine Baths, a huge Roman bath complex on the edge of the Mediterranean. After that, proceed to the picturesque village of Sidi Bou Said, located on top of a steep cliff overlooking the Mediterranean, which has a reputation as a town of artists. Noon: Lunch at a local restaurant in Sidi Bou Said Free time to stroll through the cobbled streets in the village. Its trademark are white walls, contrasting sky blue doors and ornate window grids. Drive back to Tunis visit the Medina, Tunis's historic heart, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Stroll through the winding Medina’s streets. Visit the famous Zaytouna Mosque, spice market and the gold souk. Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at hotel Mövenpick du Lac Tunis. Day 4: Friday 6 March: Tunis – Bulla Regia - Dougga – Tunis Morning: Breakfast at the hotel. 8.30am Proceed to visit the archaeological site of Bulla Regia, remains a unique Roman city, see Roman underground villas with well-preserved mosaic floors, a Roman forum, and a public basilica. Noon: Lunch at a local restaurant. Afternoon: Continue to the World Heritage site of Dougga. The ancient hilltop city of Dougga is the most spectacular of the country’s many magnificent Roman sites. The site was a prehistoric Libyan settlement that grew in the second century BC to became one of the capital towns of the Libyan king, Massinisa. Thoroughly Punicised in the process, the town was then attached to the administrative district of Carthage in the Roman period and became the centre of the great farming estates of the Medjerda valley, immensely attractive to Raman and Italian settlers who gathered in small communities alongside the native towns. The town, therefore, is an excellent example of the fusion of Libyan, Punic and Roman culture in North Africa. Prehistoric dolmens, irregular winding streets, Punic-style cult temples and monuments are overlaid by the right-angled regularity of a Roman forum, capitolium, preservation and the charm of the site itself may well be the most- photographed Roman monuments in Tunisia. 3 After that, proceed back to Tunis. Dinner and overnight at the hotel. Day 5: Saturday 7 March: Tunis – Kairouan Breakfast at the hotel. 8am Check out of the hotel and proceed to Kairouan, the most Holy city in Tunisia. It was here that Islam gained its first foothold in the Maghreb, and the city ranks behind only Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem among Islam’s holy places. Visit the Medina of Kairouan (the World Heritage site).