Tunisia

Well, there’s not much to really say about Gabes, Tunisia (April 14) It was different! Annie decided not to tour here, but I got off and went on a general tour of the area. The ship only offered 3 tours, one of which they discouraged people from taking, so as you can imagine, there isn’t that much in this particular port. Tunisia is a Muslim country, but operates under civil law, as opposed to Islamic law in places such as Iraq. Our first stop on the tour was the Berber market with the usual collection of assorted goods, especially camel-themed items! After a bit of a drive around the area, we headed out to an oasis area with thousands of palm trees. Gabes became an important stop for caravans and trade groups coming out of the Sahara desert because of the oasis and the town’s location on the sea routes.
Our major visit was out to Matmata, which is a “troglodyte” village. The houses are actually carved into the earth to protect the residents from the blistering heat. There are rooms for animals, sleeping rooms, everything – all like small cave dwellings running off a central courtyard. We stopped to visit one of them and I will say, it was kind of amazing how they’ve adapted to the environment. These homes were used by George Lucas as a backdrop for Star Wars. We stopped at a hotel that was used for the filming of the bar and dance club scenes in the movie.
They said that Tunis is better, and that further along the coast, there are some resorts that are lovely and popular with Europeans. Gabes was primarily an industrial port, so it does have a tendency to be dirty and dusty, and although it was fine for us, they said in the summer temperatures of 120 degrees are the norm! No wonder they took refuge in caves!
Today, we’re in Sicily in Taormina. It’s a lovely town in the shadow of Mt. Etna, Europe’s highest volcano. Annie and I have both been here a couple of times (she actually spent a week in this area a few years ago), so we’ve opted out of the tours. Taormina does have one thing we all like – shopping! The main street is a wide pedestrian walkway that winds up through the town lined with small shops of all kinds. It’s a pretty town to stroll though, even if we don’t buy anything (what are the chances of that?)