Country Information

Food and Drink

Tunisian food is well prepared and delicious. Tunisian dishes are cooked with olive oil, spiced with aniseed, coriander, cumin, caraway, cinnamon or saffron and flavoured with mint, orange blossom or rose water. Restaurants catering for tourists tend to serve rather bland dishes and ’international’ cuisine, and visitors are advised to try the smaller restaurants. Prices vary enormously, and higher prices do not necessarily mean better meals. Tunis and the main cities also have French, Italian and other international restaurants. Self-service may sometimes be found but table service is more common. Moorish cafes, with their traditional decor, serve excellent Turkish coffee.

Things to know: Although Tunisia is an Islamic country, alcohol is not prohibited. Tunisia produces a range of excellent table wines, sparkling wines, beers, aperitifs and local liqueurs.

National specialities:
•Dorado (bream).
• Couscous.
•Tajine (a fish dish).
•Brik or brik à l’oeuf (egg and a tasty filling fried in an envelope of pastry).

National drinks:
• Mint tea with pine nuts.
•Boukha (wine, distilled from figs).
• Thibarine (wine).

Tipping: 10% for all services.

Nightlife

In Tunisia, the theatre season lasts from October to June when local and foreign (especially French) companies put on productions and concerts. International groups appear at the Tunis Theatre and in the towns of Hammamet and Sousse. There are numerous cinemas in the larger cities. There are nightclubs in the major tourist resorts and at most beach hotels, as well as in the big city hotels. Belly dancing is a common cabaret feature and lively local bands often play traditional music. Casinos are also availabe in Tunis, Yasmine, Hammamet, Sousse and Djerba.

Shopping

Special purchases include copperware (engraved trays, ashtrays and other utensils); articles sculpted in olive wood; leather goods (wallets, purses, handbags); clothing (kaftans, jelabas, burnuses); pottery and ceramics; dolls in traditional dress; beautiful embroidery; fine silverware and enamelled jewellery. Among the most valuable of Tunisia’s products are carpets. The two major types are woven (non-pile) and knotted (pile). The quality of all carpets is strictly controlled by the National Handicrafts Office, so be sure to check the ONA seal before buying.

A source of good purchases are the markets which are set up on certain days in many Tunisian towns and villages. All the products of the region are displayed, including handicrafts, farm produce and secondhand goods. There are ONA workshops and stores throughout the country where visitors can buy items at fixed prices. ONA stores make a reduction of 10% on the price of goods purchased in foreign currency.

No duty is payable on articles up to £900 in value which are shipped to EU countries, only if accompanied by an EUR1 form. Visitors who make a purchase of more than TND5, anywhere in Tunisia, should ask for a sales slip and keep all sales slips, along with bank receipts for any currency exchanged, for customs inspection.

Shopping hours: Mon-Sat 0730-1330 and 1500-1900 (summer); Mon-Sat 0900-1200 and 1500-1900 (winter).

• Tunisia’s main appeal, aside from its seaside resorts, is based on its many historical monuments, which reflect the Punic, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic influences. Tunis, the capital, is dominated by the Zitouna Mosque, which is accessible to non-Moslems. The Bardo Museum (website: www.di.com.tn/museebardo) is a major tourist attraction, housing one of the world’s greatest collections of Roman mosaics. Situated in a former palace belonging to the Husaynid beys who ruled Tunisia in the 18th and 19th centuries, the museum includes archaeological treasures from the Carthaginian, Roman, early Christian and Islamic eras. Another popular museum, the National Museum of Carthage, is located on the outskirts of the city near the airport.

• Don’t miss the country’s leading site of interest: founded by the Phoenicians in 814BC, Carthage thrived as a maritime centre and later became the third-largest city in the Roman Empire before being destroyed by the Arabs in AD692.

•Bizerte has been a major port since Phoenician times when it was known as Hippo Zarytus. Under French rule in the late 19th century, it became a naval base and has remained Tunisia’s biggest military centre ever since. At the heart of the town is the picturesque Vieux Port(Old Port), surrounded by shops and cafes and usually dotted with dozens of multicoloured fishing boats. The Kasbah dates mainly from the 17th century. Within its walls is a mini-town of narrow, winding alleys.

• Known as the Garden of Tunisia, the Cap Bon peninsula combines sleepy villages, rolling green fields and vineyards with the biggest and most cosmopolitan resort in the country.

•El Haouaria is best-known for its annual June falconry festival. On the outskirts of the village, opposite the island of Zembra, is a spectacular series of Roman caves. Nearby, Les Grottes des Chauves-Souris are home to thousands of bats.

•Monastir’s most impressive landmark is the golden-domed Bourguiba Mosque - final resting place of the founder of modern-day Tunisia and its first president, Habib Bourguiba. The town’s Ribat supposedly dates from the eighth century but it has been restored so many times that little of the original structure is left.

• Within the medina at Kairouan, there are more than 50 mosques, the Great Mosque of Sidi Oqba being the star attraction. Originally constructed in AD671, the existing building was built by the Aghlabids in AD863.

• For Tunisia’s best preserved Roman ruins, take an excursion to Dougga, which enjoys a lofty setting 96km (60 miles) southwest of Tunis. Formerly known as Thugga under the Numidian King Massinissa in the second century BC, under Roman rule, Dougga had a population of up to 10,000.

• Some 8km (5 miles) north of Kelibia are the remarkable remains of Kerkouane, a Punic town. Destroyed in 236BC, it was unearthed in 1952 and is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

• Spend a day in Sousse, Tunisia’s third-largest city, 8km (5 miles) south of Port El Kantaoui. Sousse was one of the Phoenicians’ great coastal cities but it fell to Arab invaders in the seventh century. In AD790, the foundations of a new city were laid and several remnants of that time still remain, including the Great Mosque and its Ribat - one of a chain of fortresses which stretched along the Mediterranean coast.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.

• Follow the stars to the sands. Tunisia’s desert near Tozeur has featured in numerous films, most notably in The English Patient and Star Wars. An increasing number of tour operators now offer desert safaris to the locations where these famous blockbuster movies were shot.

• Go desert trekking from Douz, either by camel or in 4-wheel drive vehicles. Anyone planning a desert safari needs to inform the National Guard and ensure their vehicle is equipped with a full tool kit and handbook, spare tyres, fuel and water, a compass and emergency rations. It is also advisable to hire a local driver.

• Experience the wilderness: the focal point of Tunisia’s desert tourism industry, Chott El Jerid is one of a series of large salt lakes which lie lifeless in summer but fill during the winter to create inland seas.

• Pamper yourself. There are about 100 hot-spring spas throughout Tunisia - mostly in the north of the country. Many of the spas have been used for this purpose since Roman and Punic times.

• Take a stroll along the bustling trading street of Rue Djamaa Ez-Zitounain Tunis, or practise your haggling skills in the 13th-century Souk el Attarine (the perfume-makers’ market), which still sells scents and oils.

• Play a round of golf – there are excellent courses at Port el Kantaoui near Sousse, Monastir, Tabarka, Carthage at Tunis, Tozeur and Djerba Hammamet. Players of all abilities can find very high-quality facilities.

• Tunisia’s clear waters, coral beds and diverse sea life make it a popular destination for scuba-diving. Tabarka Yachting Club and the International Diving Centre at Port el Kantaoui are prime venues.

• Cross the causeway or take a ferry to the island of Djerba. Houmt Souk, the main town, means ’market place’ and this remains the town’s primary purpose although it also benefits from tourism.

• Cross from the coast near the city of Sfax to Kerkennah, which makes a pleasant day trip, and for those seeking to get away from it all, it is also worth considering staying several days.

• If the beach appeals, head for Mahdia, one of Tunisia’s newest tourist towns, which has been expanding rapidly since the creation of a tourist zone 5km (3 miles) west of the town centre. It is where the best beaches can be found.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.