Last week we stayed at Belisaire and Thalasso hotel at Yasmine Hammamet in Tunisia. Very last-minute decision, all inclusive, second time with loveholidays.
Me and my two daughters. We were collectively referred to as the three girls wherever we go, which was fine by me.
Iran war and everything else that was wrong with the world seemed many more thousands of miles away than it actually was.
Having no Internet data outside the hotel helped, as we were blissfully cut off from world news for several hours each day.
Tunisia in the first week of March is not yet sunny and summery. It is a light jumper weather with occasional hot sun moments, when it becomes tshirt weather for a couple of hours.
Our hotel was at the south end of Yasmine Hammamet beach with Hammamet marina around one hour walk away.
Not wasting any time, we headed to the marina in the afternoon on the day of our arrival.
The area was utterly deserted. Long stretches along the marina felt untouched by human hand for a very long time. We followed paved paths through empty recreation grounds and olive trees, wooden arches, and palm trees, without seeing a living soul. We could not tell whether these places were permanently abandoned or whether they would miraculously come back to live in a month’s time or so, when the summer season kicks in. We enjoyed the eerie tranquillity of the place, but I can understand why it might not be every sun-seeker’s idea of holiday fun.
During the week-long holiday we went on three day trips, interspaced with three days at the hotel, where we lapped up every drop of the all-inclusivess; the indoor heated swimming pool, a yoga class on the lawn, the gym, and the steam room, the all day cappuccinos, countless watered down pina coladas and limitless blue lagoons.
Our first trip was to Hammamet town centre. We took a public transport bus. Return ticket was 40p per person. The journey took half an hour. No Internet, so relying on the kindness of fellow passengers to tell us where to get off. Centre ville? Prochain arret. C’est ici. Merci bien.
The streets were busy with local people going about their business, and mangy cats who had seen better days. Or maybe not.
We headed towards Kasbah, the Fort, first. We paid a small entry fee and stepped into the soothingly peaceful courtyard with a few sprawling trees in the middle.
The view over the city from the Kasbah rooftop is a must.
Some blogs mention a rooftop cafe but it was closed. The chairs and tables were there, but no coffee. We were there still very much out of season and in the middle of Ramadan.
We bought some early souvenirs, the ubiquitous Tunisian mosaics, and allowed ourselves to get lost along narrow winding streets of the medina.
We walked along the beach front, which backs onto a cemetery, found an open cafe in the centre of town, had delicious £1 cappuccinos, did not find an open bank, as we learnt that banks closed at 12.45pm during Ramadan, did not manage to change money anywhere else, as we did not bring our passports with us, and the ATM told us in French and English that it was closed and would re-open later. Getting hold of money was simply not to be, so we chilled moneyless on a bench by the bay, took hundreds of photos of sleeping cats and headed back to the bus stop.
We got back to the hotel in perfect time for pre-dinner cocktails by the pool.
Days out do not get much more budget-friendly than this.
The second trip was to Tunis, Carthage and Sidi Bou Said.
This one was organised by our loveholidays rep.
We were picked up by the coach at 8am, and promptly greeted by Mohammed our guide.
Mohammed talked non-stop for three quarters of the day, switching between English, French, German, and Arabic mid-sentence to keep us on our toes.
First stop was Tunis town centre. We were dropped off by a Catholic Cathedral of Tunis, a surprisingly imposing building for a country with 99% Muslim population.
We walked to the medina, where Mohammed led us to an oil-based perfume factory for an inevitable sales pitch, but compared to other similar experiences, it was relatively short and sweet, with no pressure to buy anything.
After that we had about an hour and a half free time. The three of us strolled around the medina without a particular plan or purpose, we stumbled across the Town Hall, were invited to the roof of a carpet shop, which offered an amazing view of the city, and browsed through many market stalls.
From Tunis we went to Carthage, a half hour drive through the suburbs. The pull of this place was the deciding factor in booking Tunisia and getting up at 4am last Sunday to catch an early morning flight to Enfidha.
Carthage archaeological site is positioned very next door to the Presidential Palace. This meant, bizarrely, that we were told by an armed guard to turn back from one path within the site, and to find another way around it. I guess, when in Tunisia, do as a Tunisian soldier tells you.
Ancient Carthage today is a pale shadow of its past glory. Still, it is Carthage, it had to be seen, it was the reason we signed up for this trip and here we were.
The best-preserved part on the site are the Antonine Baths. They are pretty impressive. We were not allowed to walk among the ruins, but could only view them and snap happy from behind a barrier.
The third stop on our itinerary was Sidi Bou Said, the picture-perfect white and blue village commonly referred to as the Tunisian Santorini. It was definitely photogenic. It was also quite small and insanely overpriced. We walked to the top of it, took the pictures overlooking the marina, we resisted a London priced coffee, grateful to our guide for advising us to ask the prices of everything before ordering food and drink.
After that it was time to drive home. The guide mercifully gave up on his trilingual narrative and we enjoyed the views in peace.
We got back to our hotel at 5pm, just in time for, yes, you’ve guessed it, a round of pre-dinner drinks.
Our third and last trip was by a private taxi to Kairouan great mosque, El Jem coliseum and Sousse town and marina.
The trip was pre-arranged for us by the loveholidays rep.
We were picked up at 8am from our hotel and headed to Kairouan mosque. We were loaned headscarves to enter the courtyard of the mosque. Kairouan mosque is one of the most important in the world. One source I looked up said that 7 pilgrimages to Kairouan equals one to Mecca. I cannot vouch for the veracity of that piece of information, but the mosque was certainly impressive. It was peaceful and almost empty except for a couple of Muslim women reciting Koran under the arches.
Certainly worth a visit, especially if you are a holiday culture junkie like us.
After Kairouan we were off to El Jem.
El Jem was easily the top site we visited in Tunisia. A true gem, to use the cliche. Personal opinion of course.
The structure was huge, multilayered, multistorey, and just wow at every step.
The weather was perfect for visiting a sandy coloured stone building too. The sun seeping through endless arches and curves made the strolling though it dreamy and magical.
El Jem featured in the 2000 Russell Crowe Gladiator movie during his initial North African sparrings.
Unlike Carthage, where access inside the ruins was restricted, we were allowed to walk everywhere among El Jem’s giant five storey structures, as well as climb and touch every stone.
Once more, we had the site nearly exclusively to ourselves, which make us feel like true explorers, rather than all-inclusive day-trippers in a taxi.
Our last stop of the day was Sousse, a sprawling beach holiday resort on our way back to Hammamet.
We drove through a long stretch of hotels, each looking exactly like the one before it.
Our first brief stop was at the Sousse medina, we were on a mission to find one more mosaic, a perfect cat one, which had proved elusive to us so far, in Hammamet, Tunis, Carthage, Kairouan and El Jem. As this was our last stop on the last day trip, the quest had become a serious matter.
Things did not look at all promising to start with, as we seemed to have entered a local footwear and kitchenware market, which was fascinating to see, but there was not a souvenir shop in sight. We must have looked lost and confused when a local man came to our rescue. He introduced himself as Mohammed the local chief of police, and to make his claim sound more legitimate, he rummaged in his pockets and flicked a photo ID card of sorts in front of us. It was most likely his driving licence, but played along. ‘The chief of police’ informed us that there were six government souvenir shops in the whole of Sousse medina and he was going to show us all six. It took some serious assertiveness for him to agree that we were only interested in the mosaics shop. He led us to it, and there, miraculously, a prefect cat mosaic materialised in front of our eyes, to the delight of the biggest cat lover among us, and the shop owner who could see clear the Euro signs in my daughter’s big smile.
The shopping done, we parted ways with Mohammed and went back to our taxi. We finished off the day at the Sousse marina, a tranquil place with a lot of boats and a few cafes. Just what we needed.
So this was it. Tunisia done. We have seen the main tourist attractions, in a leisurely out of season fashion. We walked miles along white sandy beaches, often the only people there save for local fishermen. We went during Ramadan, which could have been a problem if we tried to eat at local restaurants, as most of them were closed during fasting hours.
What else.
We felt safe everywhere we went.
Tunisian people were friendly, helpful, and welcoming. Those who wanted to sell us things, were less pushy and insistent than in other countries known for their haggling sales techniques.
And finally.
Tunisia felt ever so slightly like Morocco and Egypt’s poor cousin, which is probably unfair, it is just that the other two North African destinations have so much to offer.
A lot of Tunisian roadside fields and villages that we drove past were drowning in litter, mainly plastic containers, and other debris. We also passed thousands of half-finished houses, and scaffoldings, which did not help the overall impression. As my daughter put it, Tunisia could do with a face-lift. I suspect the problem is, it might ill afford one.
It was the opportunity to visit the once mighty Carthage that decided it for us, and I am glad we saw it, but if I am totally honest, I personally found it a little bit underwhelming. There, I said it.
Still, we really enjoyed the holiday. It is so very true what they say, whoever they are, it’s not where you go, it’s who you go with that matters.
Ania Heasley 