tense tunisia

minaret in the medina

roof deck above the medina

ruins of carthage 

emil attempting to rebuild carthage

emil says:

prior to tunisia we had not seen much in the way of violence or tension with regards to the recent and ongoing 'arab spring' protests. in egypt tourists can manage to circumvent cairo when going to the pyramids. in jordan tourists can land in amman but get to petra without so much as an image of instability. but if one lands in tunis, tunisia one is immediately suffocated by what seems like extremely fresh and vivid reminders of the 'arab spring' and all the tension that is associated with a none to certain future. we did get here on may 1, which was the day of labor union parades and marches throughout much of the civilized world, but it's the only place i can say that we were a little scared for our well being. miles of razor wire, many thousands of angry chanting men with beards that even brian wilson would fear, a plethora of armed military at the ready with water canons and riot gear like i have not seen before. the government was ousted a year ago after a young man set himself ablaze here in tunis, marking what would be the beginning of the 'arab spring'. an interim president is now in place and the country is currently drafting its constitution so it's heading in the right direction. folks are happy that they can now speak openly about the government but they fear that with freedom of speech there is a bit of a power grab occurring by some more religiously radical factions.  and with the downfall of the mostly western supported government, unemployment has escalated quickly thus breathing more life into the more extremist groups. it's an amazing time to be here and to watch as secular minded muslim teenagers with levi jeans and ray ban shades walk hand in hand or side by side with their more religiously fervent friends and the cafes fill to the brim with excited and tense chatter about what they may expect next. there is a ton of energy buzzing around here but it's a bit too intense. tunis seems more a fitting location for a cnn reporter than for a tourist at this point. that said, there is something incredibly exhilarating about watching a society at the beginning of its democracy, though one hopes the right party emerges that can maintain these democratic traditions. 

suburb of sidi bou said

med seaside cafe

bardo: roman mosaic museum

streets of tunis

roman baths at carthage

what's behind door #1?

what's behind door #2?

the posh part of tunisia

laurel says:

tunisia has been an interesting stop on our journey.  colonized by the french, there is a strong european influence, and while overwhelmingly muslim, the country prides itself on being quite secular.  recently the country had lead the entire northern africa region with the strength of its economy and progressive political stance.  this is also where the entire arab spring originated from, after a young muslim set himself aflame after struggling to get by with his fruit stand.  the new government has brought new freedoms, such as freedom of the press, but is threatening to take the country backwards on issues such as women’s rights.   i don’t think emil nor i knew what we were in store for when we landed in tunis, so it is fair to say that we were both quite taken aback when our cab pulled up and there was a demonstration so large outside of our hotel that we had to be ushered in by the police.  the best part of our time here was how open the locals were to interacting with us and sharing their points of view and we heard very mixed reports on the revolution.  we met a female college professor that was fearful of the direction that tunisia is headed in, shedding tears while telling us that her life had been threatened for not complying with the the more fundamentalist views.  then we met a highly successful and polished businessman that could not be happier with the change in regime.  it seems the jury is still largely out on tunisia’s future.  one thing is certain, tourism is down dramatically, making it almost creepy to visit the sites.  there were a few tour groups being shepparded around but emil and i were the only independent travelers at any given place.  and the tangles of barbed wire and heavy police presence on the streets are a constant reminder that the wounds of the revolution are still painfully fresh.  overall it was interesting to be an eyewitness to a country going thru such pivotal changes, but it is still too raw and too tense to make a trip to tunisia advisable.

sipping mint tea above the harbor

what's behind door #3?