From the heart of Virginia to...
Tunisia and a whole new continent for all of us except Linda who had previously visited Nigeria. We booked an adventure holiday of sorts through the UK-based - and appropriately named -
Adventure Company. Based on our experience, we would highly recommend them. Ended up with a great group: three other English families (one of whom builds yurts, see
Albion Canvas); between us we had one child for each year from 8 to 14, though truth to tell, the 14 year old, Moi, tended to hang with the adults. All got along splendidly... adults and children as evidenced by the endless games of Uno - thanks, Thomas... Also had a terrific guide, Sahnoun, pictured here with Moi at a hilltop Berber village (yes, it can be quite cold in Tunisia in February...). Fluent in at least three languages, possessed of a seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of Tunisian history and a keen sense of humor, he was as close to perfect as a tour guide could be. Then there is Tunisia... lush olive groves and
palmeraies, barren salt flats, Roman ruins, and sparkling Mediterranean beaches, among other things... But what struck me the most was seeing the moderate face of Islam in a country where a great premium is placed on the education of both boys
and girls. A nice antidote to the daily news fare of suicide bombers, IED's, and the like...
But I don't mean to wax political other than to suggest that the Tunisians might be on to something... If you want to read further in this vein, try Georgie Anne Geyer's,
Tunisia The Story of a Country that Works.
On to pictures... Movie producers have often used Tunisia as a stand-in for Jerusalem and the Holy Lands. Monty Python buffs might recognize this fortress as the setting for Pontius Pilate's introduction of his friend Biggus Dickus,to a crowd of jeering Tunisian extras in
Life of Brian. In real life, it is the 9th century
ribat in the seaside town of Monastir.
Many scenes in the
Star Wars films were shot in Tunisia at several locations. Here are the girls in a "village" that is out in what is truly the middle of nowhere... it takes about a hour in a Land Cruiser to get here.
I'm going in no particular order... A couple of other sites included the Roman Amphitheatre of El Djem, the 3rd largest Colosseum in the world, and the Great Mosque of Kairouan, North Africa's holiest Islamic site.
When in Tunisia, one should give the "ships of the desert" a try, and we did. For that additional Sahara experience, we set out into the teeth of what was, if not a full-blown sandstorm, a lot of blowing sand - note the yellow hue. One comes to better understand the whole headscarf thing which is why my blue headscarf is less fashion statement (though it is a lovely blue, yes?), but more of an effort to keep sand out of my eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Were in the city of Douz on market day, by the way...
It wasn't all cold and blowing sand as these pictures will attest. One is from a hike we took near the mountain oasis of Chebika near the Algerian border, and the other two are from the beach on the island of Djerba, Homer's Island of the Lotus-Eaters.
Anyway... that's just a few of our 600+ pictures. I just want to give you an idea of what Tunisia is all about. A whole new experience certainly... try it for yourself sometime... As my English friends say, Cheers... and Why Aye Man...
Back from the 2007 NECIS Swim Meet in Uppsala, Sweden. Moi came home with bronze in the U16 200 IM and 100 free, and silver in the 50 and 100 fly. AI missed medaling in the 50 breast by less than .5 sec., as the competition among the U14 girls was brutal; she also placed a very respectable 5th in the 200 IM - for being at the bottom of her age group, AI did very well. Both girls swam - Aileen swam "up" - on the U16 4x50 medley (below left) and freestyle (below right) relays, and brought home the bronze.
