This morning we visited Monastir, which is just south of Sousse. The town has a fine ribat (fort) built by the Muslims to defend against the potential Christian invaders in the 10th century. It has been extensively restored & was used in "The Life of Brian" as a set. The major attraction apart from beaches is the Bourguiba mausoleum that he had built for himself during his long presidency. It houses the tombs of his family also & is quite impressive. He s...

It rained overnight & is still overcast when we set out at 7.45. We visited Kairouane, a Muslim Holy City, where we started with the giant cisterns comprising 2 huge open circular tanks & 2 smaller ones for storage of the town's water supply, supplied by an. From here we went aqueduct to the Grand Mosque of Sidi Oqba built in the 10th century using recycled materials from the previous Roman & Byzantine eras. The design was very restrained & the wh...

Wednesday 24th April Set out at 7.00am. First stop was the market in Gabes where we bought some Frankincense rocks apparently with different perfumes & some saffron. The markets tend to be somewhat similar to each other which is a bit frustrating. From here we travelled via Sfax, the 2nd largest city in Tunisia to see the Roman amphitheatre of El Djem which is truly remarkable both in size & in state of preservation. It is a miniature colosseum built in ...

Tuesday 23rd April This morning we visited the island of Djerba linked to the mainland by a 7k causeway across a shallow stretch of sea. The island is very low (15m max) & has many scattered houses between what were the oldest olive trees we have ever seen as with most Tunisian dwellings most under construction or semi derelict. The women here where quite distinctive clothes in the form of white tunic dress with embroidered lines & large coloured squares...

Monday 22nd April Today, as yesterday, the weather is cool, the wind is strong & the sky is grey & we went to Tatouine south west of Zarsis. We rose again into mountainous terrain & visited a small Berber community at Chenini, set high on the side of the hill with the houses cut into the mountain side with steep paths up to the various housing levels. In one house Jane was dressed in the outfit of a Berber woman to be photographed in costume in a roo...