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 whole effect was extremely impressive. A short walk from here was the mausoleum of Sidi Sahbi, a friend of Mohammed killed in the Arab invasion in the mid 700s. We then wandered in the medina which was quite small but was of more interest as the stalls were aimed at the locals rather than tourists.

After lunch we went to the Ribat in Sousse, a fortress from the 10th century & had a lecture from a university historian about the position of Tunisia in the Arab world. He talked of the developments by Bourguiba, the first president in bringing in universal free education & health care & freedom for women & the subsequent development under the 2nd president who has been exiled. He is extremely worried about all the money being spent by the Saudis to encourage the introduction of Sharia law instead of the present secular system.