Tunisia March 2010

Mary Leigh awoke before dawn, and shunned all primming and beautification techniques, in order to capture Tunis at sunrise. Just kidding, she seldom awakes before dawn and almost never shuns said techniques. This is a pic of sunset from Sidi Bou Said, on our last night in Tunisia.

Moonrise over a Mediterranean cafe near Mahdia. Credit Cooper with the photograph.

The American flag flies over the American cemetery in Carthage, one of several U.S. cemeteries in North Africa from Operation Torch. This operation dealt the German and Italians (as well as the Vichy French who resisted the invasion) their first defeat of WWII, and set the stage for the eventual liberation of Europe.

At first we were denied entry, as we arrived after closing time, but the director let us in and allowed us to tour the perfectly manicured grounds. It was late afternoon, and the 2841 crosses cast long shadows in the setting African sun.

When you are travelling in a foreign country, without a guide, sometimes the hardest thing to do is get out of town via the correct road. The secret is not caring that you cannot find the road you had planned to take. We couldn't find our highway direct to the ruins at Douga, so we compromised and took Road 3 (what's behind door # 3?). Though longer, we were rewarded by finding this Roman Aquaduct stretching down our road into the distance.

City on a hill. Roman ruins of Douga, about 2.5 hours SW of Tunis, on a beautiful spring day. Pictured center is the Temple of Jupiter.

Luke meets a new friend at a house/hotel where we stayed in the medina of a coastal town. The Medina Hotel was in the heart of Mahdia, down a short, narrow alley. We had 1 room, 4 beds, a naked light bulb, and a shared bath, but the location was good and the price was right. Our favorite persona there was an older Tunisian gentleman, who continued to wear a jacket, tie, and red Fez as they did in the 40s and 50s.

Fisherman returning mid-morning with the catch of the day in the central coast town of Mahdia. Note how calm and clear the Mediterranean Sea is here this day. Octopus is an abundant delicacy here.

This is a Tunisian cemetary on Cap Afrique, down the road from the medina where we stayed a few nights. A lighthouse is seen in the distance. Twenty feet to the right of the path is the crystal blue sea.

Enjoying some coffee and juice at an outdoor cafe on the Med.

Amazingly well preserved Roman coliseum of El Jem in central Tunisia.

We noticed that outside of Tunis, local butchers and restraunteurs would hang either a sheep skin, camel head, or in this case, cow's head with pacifier in mouth to indicate that fresh meat was availabe. I sincerely doubt that the binky "pacified" the cow's final moments at all.

Doorway in Kairouan.

Cooper does his best imitation at the Bardo Museum in Tunis, which has the best collection of Roman mosaics in the world.

After over a week of touring, ruins, sketchy food, long car rides, Tunisian bed bugs, and Hannibal's Revenge, the boys blow off some steam by racing 4 wheelers at a local park in Tunis.

White Desert Expedition, Egypt

The Dude Mahmud, Desert Guide and Late Sleeper, shown here cranky after being woken up.

In Mid March we took a 3 day trip into the White Desert of Egypt. At the edge of the White Desert is an oasis town named Bahariyya about 350 km SW of Cairo. Its a long, barren drive. Upon our arrival we checked in with the tourist police, got our permit, and convinced them that we did not require an armed escort. From there we met our guide, Mahmud, who would lead us 250 km into the White Desert. After a lunch of fried fish at his house, we started our trip. An hour into it we stopped at the first of several oases, and the boys had a swim at a spring fed pool known as the camel trough. After some tea we got back on the trail, and were soon following Mahmud through deep sand. Mahmud drove a Landcruiser, and I followed in my Tacoma. Between us we got stuck 5 times that first day, and I'll admit that my faith in Mahmud was shaken. We were exhausted after digging the trucks out and finally setting up camp under the setting Egyptian sun. Mahmud and his helper set up camp then set about cooking supper. Lentil soup, warm flat bread, salad, and chicken cooked over the fire, washed down with cold Sakarra. We stared at more stars than we had ever seen, then bedded down for the night bone tired.


Coop enjoying a roll in the dunes.

The Road.

Stuck again, day one.

Day Two Luke was up before the sun and climbing about in the rocks and dunes on the horizon, right about from where this shot was taken. I had to reel him in. Coop followed me out, and we played around a bit and assumed that the guide would be up and getting breakfast started. We were wrong. Turns out Mahmud is a late sleeper, which is odd among men who make their living guiding. At around 0800 I had to rouse him up, and we bantered back and forth: "Mahmud, dude wake up its 8:00", then he would grunt and curse me in Egyptian though I pretended not to understand. After some coffee and omelets we drove back over the steep dunes toward an area known as the Mushroom Desert, a part of the White Desert. We drove a ways, then stopped for a long lunch during the heat of the day at another oasis. This time we all swam, and it felt good to wash off the dust. Three hours later (Mahmud napped after lunch) we were back on the trail. The Mushroom Desert was like driving on another planet, each formation stranger than the last. Eventually we picked an enormous rock that cast a long shadow, and set up camp in the shadow. We felt none of the stress of that first day, only a dusty weariness and a sense of satisfaction for how far we'd come. That night Coop and I decided to forgo the tent and sleep under the stars.

Oasis time. The boys put on a cannonball show.

Mushroom Desert, Day Two.

One of the many incredible formations in the Mushroom Desert.

Sunset on day two.

Getting the fire going.

The boys doing some reading in the truck during a pit stop. Luke sports Taureg desert head gear, Moroccan style.

Sunset after a long day's drive from Cairo.