TUNISIA:
its a country in Northern Africa that has a Mediterranean Sea coastline in the very centre of Mediterranean Africa. Tunisia lies immediately to the south of Italy and Malta. Libya borders Tunisia to the south-east, whilst Algeria lies to the west
its a country in Northern Africa that has a Mediterranean Sea coastline in the very centre of Mediterranean Africa. Tunisia lies immediately to the south of Italy and Malta. Libya borders Tunisia to the south-east, whilst Algeria lies to the west
HISTORY:
Tunisia has a rich cultural history, ever since Antiquity. The Carthaginian Empire, Rome's arch enemy, was centered in Tunisia. Its capital, Carthage, is now a suburb of Tunis. Founded by Phoenician settlers from Tyre and Sidon (modern day Lebanon), Carthage was an ancient Mediterranean powerhouse. Three wars between Rome and Carthage (known as the Punic wars) were waged in the first few centuries before the birth of Christ. These culminated with the decimation of Carthage in 146 B.C. by the Roman general Scipio, who is said to have wept at its destruction.
Between the destruction of Ancient Carthage and the Arabic conquests of the 7th century, many cultures have made Tunisia their home. Carthage enjoyed a new period of prosperity under the Roman Empire until its collapse in the 5th century. Roman rule was replaced briefly by the Vandals, who made Carthage the capital of their kingdom. Carthage was then absorbed temporarily by the Byzantine Empire, until the rise of Islam in the 7th century.
After the dissipation of the Arabic Caliphates, the Ottoman Empire's Turkish Pashas ruled Tunisia. With the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Tunisia eventually became victim to European Imperialism in the form of a French Protectorate, along with neighboring Algeria.
Following independence from France in 1956, President Habib Bourguiba established a strict one-party state. He dominated the country for 31 years, repressing Islamic fundamentalism and establishing rights for women unmatched by any other Arab nation.
Habib Bourghiba was quietly replaced in 1987 by Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (Ben Ali, for short). His forced abdication was carried out under the pretext that he was unfit to carry out his duties as president, due to his ailing mental and physical state as a result of extreme old age. Nonetheless Bourghiba is still credited with the birth of the modern state of Tunisia, for which he fought his entire life.
In recent years, Tunisia has taken a moderate, non-aligned stance in its foreign relations. Domestically, it has sought to diffuse rising pressure for a more open political society.
Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil exploration.
TOURISM:
There are several ways to enjoy your vacation in Tunisia, including spending your vacation on the gorgeous Mediterranean beaches, or planning a circuit of Tunisia. Numerous charter flight companies can arrange flight and hotel, many that waiver a visa to enter. There are also some agencies that have ongoing tours for groups and private travelers.
Tourism is pretty well developed in Tunisia, although not at par with other countries like Egypt and perhaps even Morocco. Hotel star ratings are not at par with European and US standards-- a 4 star hotel is the equivalent of a 3 star.
CLIMATE: Temperate in north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers; desert in south.
TERRAIN:
GET IN:
No visa is required for Americans, Canadians, European Community citizens, Great Maghreb nationals (Libya, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania), Japanese and South Koreans. A landing visa (on arrival) is available for Australians. For New Zealand, other African and Asian countries' nationals, a visa must be applied for at the embassy of coverage.
No visa is required for Americans, Canadians, European Community citizens, Great Maghreb nationals (Libya, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania), Japanese and South Koreans. A landing visa (on arrival) is available for Australians. For New Zealand, other African and Asian countries' nationals, a visa must be applied for at the embassy of coverage.
BY PLANE:
Tunisia's main international airport for scheduled flights is Tunis-Carthage International Airport (TUN) near Tunis. From the airport, you can catch a taxi to the center of Tunis (beware, meters may be rigged). They are best hailed from the 2nd floor departure hall to avoid getting swindled, should cost no more than 5D to downtown Tunis (Avenue Habib Bourguiba area) during the daytime, and no more than 10D between 9pm-5am (during which meter rates are double daytime rates).
Official airport wifi requires purchase, but connection to the public "LINDO CAFE" network from a restaurant of the same name is free.
For cheap snacks and coffee/tea in place of overpriced airport fare, walk 3 minutes straight out of the airport's bottom floor (arrivals), past the fountain, through the parking lot, and you'll find a small convenience store and cafe selling items at local prices (espresso for 700 millimes). It is next to a utilitarian car wash.
Tunisia's second airport is Habib Bourguiba, Skanes-Monastir(MIR) which is served by low cost charter flights from all over Europe. Monastir is nearer to most of the holiday destinations. Inexpensive charter flights (at least from the UK) are available through airlines such as Thomas Cook. From May 2010, Jet2.com [2]will also operate a service to Monastir. Other destinations with international airports include Tozeur and Djerba.
Other Airports countrywide are serving national and international flights, and here is a list of the Tunisia's Airports: Tunis Carthage Intl Airport near Tunis (North Tunisia) - [3] Habib Bourguiba Skanes Monastir near Monastir (Central East Tunisia) - Sfax Thyna Airport near Sfax (Central East Tunisia) - Tozeur Nefta Intl Airport near Tozeur (South West Tunisia) - Gafsa Airport near Gafsa (South West Tunisia) - Tabarka November 7th 1987 near Tabarka (North West Tunisia) - Djerba International Airport in Djerba Island (South East Tunisia) - [4]
Tunisia's main international airport for scheduled flights is Tunis-Carthage International Airport (TUN) near Tunis. From the airport, you can catch a taxi to the center of Tunis (beware, meters may be rigged). They are best hailed from the 2nd floor departure hall to avoid getting swindled, should cost no more than 5D to downtown Tunis (Avenue Habib Bourguiba area) during the daytime, and no more than 10D between 9pm-5am (during which meter rates are double daytime rates).
Official airport wifi requires purchase, but connection to the public "LINDO CAFE" network from a restaurant of the same name is free.
For cheap snacks and coffee/tea in place of overpriced airport fare, walk 3 minutes straight out of the airport's bottom floor (arrivals), past the fountain, through the parking lot, and you'll find a small convenience store and cafe selling items at local prices (espresso for 700 millimes). It is next to a utilitarian car wash.
Tunisia's second airport is Habib Bourguiba, Skanes-Monastir(MIR) which is served by low cost charter flights from all over Europe. Monastir is nearer to most of the holiday destinations. Inexpensive charter flights (at least from the UK) are available through airlines such as Thomas Cook. From May 2010, Jet2.com [2]will also operate a service to Monastir. Other destinations with international airports include Tozeur and Djerba.
Other Airports countrywide are serving national and international flights, and here is a list of the Tunisia's Airports: Tunis Carthage Intl Airport near Tunis (North Tunisia) - [3] Habib Bourguiba Skanes Monastir near Monastir (Central East Tunisia) - Sfax Thyna Airport near Sfax (Central East Tunisia) - Tozeur Nefta Intl Airport near Tozeur (South West Tunisia) - Gafsa Airport near Gafsa (South West Tunisia) - Tabarka November 7th 1987 near Tabarka (North West Tunisia) - Djerba International Airport in Djerba Island (South East Tunisia) - [4]
BY BOAT:
Ferry services link Tunis to Malta, Trapani and Palermo (Sicily, Italy), Naples (Italy), Genoa (Italy) and Marseille (France). Travelling boats generally leave from La Goulette port (near Tunis). Other commercial ports are also available (Rades, Gabes, Sousse, Sfax, Zarzis...)
GET AROUND
BY PLANE:
SevenAir is the domestic airline branched off of TunisAir. You can fly between Tunis and Tozeur, Djerba and Gabes, as well as flights to Malta and Bizerte. French-only website, booking still not online only through agencies SevenAir
BY CAR:
Tunisian highways resembles US Interstate or the Highways of Europe with a dual carriageway : A-1 runs from Tunis south heading to Sfax (The section from Sousse to Sfax has recenly been opened June 2008), A-2 runs from Tunis north heading to Bizerte, and A-3 runs from Tunis West heading to Oued Zarga. Tunisian highways speed limit is 110 km/h. It is possible to maintain that speed on that road very easily. The routes shown on some maps have a planned extension to Gabes then Ras Jedir (Libya Frontiers) in the South as of 2011-2014 and to Ghardimaou (Algerian Frontiers) in the West, but several years later. The remaining Highways have single carriageways, with traffic round-abouts at major intersections, which follow the European model (those in the roundabout have the right of way). Consequently, on roads other than the A-1,2,3 it can be difficult to maintain an average speed of more than 75 km/h most of the time as the speed limit is 90 Km/h. Almost all road signs are in both Arabic and French.
Driving in Tunis is very different than in the rest of the country, with traffic signals being widely ignored, and lane markings likewise treated as theoretical only. To see the Medina of Tunis, it would be best to park some distance from the Medina, and take the light rail (called TGM) in from Marsa/Carthage, the green tramway (called Metro) downtown, or perhaps a taxi in from the nearer outskirts.
Rental Cars are fairly easy to find, but somewhat expensive, at 100 dinars or so a day, for a medium sized car such as a four door Renault Clio.
Tunisian highways resembles US Interstate or the Highways of Europe with a dual carriageway : A-1 runs from Tunis south heading to Sfax (The section from Sousse to Sfax has recenly been opened June 2008), A-2 runs from Tunis north heading to Bizerte, and A-3 runs from Tunis West heading to Oued Zarga. Tunisian highways speed limit is 110 km/h. It is possible to maintain that speed on that road very easily. The routes shown on some maps have a planned extension to Gabes then Ras Jedir (Libya Frontiers) in the South as of 2011-2014 and to Ghardimaou (Algerian Frontiers) in the West, but several years later. The remaining Highways have single carriageways, with traffic round-abouts at major intersections, which follow the European model (those in the roundabout have the right of way). Consequently, on roads other than the A-1,2,3 it can be difficult to maintain an average speed of more than 75 km/h most of the time as the speed limit is 90 Km/h. Almost all road signs are in both Arabic and French.
Driving in Tunis is very different than in the rest of the country, with traffic signals being widely ignored, and lane markings likewise treated as theoretical only. To see the Medina of Tunis, it would be best to park some distance from the Medina, and take the light rail (called TGM) in from Marsa/Carthage, the green tramway (called Metro) downtown, or perhaps a taxi in from the nearer outskirts.
Rental Cars are fairly easy to find, but somewhat expensive, at 100 dinars or so a day, for a medium sized car such as a four door Renault Clio.
BY TAXI:
Private taxis are reasonably priced even for long-distance travel, just be sure to agree on the fare before you set off. Sample fares for a four-seater are €40 for Tunis-Hammamet or €50 for Monastir-Hammamet [6].
BY TRAIN:
The national train company SNCFT[7] runs modern and comfortable trains from Tunis south to Sousse, Sfax and Monastir. There are three classes of service, namely Grand confort (deluxe 1st), 1st and 2nd, and all are quite adequate. Example fares from Tunis to Sousse are 12/10/6 dinars (6/5/3 Euros) in Grand/1st/2nd class. Although tickets are issued with wagon/seat numbers marked on it, that is largely ignored by locals. So if you are travelling with more people, try to get onboard quickly to find adjacent seats.
A good thing to do is to buy a carte bleue (blue card). It costs around 20 dinars for a week and you can travel all around the country using the banlieue (short distance train) and grande ligne (long distance). For the long distance you will have to make a reservation and pay a small fee (1,50 dinars or so). These passes can also be bought to cover 10 or 14 days. There are rarely queues at the booking office and a little bit of French goes a long way. Trains go also to Tozeur and Gabes in the south where it is easy to access the Sahara and Ksour regions respectively. In some stations where the frequency of trains is small (e.g. Tozeur), the ticket booth will remain closed for most of the day and reopen around the time of the departure of the next train.
A light railway (Called TGM) also connects Tunis northward to Carthage and Marsa. Take this light railway system to Sidi Bou Said as well. One-way light railway tickets will cost approximately 675 millimes (1 Dinar = 1,000 millimes).
Louages (shared taxis) are ubiquitous in Tunisia
Louages (shared taxis) are ubiquitous in Tunisia
BY LOUAGE:
Locals use louage or long-haul shared taxis where there is no train or bus. There are no timetables, but they wait in the louage station (which is generally near a train station if your destination is accessible by train) until 8 people turn up. They are nearly as cheap as the walk up train fares and operate with fixed prices so you won't get scalped. eg Douz to Gabes (120km) for 7 dinars. Be aware that while louages are very cheap, they can also be stifling hot during the summer months and tourists may be hassled. Furthermore, louages have the reputation to drive at a fast pace, and to be less safe than other transportation, so be aware of that. Louage departures are very frequent, a louage departs as soon as the seats are filled. All Louage cars are of white color, with a side stripe showing the coverage area. Louages between major cities are recognizable by their red stripe, louages within region are recognizable by their blue stripe and Louages serving rural areas are recognizable by their Yellow strips (the Rural Louage can be Yellow with blue stripes, or a van fully painted in brown color).
BY BUS:
Long distance bus (called car)[8] is also a safe and economic way to travel between major cities such as Tunis, Nabeul, Hammamet, etc. You will generally find a station in each major city offering many departures per day (every 30 minutes between Tunis and Hammamet). Some of the bus locally called "car comfort" offer higher standards (tv, air conditioner) at cheap prices.
Long distance bus (called car)[8] is also a safe and economic way to travel between major cities such as Tunis, Nabeul, Hammamet, etc. You will generally find a station in each major city offering many departures per day (every 30 minutes between Tunis and Hammamet). Some of the bus locally called "car comfort" offer higher standards (tv, air conditioner) at cheap prices.
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