Visit to Tunisia (8): Sousse
The last day of our trip (Friday) was spent in Sousse. Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf of Hammamet, which is a part of the Mediterranean Sea. It has a population of 217,000.
We started at the Archaeological Museum which houses one of the largest mosaic collections in the world. By now, we have seen a lot of mosaics, especially in Tunis and Monastir, but the quality, colour and subject matter of these particular works make them simply breathtaking.
Next we strolled through the medina. This one is much smaller than the one in Tunis, but it is a UNESCO-listed masterpiece which is gloriously preserved.
Then we had an hour in the Soula Shopping Centre to purchase souvenirs and gifts in an environment which was air-conditioned and presented lots of choice over four floors. Everything was fixed-price and credit cards were accepted which we all preferred to bargaining in the souks.
Lunch was in a restaurant called “Le Lido” which it located by the sea and specialises in seafood and couscous dishes.
Finally, we had an afternoon lecture in the Ribat medieval fortified enclave which was originally constructed in the 8th century and has since been modified and expanded. The talk was given by a local university professor.
In just one hour, he described over 3,000 years of Tunisia’s history covering the periods of occupation by the Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Umayyads, Abbasids, Ottomans and French. He insisted that, in spite of all these conquerors, essentially Tunisians are descendants of the Berbers, the indigenous population before the arrival of the Phoenicians.