Daylight saving ended in Europe last night and we somehow messed up! I got up at what I thought was 7 am for a walk, only to have our breakfast delivered as it was actually 8 am! Thankfully Vikas always brings breakfast early, so while I missed my walk we had time for breakfast and my shower before going down to meet our tour bus.
Our first ever visit to the African continent! Unfortunately our Morocco stops are off due to world events, Today our tour was to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Carthage, then to the hilltop town of Siti Bou Said.
Carthage is spread out over a large area, with many major features. But we focussed on three. Our first stop was the aquaducts and cisterns. The Romans built the aqueducts, bringing water from the Atlas Mountains, stretching for 132 km. The gradient was only 15cm for every 100m - an incredible feat!
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| What did the Romans ever do for us? built the aquaducts.... |
We then visited Byrsa Hill which the Romans modified by chopping the top off to make space for public buildings, mostly gone now. Great views over Tunis. There were also the ruins of Carthaginian houses, used by the labourers working on the Roman buildings.
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| Remains of the workers' buildings |
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| The heads were lopped off the statues when a new ruler came in because the statues were always made in the likeness of the ruler at the time. |
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| Tunis |
Our final Carthage stop was the Roman Baths, a huge area, by the sea and now overlooked by the presidential palace.
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| Plan of the baths, including cold and hot baths, gymnasiums for men and women |
We then drove to the lovely town of Siti Bou Said, where all the houses are white with blue doors and windows. Lots of jasmine and bougainvillea growing too. The Main Street is lined with shops selling to tourists.
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| Lots of shops with hard-selling vendors |
We stopped at a cafe for Turkish coffee and mint tea - both very sweet! I bought a fridge magnet for a friend, a key ring and a pack of spices and olive oil (hopefully allowed back into Australia). Tunis is in drought, which happens regularly. Lots of gum trees, she-oaks, jacarandas and Norfolk pines around - obviously well suited to the climate!
We got back to the ship at about 1:30 and went up to The Marquee for lunch. Ian had a hot dog and I had a calzone. After a rest we went to Bingo (got 3 points in a side game) and Trivia (no good). We sat on the balcony for a while as we sailed away and I got some washing done
We went to Atlantide for dinner. We both had foie gras for entree then Ian had lobster and I had Greenland cod. I had sugar-free profiteroles for dessert (not that nice). We then had a quiet night in - looking forward to a sea day tomorrow!
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