Tunisian Tourism

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Tunisian Tourism

Post by Hafiz »

Tunisian Tourism.

It’s a lot more complex that this but the new aspects of the Tourism industry in Tunisia are a government that manages in an assertive and focused way based on their needs rather than just opening the shop door and waiting. The Tunisians seem to know what they have and what they want – others are more passive. They want jobs and a better mix of mass/cheap tourism and high value added tourism.

1. Coast tourism is doing well. Overall tourism is up 50% over last year.

2. Off the coast route there are many fewer tourists that before 2011.

3. In off the track locations there are sites of interests to Jews and these have been developed well including supporting religious festivals, attract large numbers, and spread the money.

4. In the south there are now few tourists so the government is focusing on attracting many more. The landscape is spectacular and with potential:

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Chenni.

5. Some tourists, including high spend tourists, are interested in traditional villages and traditional architecture and this is being promoted in Tunisia but bulldozed in Egypt.

This is a Berber grain store:

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Their design stimulated the set designer in Star Wars

The Financial times of London loves the trip although conditions are basic but not a bother to them. The words he uses are ‘inspired and reassured’ and he has not one bad word to say. What he has experienced is boutique tourism for the informed and inquiring, tens of thousands of whom, each earning Stg300.000 will read his well written article.

My points. The Financial times hates Egypt. No serious newspaper/magazine with an upper middle class readership has done much, or not much positive, on Egypt. Third what is generally written is targeted at mass cheap tourism or conventional organized groups with double incontinence and a desire to stay on the straight and narrow – 3 stops. There is no activity in the 70,000 staff Ministry of Tourism to attract very small groups of very well off people with an inquiring mind let alone to stimulate small scale specialist tour companies run by young informed people who can cook.

Its like all centrally planned military economies – only big things for big people. In my view using one sledgehammer instead of 1.000 tweezers.

Conde Nast also ranks Tunisia https://www.cntraveler.com/story/travel ... s-we-trust. Bloomberg does also but ignores Egypt. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features ... go-in-2018. The Independent thinks its good but not Egypt. https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/ne ... 47736.html

Related points. Tunisia has done well with its Greek and Roman ruins - particularly Carthage. Egypt has done very poorly and the sites in Alex are a mess. The Tunisian sites are well and attractively designed/surrounded and signs and descriptions are good.

The central museum in Tunis is comprehensive across the span of history and adopts a non-Egyptian approach. It displays only the best or most interesting rather than dumping a truck load into display cases. Its building is beautiful and elegant.

The food is good to very good with strong French influence and good and reasonably priced wine is widely available.

There are few/no touts and general manners deplore harassment.

If you stay well away from the big beach tourist bunkers you will have a much better time.

Accommodation, bar and restaurant prices are generally higher but there is a big supply in the bigger cities of well run 3 ½ to 4 star venues that whilst not cheap are good value, small-medium in size and family run. There are an increasing number of the old palaces/grand houses run as hotels and not expensive - more of this in Tunis at this stage. Marsa, Sidi Bou Said and Carthage on the city outskirts looks almost like a Greek Island village and is more expensive but very low rise and on the sea.

Towns are generally much cleaner than Egypt and in the larger towns all 19th century buildings have been preserved. Public gardens and trees in streets are dramatically different, and better, than Egypt.

Tunisia survives without 19 international airports.

Tunisia is more interested in value added or high value tourism rather than hordes of $US50 per day.

Supplementary Points.

Mad Tunisians, who are poorer than Egypt, have no taste and they save old feminine buildings that real military men hate, get rid of manly traffic jams and install fountains in squares that are just a waste of water. Squares are also a danger – people might congregate and demonstrate and you need well established sniper posts in all the buildings so the Brotherhood, after they have been killed, can be blamed for everything.

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They like a bit of uniformity and dislike random gross advertising – silly people.

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Their archaeological sites are surrounded with simple terracing, no touts and no dust, rocks and vendor booths – what wasted opportunities. Few opportunities for people to stumble

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Their museums are elegant and not composed of 5 hectare rooms and 100 foot ceilings so they miss the value of brute force and intimidating size. This is a superb room with only the best on display rather than the Supreme Antiques that just randomly dump a truck load of everything (they are 'promising' 5-7,000 Tut items in the new Gem).

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Along with Libya and Algeria they have discovered amazing Roman and Greek objects – whilst Egypt has nearly nothing to show for that 600 years – aren’t Egypt lucky to have destroyed all that perverted art or to have overwhelmed central Alex with beautiful apartment blocks that don’t fall over after 50 years.(Egypt had the Greeks and Romans for 600 years - where are all the mosaics - the other countries in north Africa are full of them)

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They even have their museums on the Internet whereas none of Egypt’s museums are which helps Egypt’s national security. http://www.bardomuseum.tn/index.php?opt ... 74&lang=en. Like all sensible national museums, but not Egypt, they cover the full history of their country in one place but no Egyptian needs to know their full history – particularly the last 70 years.

Of course Tunisia has terrorism problems but their security arrangements have a bit more style than fat ambling police or tearing vehicles.

It seems simple, cheap, means police travel in ones which triples their efficiency and means they can move at 30 mph and into areas a motor bike or hugely expensive quad bike couldn’t go. Its police on on a horse on a Tunisian beach. Note the smart and western uniform, the rifle/machine gun in his right hand, polished boots, the cop is not obese and most importantly the horse is very well bred, well looked after and well equipped. Note the end of the tail is clipped and I think the mane manicured back.

A smart police force would neutralize the effect of the intrusion by having some horses that could be patted by kids or adults. If nothing it looks spectacular and builds confidence in security. Someone has a brain in Tunisia and likes and looks after animals. Of course riding a horse on sand requires skill and is much more effeminate than a huge 4 wheel $US25,000 and super masculine, and very loud, quad bike of the Egyptian police.

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Re: Tunisian Tourism

Post by Major Thom »

Tunisia I imagine have recognised that their main income is from high spending tourists and have preserved the historic buildings accordingly and also promoted the things you have mentioned in your report Hafiz. Egypt after all this time has failed to recognise this and keep on failing to. But there again if you keep on putting money into useless air brained things what can you expect.
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Re: Tunisian Tourism

Post by John Landon »

I was there in 1973 but it was in effect just a beach holiday in Sousse, but I did enjoy our night out in the desert with the Bedouin.
a very illuminating evening for one so young... 8)

Alison and I returned there in February this year, and had a wonderful time, we travelled about as much as we could during our week long stay and I have to say it was a really good holiday. :up
We stayed at the SENTIDO Phenicia, Hammamet. no one got ill there or died either... 8)

We visited many places of historic interest, and travelled south for a couple of days. That old star wars film set in the Southern desert is certainly well past its best,
perhaps they shoudl look at renovating it a bit, as it seems no one has bothered with it since the set was last used back in about 1977.

Incidently, It was only the Brits that stopped visiting Tunisia due to a paranoid press and government. The French and the Germans still holidayed there after the events at Sousse.
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Re: Tunisian Tourism

Post by HEPZIBAH »

I too have visited Tunisia and enjoyed it very much. It is a country that has much to offer in terms of relaxation or activity, history and archaeology, and general culture, although much is overlooked in favour of beach and pool holidays for those who just want to bake in the sun.

My first visit was also to Sousse in about 2000 or 2001 (I think). A friend in Coventry and I had amazingly managed to get the same week off work so we decided to go to a travel agent, give them our exact dates and rough (low) budget and basically asked where could we go. Sousse, Tunisia came up, flights were conveniently from Birmingham, and it all fitted our needs as we saw them at the time, so we grabbed it. The hotel was well located, immaculate, and served a good selection of hot and cold foods. It didn't take us long to remember that, much as the dream was to relax by the pool or swim in the sea, in truth we were not beach babes and easily got bored of staying around the hotel. Once we left the hotel and started exploring the town and souk, and walking more off the tourist route, we were happy. We walked into Port El Kantoui which I think at the time was fairly new and the place to be, and got the noddy train back. We took the train into Monastir one day and explored there too. In Sousse, the Casino had recently opened and there were inducement offers to get people in. We went one night to add to our experiences, not having a clue what to do. We failed that life experiment, but we did enjoy our free cocktails. We came away from Sousse believing that Tunisia had so much more to offer than its beaches and that we'd like to see more of the country one day.

A few year year later, we booked a tour with Explore. It was entitled something along the lines of 'Roman Tunisia' and was to start and end in Tunis looking at some of the Roman sites along the way. It covered an area from Tunis down and across to the coast, then further down and inland to the desert, and then across to the mountains and border with Algeria and back up to Tunis. Our accommodation ranged from 5* to troglodyte caves, each place offering something unique and adding to our memories. Among the towns we visited I can remember:
Tunis - a city of ancient and modern having quite a cosmopolitan feel in part and a step back in time in others.
Carthage and Bizert - UNESCO site and location of the Phoenician Port.
Sidi Bou Said - a beautiful blue and white painted town over looking the Mediterranean sea. Popular with artists.
Kairouan - famous for its mosque, (from memory) the fifth most important mosque in Islam.
Matmata - Trogladyte area and location for some of the Star Wars filming.
Tozeur - famous for its bricks which tend to be thinner than normal bricks and used for practical and decorative purpose.
El Kef - close to the border with Algeria, this was an odd place and somehow the Tunisians were different to all the others we'd encountered on our journey. Some seemed a little closed and hostile. I would like to go back just to see if I feel the same way as I did then.
El Jem - home of one of the largest, and intact, Roman amphitheatres.

The historic sites, be they small Roman drinking fountains or the great theatre of El Jem seemed to almost not be that important. Some you had to pay to enter, and some you had to buy a photo permit for, but it all seemed pretty low key. Obviously places such as the Bardo Museum were bright, clean, well staffed and informative, but other places it was almost as though no one cared if you were there or not.

To anyone looking for an alternative holiday destination to Egypt, I would certainly recommend Tunisia as being a place of diverse scenery, with plenty of sites of interest - although it's probably best to research them first.
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Re: Tunisian Tourism

Post by John Landon »

What a coincidence. I have just received a text and been asked told to book a week off in February, as the good lady wife has just booked us another holiday in the same hotel. :up

They were pleased to see us last year when we arrived, as we were the first Brits back since the ban had been lifted.. 8)
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Re: Tunisian Tourism

Post by A-Four »

John Landon wrote:What a coincidence. I have just received a text and been asked told to book a week off in February, as the good lady wife has just booked us another holiday in the same hotel. :up

They were pleased to see us last year when we arrived, as we were the first Brits back since the ban had been lifted.. 8)
Pleased to hear the good news John.

Years and years ago I was at Sousses, there is a fantastic place similar to Fishbourne Palace which is near Chichester., though of a much higher quality. As you may know a wealthy Roman household had a capital T style table, the floors here even add in to the floor design the scraps placed on the floor for the family dogs. Look carefully you will see representations of the 10 (yes 10 ) monthly periods of the year.

There is also a fantastic Christian catacombs open to the public probably second best only to Alex Egypt. Check modern day guide book.
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Re: Tunisian Tourism

Post by HEPZIBAH »

A-Four wrote:
John Landon wrote:What a coincidence. I have just received a text and been asked told to book a week off in February, as the good lady wife has just booked us another holiday in the same hotel. :up

They were pleased to see us last year when we arrived, as we were the first Brits back since the ban had been lifted.. 8)
Pleased to hear the good news John.

Years and years ago I was at Sousses, there is a fantastic place similar to Fishbourne Palace which is near Chichester., though of a much higher quality. As you may know a wealthy Roman household had a capital T style table, the floors here even add in to the floor design the scraps placed on the floor for the family dogs. Look carefully you will see representations of the 10 (yes 10 ) monthly periods of the year.

There is also a fantastic Christian catacombs open to the public probably second best only to Alex Egypt. Check modern day guide book.
A-Four, the place in Sousse that you consider has similarities to Fishbourne Palace in the UK, would it be the Archaeological Museum? Or is this another place entirely? More information would be appreciated.
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Re: Tunisian Tourism

Post by A-Four »

Yes Hepzibah, it was certainly many years ago , being that we came down from Tunis and I remember the curator of the area was very well informed and most helpful to us, therefore I feel it must have been within the Archaeological Museum.

I think what shocked me though was although that town was quite provincial, there was then a huge casino building in the middle of nowhere. Further more I remember it being Ramadan and seeing bars where locals drank beer, though a sort of curtain was drawn the whole length so all you could see we're the lower limbs of such people drinking,.......quite bazaar really.

The catacombs I mentioned near Sousse are certainly 2nd Century. To see earlier Christian 'footprints' in North Africa you would have to seek information at Elephantine Island, Asswan. I know many people have been to the Oasis in the Western Desert of Egypt, but believe me, these Christian catacombs and tombs are no earlier than 2nd and 3rd Century.

Strange it may sound there is a whole deserted Roman city, evacuated in the 4th Century, North of Dush, in the Western Desert, Egypt, that has still to be excavated,........even now, you can walk along this area and pick up Roman coins, sounds crazy,.....but true.
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Re: Tunisian Tourism

Post by John Landon »

I have visited many catacombs, in Rome, and Malta. Fascinating stuff, especially the ones in Malta with the huge 3 dimensional spiral carved out into the ceiling...

I like being underground and visit caves and old mines, of which there is an abundance here in North Wales.

What is it with humans and tunnelling.. ? understandable when one is procuring minerals, but to live in or bury people in ? weird.. :tk


I am convinced there is a tunnel under the Nile in Luxor that has been lost to time, possibly in the Karnak temple area... :up
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Re: Tunisian Tourism

Post by Winged Isis »

Have you done the ones under Paris?
Carpe diem! :le:
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Re: Tunisian Tourism

Post by John Landon »

No I have not, i didnt even know that had any catacombs under there, though I guess it should come as no surprise that they do have them.

I have never been to France, other than to swap planes at Charles de Gaulle Airport. Ironic really as my real Surname is France.

I did however stand under a mini Eiffel Tower in Yasmine Hammamet..

so may places to visit, so little time.. Maybe one day, ? though in all honesty its not in my top 10 places to visit before I shed this mortal coil... :cg
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Re: Tunisian Tourism

Post by Who2 »

There is a tunnel under The Nile not discussed at all these days, due to two German divers entering but
not exiting years back.... 8)
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Re: Tunisian Tourism

Post by John Landon »

I noticed something at Karnak many years ago, and thought to myself that there had to be a tunnel into the Nile from there...
Is it close to Karnak ? :tk

It would of course make perfect sense to tunnel under the Nile, maybe even more than one tunnel, I am sure they were more than capable of doing that, and keeping the tunnels dry.. :up


Edit: Cut the crap, I think the Sacred lake at Karnak was infact a mustering point / temporary storage area and entrance to a tunnel across the Nile.
What lead me to think this ?
The fish that live in the Sacred Lake are river fish, and could not survive in standing water like a lake has. Therefore there has to be a feed from the Nile to the Sacred Lake..
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Re: Tunisian Tourism

Post by Who2 »

The tunnels entrance can be observed between the (closed Metropolitan Cafe and closed Bowling Alley)
If my memory serves me correctly...
Ps: I never knew there were fish in Karnaks pool.... 8)
Pss: Back in the naughty's we had a proposal to aerate the pool with a
high pressure water wall that motion graphics were projected upon.
My mate, Dion from Pyramid Logic Lighting was already illuminating up the desert for Saudi Government parties.
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Re: Tunisian Tourism

Post by Horus »

The fish that live in the Sacred Lake are river fish, and could not survive in standing water like a lake has. Therefore there has to be a feed from the Nile to the Sacred Lake..
Why is it that river fish cannot live in a lake or any other water source that contains fresh water and open to sunlight?
What species of fish is it that live in the lake?
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Re: Tunisian Tourism

Post by carrie »

I thought that was part of the dock Who, where the ancients moored their boats to cross the Nile.
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Re: Tunisian Tourism

Post by John Landon »

carrie wrote:I thought that was part of the dock Who, where the ancients moored their boats to cross the Nile.
Yes, that was the other I considered, but I thought it was just a water gate to the temple..
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Re: Tunisian Tourism

Post by John Landon »

Horus wrote:
The fish that live in the Sacred Lake are river fish, and could not survive in standing water like a lake has. Therefore there has to be a feed from the Nile to the Sacred Lake..
Why is it that river fish cannot live in a lake or any other water source that contains fresh water and open to sunlight?
What species of fish is it that live in the lake?
The fish I saw in the lake are the same as those you see nesting in the shallows of the Nile after the floods..

Most river fish require the higher oxygen content that is inherent in flowing water.
While they may be able to tolerate standing water in a pond for a short time, it is not conducive with their breeding and feeding requirements, so they will die off sooner or later in a confined lake.

My theory is that something connects the sacred lake to the Nile and these fish have found their way in there. If it was a body of standing water it would go stagnant very quickly. Especially in Egypt...
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Re: Tunisian Tourism

Post by Horus »

Roach, Bream, Carp, Perch, Pike to name but a few all live in rivers and lakes and all those species breed and feed with no problem at all, so your species theory doesn't hold water (excuse the pun) and neither does your requirement for a tunnel to fill the sacred lake. If you have ever visited Karnak and I'm sure you have, then it cannot have escaped your notice that you are in fact crossing over the old harbour to get into the temple which is in fact lower than the surrounding land. Water from the river was easily channelled into the lake so no need for any tunnel.

Harbour
15159

Water conduit
15158

Nowadays the water level will rise and fall with the current ground water level as can be seen by visiting it at different times throughout the year. There are places within Karnak where this ground water level can be clearly seen, neither is the lake a body of standing water to go stagnant. Due to the heat, constant surface evaporation is taking place which is immediately being replaced by ground water so it will not stagnate, cure the groundwater problem and the lake would dry out.

Ground water at Karnak
1516015161

EDIT:
I should add that as this evaporation caused the lake to become saturated with salts after the High Dam was built a pumping system was added that fills and discharges water in the scared lake from the Nile in order to maintain the fresh water, no doubt the source of any fish you saw.
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Re: Tunisian Tourism

Post by newcastle »

The advantage of being a latter day Druid is that you can hold beliefs, however unlikely, without a shred of evidence and announce them to the world, defying anyone to prove you're wrong.

I'm sure it's strangely comforting......a bit like deeply held religious convictions.
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