I cannot stay in the room and wait for the others to get ready. The weather is splendid and I have to take advantage of the peaceful avenue to stroll under the trees and listen to the birds. The temptation is too great to ignore, and I eventually leave the hotel and go out to the main avenue in Tunis.
I had arrived with a group of journalists an hour ago. For most of the team, it was the first time in this beautiful northern African country nestled between two giant neighbours but blessed with a profound sense of peace and driven by a strong ambition to be ahead of all others.
It was early morning and the airport was quiet. But when we looked at the arrival schedule on the airport screen, we knew it would soon be filled with tourists from various countries coming to enjoy weather, facilities and peace that few others could so thankfully mix.
Tourism in Tunisia is no small matter. The country has invested huge sums of money to offer the best services to increasingly demanding tourists. But Tunisia, where tourism is an industry that covers most of its soil, demands are not perceived as difficulties as in other countries. They are challenges that should be met with a smiling face and a confident readiness. Adaptation and self-assurance are crucial.
That is one thing I really liked in Tunisia. There is in its people a remarkable passion to remain genuinely friendly and to help people, regardless of their looks or origin; there is a strong penchant for enjoying the moment.
As I walk from my high-rise hotel on the tree-lined Avenue Habib Bourguiba, I see faces of men and women moving to their places of work or to their schools. Work is not punishment, they seem to tell the world, and I like that.
Unlike many Arab capitals, Tunisia wakes up early. Maybe because it is not a late sleeper or maybe because as Tunisians love to say "Sbah Rbah (Morning is all benefits)".
I reach Bab Bhar, or the Sea Gate, the huge freestanding arch that was the traditional medinah's eastern gateway until the surrounding walls were demolished by the French. This is where I will be moving from the modern city with its high-rise and glass buildings to the traditional medinah where the bazaars take visitors back in time and traditions. I decide to go back to the hotel and to come back later with my new friends.
Age-old bazaars
Around 10am, the bazaars are already filled with tourists looking for bargains they can proudly show off to their friends. We walk together, or in fact try to, through the crowded and lively streets and the narrow and tortuous alleys, with merchandise on both sides and friendly merchants praising their items and uttering remarks in four to five languages within seconds. They are never pushy or excessively insistent, and rather form an integral part of a culture that long dominated in this wonderful maze.
Bargains are only one heartbeat away and some of us wanted to try the red sheshias, the traditional head caps that older Tunisians proudly put on when the weather calls for better protection.
When we reach the Zitouna (Olive Tree) Mosque, we leave behind us the bustle of the traditional souk to be immersed in a strong spiritual feeling. The second mosque to be built in Tunisia is awe-inspiring and clearly deserves its reputation. The mosque was founded in 732 under the Umayyad dynasty, but the present architectural monument dates back to the Aghlabid dynasty, in the year 864. Its university is one of the oldest in the Muslim world and has provided enlightened and progressive interpretations of Islam to the world. Tunisians have been known for centuries to be moderate, distancing themselves from extremism and fanaticism, and the Zitouna has played a significant role in forging this character in the country, which is apparent in the daily life of the citizens and the visitors.
We later go for food in a typical Tunisian restaurant and my friends' hesitation prompts me to order food for them. As they quietly wonder whether they can digest North African food, the waiter brings us an assortment of salads and the inevitable harissa that we dutifully indulge in. The popular pepper paste is a bit spicy, but the oil with it and the looks on our faces make the task of experimenting this highly appreciated condiment appetiser much easier.
The brik — the fried pastry triangular pocket stuffed with an egg, potato and parsley — that comes afterwards challenges our ability to eat, without making any mess.
But, no matter how great the harissa and the brik and how significant they are in the Tunisian psyche, they are not the real stars of the show. They are the assortment to the amazingly proud and highly palatable couscous, Tunisia's traditional dish associated with happiness and abundance in the local culture.
The green tea with pine nuts was a marvel. Sipped slowly, it helped us both digest our food and relax.
We head back to the hotel and gladly decline to get on the bus waiting for us near the Arch, at the entrance to the souk. We want to walk and take in the delights of a capital that pulses with passion.
In the afternoon, and after spending some time in a have-it-all bookshop on the avenue, the Tunisians' endearment of Habib Bourguiba Avenue, we head to Carthage, the **** north of Tunis.
We take the TGM, the fast train that people use between Tunis and the northern suburbs. Friends tell me its schedule of arrivals and departures is so accurate that people use it to set their watches.
Built on a peninsula jutting into the Gulf of Tunis in 814 BC, Carthage had two splendid harbours connected by a canal. The Phoenician colony city quickly became a superpower, challenging powerful Rome before it was sacked at the end of the Punic Wars in 146 BC and then colonised again in 105 BC by Augustus.
Today, intact elements of the Roman occupation are still standing, while archaeological remains from the Carthaginian, Roman, Byzantine and Vandal civilisations have been found and identified in various subsequent excavations.
The Roman amphitheatre, one of the largest in the world, is used in the summer for the international Carthage Festival, the country's biggest arts event and the real test for any Arab star.
Sidi Bou
A few kilometres away, Sidi Bou Said, or "Sidi Bou" as Tunisians call it, deserves its status as the most cherished place in Tunisia.
The charming blue and white village sitting on the cliffs overlooking the Bay of Tunis and facing the twin peaks of Bou karnine, the mountain protecting the city of Hammam Lif on the other side, is a real tourist trap. The cafés offer a stunning view of the bay and the mint tea is a true delight. Even though there are so many tourists around you, here, you are at peace with yourself and forget the usual hustle and bustle that haunt tourist-filled sites. The village is popular among young and old romantics who see it as a true love refuge. It is also favoured by local and international singers who use its uniquely charming setting as a background for their clips.
For generations, this remarkably clean village with its paved streets, flowering gardens and blue nail-studded doors has been a haven for poets, writers and artists, giving them inspiration and refuge.
Kairouan
The next day, we head to Kairouan, the first Arab capital in North Africa. Just a few kilometres after we leave Tunis, the highway traverses fields of grapes, pine trees and olive trees. Hills and mountains are also green. But, when we approach Kairouan two hours later, the landscape is less green and more flat. The terrain is very familiar for the first Arabs who arrived there, looking somewhat like what they are used to, and therefore easy for them to defend against threats. They establish the city right there, away from the sea with which they are not familiar. We are in 670, and the first Muslim city in North Africa is born.
Kairouan soon develops into a capital of monumental splendour and cultural renown under the Aghlabid dynasty. Its reign lasts until 909 when the Fatimids take over and rule the country from Mahdia on the coast.
Today, the city remains the most important spiritual centre in Tunisia and a daily host to thousands of tourists.
We are fascinated by the Great Mosque and its buttressed walls and three-tiered minaret. It was built in the 7th century at the time when Kairouan was founded, and is considered a model for later North African mosques. The large prayer hall is filled with an impressive assortment of columns and the courtyard can accommodate thousands of worshippers.
North of the mosque, the Aghlabid pools, the large reservoirs, are a credit to the 9th century engineers who designed them to hold water carried around 35 kilometres by aqueducts from hills west to Kairouan. The largest pool is 128 metres in diameter and 10 metres deep. The sight of the most important piece of hydraulic engineering of the Middle Ages is really fascinating.
We then drive to Sousse, the Pearl of the Sahel as it is known in Tunisia, and well beyond.
The city has been renamed at least five times in its 2,800-year history. It was from here that the Aghlabids who ruled Tunisia then launched their successful invasion of Sicily.
The centre is modern and neat, but we prefer to wander in the more traditional face of Sousse with its medieval narrow, twisted streets and kasbah through a portal into a different and congenial dimension and immediately hunt for hidden treasures.
Ribat, the fortified architecture to protect the city that survived the Allied bombings in 1943, was built in the 8th century and its architectural style is broadly inspired by the Byzantine style.
Sousse is a place that calls for leisurely walks in the old souk and on the Bou Jaafar Esplanade, along the sea, followed by long hours of sipping tea, coffee or juice in outdoor cafés.
The car that takes us from Sousse to its peninsular neighbour Monastir 20 kilometres to the south-east shadows the placid blue sea teasing us into a dip. The splendid waters around Monastir have been pulling in crowds for more than 2,000 years. Julius Caesar was among the first to realise the significance of the strategic stronghold and used it as a base.
Even its Ribat, one of the best-kept forts that dotted the North African coastline to serve both as defences against attacks from the sea and as a place for spiritual retreats, is glamorised today as the setting for several movies and a TV series about Jesus of Nazareth. It was built in 796.
Monastir smells of the sea, of which there is plenty. There is also the smell of white jasmine and black olives. In Monastir, what is not beach or buildings is olive groves.
Next to the small yachts, the beautiful Tunisian white and blue — the colours of the city — floukas, caress one another, swaying under the enchanting breeze.
The marina of white buildings and blue woodwork blazing in the bright sunshine is a labyrinth of jasmine-shaded alleys, small shops and tiny restaurants clustered around the dock.
The wrap of joy
Our next stop is Hammamet, another word for memorable beach holidays. The little fishing port city with a charming walled medinah has developed into one of the finest resorts in the Mediterranean and many natives refer to it as Tunisia's Saint Tropez, referring to the famous French holiday destination.
On our last day in Tunis, we have only the morning to revisit parts of the city. We are exhausted, but singularly happy to see a country that has much more to offer to discerning travellers than a fabulous climate and wonderful beaches.
When I first read the tourism office brochure describing Tunisia as a "hospitable land of colours and contrasts, spices and scents that invites you to enjoy its natural beauty, ancient cities, lively festivals and warm friendliness of its people", I thought it was exaggerated propaganda. Today, I can say that it is a blatant understatement.
Eventful past
Tunisia is the smallest nation in North Africa. Its eventful and often dramatic history has been the result of its strategic position. Over the centuries, the country which was once the exclusive home of the Berbers has, at one time or another, been settled by most of the world's great powers including the Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Ottomans and French.
