Catching up

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I closed out the day yesterday too tired to post anything, and also unable to put together anything remotely true and digestible about the Roman and Punic ruins I saw. I went to Bulla Reglia, then on to Chemtou, and then Dougga, and it was just a little too much. Plus, this part of the globe has been inhabited by humans for so long, that making sense of the history is beyond me. What we refer to now as Bulla Regia was founded by the Numids, probably around the 4th century BCE. At some point the Carthaginians controlled at least part of this area, and then after the second Punic war, the Romans controlled it, initially via Massinissa, a descendant of the Berber sovereigns, and sometimes as a client state. Dougga, which is a massive 27 hectare site, was also founded by the Numids, and controlled by the same Massinissa. Later it was at least partially abandoned due to the Vandal invasion. Even that much is an oversimplification, and leaves off those peoples who came before and after.

The ruins are awe inspiring, and yet I confess to finding delight in everyday scenes. I saw a shepherd moving his flock through Dougga and thought that perhaps for those who live here, the ruins are just the everyday background to their lives.

Today I had a long drive, so as soon as I had eaten breakfast I took off. Between me and Google maps I ended up threading my way through what could only have been the town’s weekly market day. I found myself trapped in a very slowly moving parade of cars, with pedestrians, trucks, and motorcycles moving in and out. I wish I could say that I relaxed and just enjoyed the experience, but to be honest, I was envisioning me hurting a child or old person, and while it surely must happen, I dearly did not want it to happen with the car I was driving. So I sat right on the bumper of the vehicle in front of me, and white knuckled my way through first the live animals, then vegetables and fruit, linens, housewares, and then a sort of free for all of mixed tables and booths. It seemed endless, but of course it probably only took about 10 minutes.

I have found that with some regularity I need to seek out gas (fuel here) and an ATM, a word that is not known here. (I haven’t figured out what word to use, so now I just look for a bank). So while I was looking for a bank that seemed likely to have an ATM, Google maps took me on an exciting journey down a single lane street with traffic going both ways. Once again, I got right behind the car in front of me, and just stuck to them like glue until at last we emerged onto a wider street, and a bank, and even a parking spot in the shade. It was while I was getting cash that this parade of young men came through, Club Africaan fans whose soccer team had a game. Soccer, or futbol, is big here, with big rivalries that I keep hearing about.

I stopped for lunch in a small town where by first establishing that I wanted bread with things, we used a point and respond system to build me a sandwich. I continued south, and the landscape changed fairly quickly. I don’t know exactly how hot it was this afternoon, but when I checked about 5:30, it was 96.

the drive through the market
There are a lot of date farms in this area
Home for the night

The gift of friendship

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I stopped in a small town for something to eat, leaving my car in a shady spot. Ordering lunch meant a little use of Google translate to establish that I wanted ‘bread with things’ and then the man helping me just pointed to things and I nodded or shook my head. It ended up being a fried egg, some kind of canned fish, spicy sauce, cheese and greens on a half baguette. I stopped of for some water and other snacks at what we would call a bodega, maybe 8 x 10 feet in size. When I walked back to the car I saw a woman in a doorway who seemed to have noticed me, but who disappeared as I came closer. I sat in my car for a moment collecting myself and I saw her coming to my passenger window. She held out her hands with smiles, and words I didn’t know, and handed me these.

I am a farmer’s daughter

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Whattsapp is great for keeping in touch wherever in the world you are, and I’ve been sharing some of the farmland I’ve been traveling through the last few days with my siblings. I’m so very fortunate to share life with four others who I have known since I can remember, and with whom I have so many core memories. A view of a man on a tractor in what can best be described as a lab coat reminded me of some forgotten memory of pa wearing one of those to milk the cows when we were quite young. The haying also reminds me of teen years when we were united in our shared complaints, and yet also in the satisfaction of completing hard things. You may tire of these pictures of fields. Rest assured you are only seeing a few of many. Also I will be headed south toward arid and desert soon.

I tried to reach several points of interest using Google maps, but multiple times the blacktop petered out, and then the gravel turned to deep ruts, and I turned around in tight quarters to attempt the next thing. I don’t think there’s any roadside assistance available here. But every road is a scenic byway littered with wild flowers, storks, donkeys, sheep and goats, and so much more, so even the failures were fun.

I started out this morning by stopping to top up my tank, despite it being 3/4 full. So far there have been enough fuel stations that I am not very worried, but my guess is that if I had to resort to these roadside stands, the engine may object. It’s fascinating to see these on the edges of towns, despite there being a fuel station. I assume there must be either a type of fuel consideration, or perhaps it is much cheaper. Some have gravity pumps, and some just containers of various shades of yellow and brown fluid.

car picnic

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Warm crusty bread and soft cheese for lunch. I stopped at a grocery for car snacks, and saw a boulangerie nearby with a line. I stopped in after, seeing the line was down to just a few. Alas, the bread cupboard was bare, but somehow they made me understand that more was coming soon. I held out my hand with a variety of coins to a woman waiting next to me and she selected what I needed to pay. Then we waited for about 5 minutes til a large basket of baguettes was carried in, and the woman working handed me one, still warm from the oven. I drove on until I found a shady spot to pull over, and there I had my lunch.

Monday meander

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On my final walk round the center of Bizerte last evening, I paused to watch some kind of tea being made that everyone seemed to be holding. It has roasted nuts (almonds, filberts and a couple of other options), hot water and a mystery ingredient, with a sprig of mint stuck on top, served in a very small paper cup.

Earlier in the day, I walked to the sea and ran into this camel hobbled in the grass. She seemed to want to discuss something, but I kept my distance.

The two chairs interested me. They seemed to be holding places for someone, but they were on a side street near the Islamic cemetery. So many things I don’t comprehend. French is so far the most common spoken language, although I’m sure that my view is slanted by interacting with people who are working in tourism or hospitality, or are shop keepers. My French vocabulary is infinitesimal, but we always start by exchanging ‘bonjour’. From there it goes quickly downhill. When necessary, Google translate steps into the gap.

Today I ended up in Tabarka around lunchtime. I ended up in a small open air place, squished into a corner next to a table of 4 teen girls. They got the giggles watching me and the waiter decide what I would have, with my lack of French and his smattering of English. We agreed on scallops, which come with spaghetti, and I waited to see what would come. Something got lost between me and the kitchen, and I got chicken, but I said nothing and ate as the girls seemed to be discussing something about me, albeit very politely. When they left to go back to school, one of the girls played a trick on another, and the waiter and a woman working there all laughed with me and while I don’t know the words said, we understood each other.

I am finding it hard to locate a restaurant sometimes, because the places labeled cafe or coffee shop are clearly mens’ domain, where they sit with their espresso and cigarettes, and watch everyone going by. I would invade their manly bastions, but I’ve never seen any of them eating any food. So I look for some sign of women, or food, or both.

It was a lovely meander west today. The plan looked like this.

I stopped a lot to take photos. I had plenty of time, no one else to be bothered, and the scenery was stunning.

Back to history class tomorrow.

The launch

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I drove from Tunis to Bizerte yesterday, initially planning a straight shot up the highway. I was quite nervous about driving in general, and in particular out of the city, having seen some of the narrow streets. The streets are not laid out in a grid fashion, but instead go hither and yon, which was fine when I was on foot. However, the car rental place was on the north end of the city, very near an entrance to the highway. Everyone seems to use French here (so far), but the staff at the rental company also spoke at least some English. The contract is in French and Arabic, and I just signed where indicated, good lawyer that I am, ha ha. The car is brand new, and easy to drive. It’s a five speed, whereas my car has six gears.

In about 20 minutes, my nerves had settled, I had managed to escape the urban edges, and I pulled over to change my plans. I ended up meandering along secondary roads and wound up with my first views of the Mediterranean. What a delight to crawl along sometimes smooth, sometimes dirt, roads, and spectate.

On arrival in Bizerte, Google translate helped me and a parking lot attendant communicate, along with expressive hand signals, and I set off with my bags for the hotel. I am still leery of driving in town, so we’ll see if I drive at all today. I’m awaiting word from my hotel host as to whether I can have this room again tonight. If not, I will head up the coast a bit further.

I spent a good amount of yesterday after arrival here wandering the area around my hotel, which in this place is near the port. This city has the same kind of vibe as all seaside towns where visitors congregate.

City views

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From the museum I intended to take the metro, which is a rundown, very local system with limited lines. When I arrived, I asked a woman about tickets and after trying to help me find the vendor, she suggested I take the train instead. The two lines ran next to each other, and the train line is clearly very new, still under construction. I had not read anything about its existence. So I found the platform and joined a group of women waiting in silence. Only as the train arrived did I remember to ask about tickets, and a few women indicated I should just ride, using hand gestures and shrugs. They rightly guessed that I would not be asked for a ticket on disembarking at the main station, as it turned out. From there I wandered markets and side streets, generally working toward my hotel.

I took a walk north my last evening in Tunis, into the neighborhood known as Bab Souika, to get away from the heavily touristed medina and to see what I could see. Also it was an attempt to keep myself awake to a reasonable hour.

What I could not take pictures of were the evening scenes as the work day ended, and neighbors seemed to congregate outdoors – groups of men sitting at tables drinking espressos, smoking and talking as they watched the world go by, children playing soccer or just running and shouting, and pairs or small groups of women talking. I saw an ATM and walked up to it. Two women sitting at a table beside it watched as I navigated how to use it. I was either an object of curiosity or amusement, and I just smiled at them. Women rarely seem to walk alone here, young men often walk arm in arm, and even something like drawing money from an ATM seems to be a group activity for men and women. So I was odd in several ways. While I was also bare headed and they were not, I doubt that was a cause of interest. I’ve only been in a very small area so far, but my observations are that there is a wide variety of women’s dress, from fully veiled with only the eyes showing, even the hands gloved, to bare midriffs, and everything between.

Jet lag and being offline

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The first day was all about getting my feet on the ground and trying to stay awake. The latter attempt was unsuccessful but short. I spent a few hours wandering in the old city near the medina. I’m staying in a dar, which is an older home built with an inner courtyard open to the sky, that lets in light and air without exposure to the city outside its walls.

The medina area was first established around 700 AD but the known human history goes back much further. More on that to come, I’m sure.

More recently (ha!), under the Almohad empire (a Berber Muslim dynasty in the 12th and 13th centuries), Tunis became the capital of  Ifriqiya (modern day Tunisia, western Libya, and eastern Algeria), and under the Hafsid period (a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Berber descent that ruled Ifriqiyq from 1229 to 1574) it developed into a religious, intellectual and economic center. While it does have major east/west and north/south axes, the bulk of the medina and surrounding neighborhood is a maze of streets, some too small for cars, with an occasional sort of square (only not square shaped). There are dead ends, streets where the map says there are none, and buildings that suddenly dead end a street despite the map saying it goes through.

Jet lag and a little work had me up early, and the morning sky was my reward. Later I had breakfast at the dar before heading out.

This morning I visited the Bardo Museum. I know pictures of museum displays are usually boring and don’t begin to show the context. I find it amazing to see pottery, art, mosaics made of tile and more from more than 2000 years ago. More on all this later too.

I’m finding that (so far), internet is not readily available, and when it is, it can be intermittent. Hence this long post. I am heading out of the capital city tomorrow, so my expectations are low for connectivity, high for amazing scenery and new discoveries. I quake at the thought of tackling driving out of the city in my rental car, finding gas, and getting stuck in some narrow street. I opted for extra insurance! I’ve also downloaded Maps me so I have offline access, since that has been an issue just walking around Tunis. I open my phone to check for a location, or to find out what I’m seeing, and nope. Going a little old school this trip, I guess.

Sic infit

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So it begins. First a flight to Istanbul, where I’ll pause overnight and then on to Tunis, Tunisia. I hope you can join me here.

Something I saw made me look up a Latin phrase, which brought me to this next one.

Memento mori

And therefore I must live while I can. It’s a big world, Matilda.

Loose ends

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It’s a wrap- I’m back in the real world, at least as I know it. The jet lag will remind me for a few days. My goal today is to stay up until at least 8 pm.

Except for the time it takes to get there and back, I found Vietnam easy for travel. That’s not to say it’s always simple, but the courtesy and helpfulness of everyone I interacted with, whether they were going to make any money off me or not, was unflagging. Their civility extends to each other as well. I was in awe of their ability to get along on city streets choked with traffic, their small courtesies before beginning a transaction, and how safe I felt. It’s the kind of place where you can pull your phone out in public and wander around with it, you can show your money to a shopkeeper and they will pick out only what is owed, and when a price is quoted, that is the price (with the exception of taxis).

Things that stood out beyond the every day civility I encountered: the food, coffee in more forms than I knew were possible, floating markets, not-floating markets, rice fields, hidden narrow streets in the cities, the ease of getting a Grab anytime, all come to mind. I’m sure I’m forgetting some things already.

I tried to select some of my favorite photos, although some are favorites more because of the memory they evoke than the shot itself. Thank you for reading along with me.