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Includes four of the most popular package-resorts as well
as Tunisia’s holiest city. Also known as The Sahel, Central Tunisia is a rich
agricultural area with hundreds of thousands of olive trees.
PORT EL KANTAOUI:
A hugely successful purpose-built resort
constructed around a picturesque marina fringed with shops and restaurants. It
opened in 1979 and has been expanding ever since.
Its hotels resemble giant, whitewashed palaces and are set in gardens awash with
bougainvillaea.
Most holiday-makers love the resort because of its familiarity and security.
Critics point to its lack of authenticity.
Port El Kantaoui offers a 27-hole golf course – aimed more at casual players
than golf fanatics.
SOUSSE:
Tunisia’s third largest city, Sousse lies 8km south of Port El Kantaoui and could not be more different
(City
map). It is packed
with atmosphere and hundreds of years of history. Very much a working city, it
has a thriving port and busy fishing harbour which is best viewed early in the
morning when the previous night’s catch is being unloaded from a flotilla of
small boats.
Still emerging as a holiday centre, a string of hotels has been built fronting
the city’s elegant corniche.
Sousse was one of the Phoenicians’ great coastal cities but it fell to Arab
invaders in the seventh century. In AD 790, the foundations of a new city were
laid and several remnants of that time still remain including the Great
Mosque and its Ribat – one of a chain of fortresses which stretched
along the Mediterranean coast. Both are located within Sousse’s bustling medina
where a cluster of souks sell everything from food and clothes to perfume and
jewellery.
The Kasbah Museum houses an impressive collection of third- and
fourth-century mosaics. It also offers commanding views over the city.
MONASTIR:
Like Port El
Kantaoui, Monastir is another largely purpose-built tourist town of pristine
streets and lavish landscaping. It has an attractive marina and an old fishing
port. Most of Monastir’s tourist hotels are situated 5-6km (City
map) west of
the town centre at Skanes close to Monastir-Skanes Airport – Tunisia’s
main international gateway for charter flights.
Monastir's most impressive landmark is the golden-domed
Bourguiba Mosque
– the final resting place of the founder of modern-day Tunisia and its first
president, Habib Bourguiba.
The town’s Ribat supposedly dates from the eighth century but it has been
restored so many times that little of the original structure is left.
MAHDIA:
Mahdia is one of Tunisia’s newest tourist towns
which has been expanding rapidly since the creation of a tourist zone 5km (City
map) west of the town centre. It is where the best beaches can be found.
While Mahdia struggles to cling to its old way of life which revolved around
weaving and a thriving fishing port, nearly every shop and stall in the medina
is now geared towards tourism.
The Great Mosque may look ancient but it was only built in the 1960s as a
replica of the 1000-year-old original.
KAIROUAN:
Easily visited on a day trip from Port El Kantaoui,
Sousse, Monastir or Mahdia, Kairouan is the most sacred city in Tunisia and
Islam’s fourth most important centre after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem (city
map).
Within its medina, there are more than 50 mosques, the Great Mosque of
Sidi Oqba being the star attraction. Originally constructed in AD 671, the
existing building was built by the Aghlabids in AD 863. Sadly, non-Muslims are
barred from entering the prayer hall with its 400 marble pillars and one of the
world’s oldest pulpits with 250 carved-wood panels.
Rather incongruously, as well as being a spiritual centre, Kairouan is also a
frenetic market town and the epicentre of Tunisia’s cut-throat carpet-making
industry.
KERKENNAH:
A small group of islands situated off the coast of
Sfax, Tunisia’s second city which is rarely visited by holidaymakers (city
map).
There are two main inhabited islands, Chergui and Gharbi which are
joined by a causeway.
Regular ferry services operate between Sfax and Kerkennah. The travel time is
just less than an hour.
Kerkennah makes a pleasant day trip or for those seeking to get away from it
all; it is also worth considering staying several days
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