Tunisia has its own version of Table Mountain which is fairly easy to climb. The tricky part is getting to its base. This day turned out to be both frustrating and highly rewarding. I gave up on the normal mode of transport, shared mini-bus taxis, and tried hitch-hiking. To my relief, I got a number of lifts right away. The first was from an old man with a big felt hat in a newish Isuzu truck, his Arabic pop music blaring. Another was with a school superintendent in his ancient Peugeout sedan, complete with fuzzy red dashboard. A few towns later, I was given a ride on the back of a scooter for a few km. Then a truck driver gave me a lift to the town nearest my hike; he gently coaxed his ancient, blue transport truck into each successive gear as we climbed. Super nice guy; his French was excellent.
At the base of the mountain, I met a number of shepherds, cloaked in thick, brown wollen cloaks. They watch over small herds of long-haired goats and maybe a few cattle. These are rugged guys, with Thomas Magnum moustaches and deep tans. At the top of the Table, the views reached deep into the plains of Algeria below. Many young, job-less Tunisians smuggle in fuel, goods and satellite dishes from Algeria. Ironically, the Algerian economy may be crippled but it is more open than Tunisia's.
A quick word about French. It is amazing how widely and how well French is spoken here. Not all speak it well but background doesn't seem to matter. Given the lousy treatment by France, it is even more surprising. While Tunisia gained independence in 1955, France kept a military base near Tunis. In 1958, French planes, in pursuit of Algerian rebels, bombed a eastern Tunisian border village, killing 62 civilians. Tunisia demanded that the French leave their territory but to no avail. When, in '61, Tunisia invaded the French base, fierce fighting ensued and 1000 Tunisians died. In 1963, the French finally agreed to leave.
There are many sides to this country that I enjoyed: superb people, lovely countryside and a great cafe lifestyle. In addition, the Romans built some beautiful cities here and left some of the most impressive mosaics and one giant colleseum. As a big fan of Roman civilization, I spent hours staring at the mosaics in a few, different museums. There is also some interesting modern history here: do a search on the Tunisian Jewish connection with (former) US Senator George Allen.
On two occasions during my stay I found myself (loudly) bitching about a few things (long waits for transport and lousy web connections). How arrogant is that.
