TUN - KUL

Sun 14/5/23

Today would be our last day in Tunisia. Our flight back to KUL will be departing at 4pm, so we have a few hours to do some souvenir shopping at the Tunis medina before checking out from the hotel at 12pm and head to the airport.  We planned to have breakfast at The Corner café just in front of the hotel, but it was still closed at 8am. We were told by the hotel receptionist that shops at the medina are closed on Sundays. It was also raining this morning. 

However, we decided to take the chance and asked for the hotel to book a taxi for us. The taxi fare cost from Ibis hotel to the medina was TND5, which we paid by cash. When we reached the medina at 7.50am, a few shops were starting to open. We took the opportunity to take some pictures, without the crowd this time. We walked around the medina until the gate of Bab al-Bahr, then tried to find any café to have breakfast. We were lucky to find Cafe Ben Yedder nearby which was already opened. We had 2 croissant and a café latte for only TND 4.5, it was cheap and tasty so we added 2 more croissants for takeaway (a croissant cost only TND 1.5 )

latte and croissant at Cafe Ben Yedder

Cafe Ben Yedder

By the time we finished our breakfast at 8.30am, more shops have started to open up. We managed to buy some souvenirs this morning from the medina - fridge magnet for TND 5 per piece, hand woven kilim for TND 50 per piece and tajine for TND 21 per piece. We finished our shopping by 10.30am and booked a ride back to the hotel using the Bolt ride app and paid by cash. The journey back cost about TND 10, although the official receipt that I received only cost TND 5.6

One more last shopping for mint tea and traditional biscuit at Carrefour nearby our hotel (cost TND 24) before packing our luggage and checking out at 12 noon, and we headed straight to the airport to return our rental car and checking in our flight. When we reached the airport car park, there was a person wearing an Avis tag already waiting and he inspected our car. We were told to give the car keys to him, but we weren't so sure and the guy didn't speak English, so we asked him to call the Avis counter. We only handed him the keys once the Avis counter confirmed this. We still had to go to the Avis counter at the arrival hall of the airport terminal for some final verification, and then it was done.

After checking in our luggage, we went to have a drink at the airport café to finish up our remaining TND7 cash, it was enough to have a cup of cappuccino. The Tunisian money is a closed currency, hence we could not bring back any Tunisian cash and once we are in the departure hall, Tunisian dinar in cash is no longer accepted. Our wallets were also inspected thoroughly by the immigration and customs officer to ensure there was no Tunisian dinar cash in our possession. A bit of drama when the officer asked us about our drone, but his colleague said it was not a problem.

There is a prayer room, separated by male and female rooms at Tunis airport. However, the ablution facility is separated from the prayer hall. For female, I had to perform my ablution at the female restroom

prayer room at Tunis airport

No more chaos this time around, we boarded the flight in a queue and our seats were secured, unlike the drama during the DOH-TUN sector. The TUN-DOH flight was again operated by Oman air, but the interior and in flight entertainment is by Qatar airways, so were the flight attendants. For the in flight meal, we opted for tumeric mash potato with Hungarian beef. For the next sector DOH-KUL, the flight was operated by Malaysia Airlines. For the inflight meal, we had rice with beef kofta. We reached back KUL as per schedule and got our luggage by 3.50pm (about 1 hour after landing).

Goodbye Tunisia

Tumeric mash potato with Hungarian beef

late night sandwich for supper

rice with beef kofta

Tunis Part 2

Sat 13/5/23

Today we would be heading back to Tunis which is a 175km drive (about 2 hours). After a fulfilling buffet breakfast (included in hotel room price) which starts at 6.30am, we made our way to Tunis. We took the toll road. The toll cost TND 1 at Enfidra exit and another one near Tunis cost TND 1.9 We drove straightaway to the Carthage ruins, a Unesco World Heritage site as it was still early at 11am to check in our hotel

boiled eggs, bread and salad

omelette

croissant, pastry and cheese

We started with the Musee de Carthage Byrsa, although the museum was closed we could still take pictures of the sea and city view from Byrsa hill. The entrance fee to the Carthage ruins is TND 12 per person which gives access to 8 locations. We went to 5 out of the 8 locations. The parking is free at Musee de Carthage Byrsa.

Carthage ruins of Hannibal district at Byrssa hill overlooking the Gulf of Tunis

From the Unesco World Heritage site: Carthage was founded in the 9th century B.C. on the Gulf of Tunis by the Punic empire. It was then occupied by the Roman empire after the Punic wars, in 146 B.C. 

From Byrsa hill, we drove to Quartier Magon located by the Gulf of Tunis sea which houses the Punic quarters. We could use the same ticket that we purchased at Byrsa hill to enter here. The parking nearby is also free.

Quartier Magon ruins. Gulf of Tunis at the back

Gulf of Tunis. Cloudy today

Gulf of Tunis

We were told by the ticket counter attendant that the nearby Antonine baths is more interesting. So we didn't spend much time here and then walked to the 3rd location. The Antonine baths were built between 145 and 162 AD during the Roman empire occupation. There is a great view of the pillars with the sea as the background. 

Antonine baths

The 4th location is located a bit far, so we drove to the Theatre Romain. There is car park just outside and it is free. It is a smaller version amphitheatre and build in the 2nd century AD under the reign of Hadrian.

Theatre Romain

The 5th and last location of the Carthage ruins we visited today, a short walk from the car park at Theatre Romain was the Villas Romaines. Some of the monuments here are the Roman villa of the Aviary, public latrines, and a Punic necropolis.  

Villa Romaines

mosaic at Villa Romaines

After exploring the ruins, we drove to the neighbouring Sidi Bou Said, touted as the 'Santorini of Tunisia'. When we arrived there, it was chock full of people and there was no parking space available. We had to drive around 3 times until we found a parking spot at the base of the hilly area. There are parking meters around, we paid TND 2 by cash for 1 hour and displayed the ticket on the windscreen. 

We had lunch at Restaurant Chargui at the balcony area. The view of the sea from here was obstructed by the roof of other buildings. For lunch we had brik and couscous with barbecued lamb which cost TND 29. It was already 1 hour by the time we finished lunch and the parking ticket has expired. It was a mistake, as we should have allocated more than an hour. The place was further up and quite far from the parking, so it was a hassle to go back down and top up the parking ticket. So we mistakenly took the risk of not topping up the parking payment.

brik with bread and dipping sauce

couscous with barbecued lamb

We then walked further to the viewing point which is near the Café des Délices the 'Instagram famous' viewing point. There were so many people here on a Saturday afternoon, there was no more place to get an unobstructed view of the sea. We ordered mint tea and cappucino which cost TND 22. It wasn't really enjoyable as it was too crowded, so we made our way quickly after finishing our drinks and taking 'that famous view' picture.

the 'famous' view of Sidi Bou Said overlooking the Gulf of Tunis

cappucino and mint tea

touristy Sidi Bou Said

On the way down to our parking lot, we same some cars were clamped, we prayed hard that our car would be missed out. Unfortunately, it has been clamped. This is of course, our mistake. We paid TND 30 to a guy who didn't look like the municipal county officer (no uniform or name tag) who removed the clamp. 

On hindsight, we should have fallen into the tourist trap of Sidi Bou Said, and should just forego it, especially it was on a Saturday afternoon. 

We finally arrived at our Hotel Ibis Tunis and checked in just before 6pm. The room cost TND 227 per night per room with no breakfast. Free welcoming drinks is also provided, which we chose latte and capuccino. 

our room at Hotel Ibis Tunis

We walked to the nearby Carrefour to buy some mint tea and traditional biscuits, but unfortunately we couldn't pay by credit card this time. So we cancelled the purchase and decided to try again tomorrow. 

We were also short on cash, so we asked at the hotel reception where we could change EUR to TND. Luckily, the hotel said they could do it, so we changed EUR 50 to TND 160. 

Kairouan

Fri 12/5/23

It's time to bid farewell to the southern region of Tunisia and make our way up to Kairouan, founded by the Umayyads around 670, an important Islamic centre. It is also a Unesco World Heritage site. The drive from Tozeur to Kairouan would cover 300km. We made 2 stops at Gafsa for stretching the legs and toilet break at the rest area in Jelma. We had mint tea which cost TND 3 as a courtesy to use the toilet facility. 

mint tea at the rest area

We reached our accommodation at Hotel Continental Kairouan (EUR 55 per room per night with buffet breakfast) at 1.30pm. The hotel offered us a reduced price of TND 30 per person for buffet dinner. We decided to venture out first at the medina whether we could find a restaurant and decide later if we wanted to have dinner at the hotel.

our room at Hotel Continental Kairouan

We walked to the Kairouan medina, which is located just about 1.5km, about 20 min walking. We first visited the Great Mosque of Kairouan, founded in 670 AD, established by the Arab general Uqba ibn Nafi. Ablution facility is located outside the mosque compound, so it is advisable to take it prior from the hotel. There is no entrance fee, but we went in there to pray, not sure about other types of visitors though.

inside Great Mosque of Kairouan

courtyard of Great Mosque of Kairouan

arch and chandelier inside Great Mosque of Kairouan

Next, we walked to the Mosque of the Three Gates, founded in 866. It has three arched doorways surmounted by three inscriptions in Kufic script (from Wikipedia).

Mosque of the Three Gates

inside Mosque of the Three Gates

Tunisia gate

most shops in the souk were closed

most shops in the souk were closed

more doors in Kairouan medina

narrow streets of Kairouan medina

We walked around the medina, looking for a restaurant for late lunch, but then I decided to have the buffet dinner at the hotel instead. So we walked back to the hotel and stopped by the Aghlabid basins just in front of our hotel. It was built during the 9th century for storing water. It started to drizzle, so it was a good time to go back to the hotel.

Aghlabid basins

Aghlabid basins

outside the Aghlabid basins

The buffet dinner selection was not bad. Water is not included in the buffet price. We were charged TND 4 for a bottle of still water.  The total cost for 1 night accommodation and buffet dinner for 2 was TND 248 or RM 372.

appetiser salad

mains beef 

tomato soup with couscous

traditional cakes