Sunday, 1 May 2011
Alone But Not Lonely
Alone But Not Lonely
I left before 9 and after asking around, took the bus no. 22 from Souk Ahad (literally translated as Sunday Market) to the main bus station. From there, I bought a ticket to Khairouan for less than 3 dinars. Is that cheap or what? You can also take a shared taxi (louages) to Khairouan but you would need to take a bus or cab to the louage station and I think it was even further than the bus station. Plus, I already had enough communication problems as it was. Now, Khairouan apparently ranks fourth after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem as places of pilgrimage. Its large mosque and cultural history have added the city to the UNESCO World Heritage list.
We reached Khairouan after an hour and I walked around in the heat for a while before I was pointed the right direction to the medina. A young man approached me (this is getting familiar) and showed me the way to the medina. He showed me the Kasbah (now a hotel), the Mosque of the Three Doors and The Great Mosque. He also attempted to bring me to some friend’s shop but I wasn’t interested and made it clear I didn’t want to linger. The only thing I bought was a small box of the sticky pastry called makrouhd. However, Khairouan is also famous for its carpets if you’re interested.
I spent some time at The Great Mosque (Muslims enter for free; non-Muslims have to pay TND8 to enter). I don’t know why I had to convince the guard that I’m a Muslim. The mosque guard also brought me to a nearby rooftop for me to have a bird’s eye view of the mosque and medina. Oh and he also expected a tip for this.
After that, I hurried back to the bus station, trying to recall the winding mazes of lanes that I passed earlier. I managed to get them right half-way and had to ask for direction for the remainder of the way. It was a completely different way but at least it got me to the bus station and I took the 2 pm bus back to Sousse.
Back at Sousse, I rested for a bit before venturing out to the medina, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hello, it was just too hot. Again, I didn’t want to buy anything (the medinas in Tunisia reminded me of those in Morocco and offered almost the same things. The only thing I would have been interested in was fridge magnets but the ones I saw didn’t appeal at all).
The ribat (fortified holy site) on the Place Farhat Hached was the first sight that greeted me when I entered the medina. This ribat was constructed in the year 821 by the Aghlabid rulers as a fortress against the Sicilian Christians. It cost TND5 to enter (add another dinar for your camera). I spent some time here and even climbed up the watch tower for a view over the medina, the Great Mosque and the port.
Next, I headed to the nearby Great Mosque and spent a few minutes there (I even entered the women’s area) before moving on to the Kasbah (which now houses the Sousse Archaeological Museum, campus for its collection of mosaics). The Kasbah is on the other end if the medina and reachable after navigating yourself through the medina and climbing the series of steps leading up to the Kasbah. Unfortunately, it was closed when I got there so I got down again, following another route and purposely got myself lost in the medina. As was the case in Morocco, Tunis and Khairouan medina, despite happily minding my own business, I kept being greeted with ‘Kon nichiwa’ and ‘Japanese?’ and being startled by the occasional exclamation of ‘Nihao!’.
Before exiting the medina, I went to check out the Dar Essid, a house and private museum. However, it was also closed so I left and headed to the waterfront where the sightseeing boats were docked.
It was past 6 when I left and went in search of dinner. I had cous cous de poisson (fish cous cous). Hmm, maybe the cous cous was too much because I had trouble finishing it. There was a crowded gelataria nearby judging by the patrons and the traffic jam caused by waiting customers but I was coughing since Friday and didn’t want to aggravate my cough further. What a shame.
I also went for a brief walk along the beach and the shops lining the promenade and the main road before returning to the hotel. I finally found a local TV station which informed me - in Arabic, no less - that Arsenal beat ManUre 1-0 courtesy of an Aaron Ramsey goal. Woohoo! (I later found out Cesc was injured and Rambo was substituting him in midfield. Also, Nasri had a hamstring problem and Djourou also had some problem during the match).
To be continued
We reached Khairouan after an hour and I walked around in the heat for a while before I was pointed the right direction to the medina. A young man approached me (this is getting familiar) and showed me the way to the medina. He showed me the Kasbah (now a hotel), the Mosque of the Three Doors and The Great Mosque. He also attempted to bring me to some friend’s shop but I wasn’t interested and made it clear I didn’t want to linger. The only thing I bought was a small box of the sticky pastry called makrouhd. However, Khairouan is also famous for its carpets if you’re interested.
I spent some time at The Great Mosque (Muslims enter for free; non-Muslims have to pay TND8 to enter). I don’t know why I had to convince the guard that I’m a Muslim. The mosque guard also brought me to a nearby rooftop for me to have a bird’s eye view of the mosque and medina. Oh and he also expected a tip for this.
After that, I hurried back to the bus station, trying to recall the winding mazes of lanes that I passed earlier. I managed to get them right half-way and had to ask for direction for the remainder of the way. It was a completely different way but at least it got me to the bus station and I took the 2 pm bus back to Sousse.
Back at Sousse, I rested for a bit before venturing out to the medina, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hello, it was just too hot. Again, I didn’t want to buy anything (the medinas in Tunisia reminded me of those in Morocco and offered almost the same things. The only thing I would have been interested in was fridge magnets but the ones I saw didn’t appeal at all).
The ribat (fortified holy site) on the Place Farhat Hached was the first sight that greeted me when I entered the medina. This ribat was constructed in the year 821 by the Aghlabid rulers as a fortress against the Sicilian Christians. It cost TND5 to enter (add another dinar for your camera). I spent some time here and even climbed up the watch tower for a view over the medina, the Great Mosque and the port.
Next, I headed to the nearby Great Mosque and spent a few minutes there (I even entered the women’s area) before moving on to the Kasbah (which now houses the Sousse Archaeological Museum, campus for its collection of mosaics). The Kasbah is on the other end if the medina and reachable after navigating yourself through the medina and climbing the series of steps leading up to the Kasbah. Unfortunately, it was closed when I got there so I got down again, following another route and purposely got myself lost in the medina. As was the case in Morocco, Tunis and Khairouan medina, despite happily minding my own business, I kept being greeted with ‘Kon nichiwa’ and ‘Japanese?’ and being startled by the occasional exclamation of ‘Nihao!’.
Before exiting the medina, I went to check out the Dar Essid, a house and private museum. However, it was also closed so I left and headed to the waterfront where the sightseeing boats were docked.
It was past 6 when I left and went in search of dinner. I had cous cous de poisson (fish cous cous). Hmm, maybe the cous cous was too much because I had trouble finishing it. There was a crowded gelataria nearby judging by the patrons and the traffic jam caused by waiting customers but I was coughing since Friday and didn’t want to aggravate my cough further. What a shame.
I also went for a brief walk along the beach and the shops lining the promenade and the main road before returning to the hotel. I finally found a local TV station which informed me - in Arabic, no less - that Arsenal beat ManUre 1-0 courtesy of an Aaron Ramsey goal. Woohoo! (I later found out Cesc was injured and Rambo was substituting him in midfield. Also, Nasri had a hamstring problem and Djourou also had some problem during the match).
To be continued
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