Tunis + Monastir: Carthage, mosaics and an amphitheatre better preserved than the Colosseum
Tunisia is known as a beach destination, and that is a shame: it has one of the best ancient museums in the world and an arena whose underground passages you can walk.
What is actually here
The beaches in Tunisia are good but not unique. What is unique is what remains of Carthage and Roman Africa: the Bardo museum with the world's largest collection of ancient mosaics, the amphitheatre at El Djem for thirty-five thousand spectators, in places better preserved than the Roman Colosseum, and Kairouan, the fourth city of Islam. All of it fits into a week with a beach thrown in.
The capital and its surroundings
The medina of Tunis is compact, alive and without the pressure you meet in Morocco. The Bardo museum deserves a full day: mosaics brought from across the country and displayed in a former palace. Carthage is not one site but ruins scattered through the suburb: the baths of Antoninus, the Punic port, the hill of Byrsa. Next to it is Sidi Bou Said, a blue and white village on a cliff above the sea, best in the hour before sunset. The TGM suburban line runs from Tunis to Sidi Bou Said and Carthage — cheap, frequent and faster than a taxi in the rush hour, and it links the two sites to each other.
The coast: Monastir and Sousse
Monastir has a ribat, a fortified monastery of the eighth century with the sea visible from its walls, and the Bourguiba mausoleum. Sousse is twenty minutes away: a medina on the UNESCO list, its own kasbah, beaches. From here it is convenient to reach El Djem — an hour's drive, and the country's principal ancient site. And with a spare day, Kairouan with its Great Mosque and the carpets woven here for centuries.
The Sahara, if you want to go further
The south is a separate two- or three-day trip: Tozeur with its palm grove, the salt lake of Chott el Jerid, the mountain oases of Chebika and Tamerza, and the Star Wars sets at Matmata and Ong Jemel. Such tours are sold on the coast, and this is the case where an organised trip beats doing it yourself.
When to go
May–June and September–October. July and August are hot, and the ancient sites are hard work then — there is no shade at El Djem. The sea is warm from June to October. In winter the coast sits around fifteen degrees, too cool for swimming but comfortable for travelling around the country.
El Djem and Kairouan
The amphitheatre at El Djem held thirty-five thousand — more than the town had inhabitants then or now. It survives well enough that you can walk the upper tiers and descend into the underground passages from which animals were released. There is a museum with mosaics beside it. Kairouan is an hour away: the first Muslim city of the Maghreb, with the Great Mosque and its marble courtyard, the Aghlabid basins, and carpet workshops. Both are taken from Monastir in one long day.
What to try
Tunisian food is spicier than its neighbours': harissa, a chilli paste, stands on every table and goes into everything. Brik is a triangle of thin pastry with an egg inside, to be eaten carefully and at once. Couscous here is the main dish rather than a side, and is made with fish as often as with lamb. Lablabi is a chickpea soup with bread, eaten at breakfast. And tea with pine nuts, served in the cafés on the squares.
Practical matters
No visa is required for a Russian passport, up to 90 days. Trains and buses run between Tunis and Monastir in about two and a half hours. Taxis are cheap and metered — ask for the meter to be switched on. Tunisia is secular and easier about clothing than its neighbours, but at the mosque in Kairouan it is worth covering up. In the medina people will address you in several languages in a row, guessing at your country; a polite «no, thank you» and continuing to walk works better than explanations.
Moscow → Tunis → Monastir
Route and nights go into the form — adjust the date and passengers.