I just got back from Tunisia (work conference), swinging through Rome on the way back. FABULOUS!
The local folks in Tunis were tres gentilles, the cab drivers were hilarious, the weather was perfect, the Mediterranean was very, very blue, and the HISTORY there, you would not believe! Well, you would if you read a history book. To sum up: Tunisia was the place to be if you were an empire in the past 2,900 years. A group of Phoencians from Tyre landed there between 1200 and 900 B.C. and built Carthage. Carthiginians were a dominant force in the area until the Romans, then the Vandals, then the Byzantines, then Arabs, then it was a French protectorate until 1956.
A few of us were able to visit some extensive Roman ruins in Dougga (a few hours west of Tunis) -- they were stunning. A picture is worth a thousand words, so here is the link to my Picasa album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/shannonmollie/TunisiaAndRome#
Ah, Rome. It was quite the contrast to Dougga -- the ruins were packed into a bustling metropolis rather than spread throughout deserted farmland. I saw quite a bit in 5 hours, then went and checked into......a convent. OK, that's the technical term, but it was really more like a hostel run by nuns. They were very nice! And no, I didn't stay on permanently. But if someone ever says "Get thee to a nunnery," at least now I know where one is :)
4 comments:
Thank you. :-)
you are so cool I am going to comment on Facebook and your blog. Welcome back! That is sweet that you went to Rome. And like I told you, Northern Africa is AWESOME!
Looks like lots of fun!
Wow Shannon this is amazing! I had no idea you were in Europe. I am so jealous!
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