On Sunday, June 21 we arrived in Tunis, Tunisia. This is my first time on the African continent.
We started the morning off with a Sid Horenstein lecture, Mediterranean Geology. The oldest land in the area is 4.2 billion years old. The oldest seabed is 170 million years old. Due to evaporation the Mediterranean Sea is 4 to 6 inches lower and has higher salinity than the Atlantic Ocean. At the Strait of Gibralter, for the most part water flows into the lower Mediterranean Sea. But below that flow there is a high density outflow. During World War II German submarines took advantage of these facts to pass into and out of the Mediterranean Sea silently.
Before disembarking our faces (remove your hat and glasses) were scanned by a woman using an infrared camera. She was looking for anyone with Swine (H1N1) Flu. We were told that local time is one hour behind ship time. (It must be a daylight savings time difference because Italy and Tunisia are in the same time zone.) Also, the winds had shifted. Instead of the mistral, the sirocco, a hot wind from North Africa was blowing across the Mediterranean.
The main attraction for the morning was a visit to the Bardo Museum, famous for its collection of Roman mosaics. When we arrived our local guide told us the following. The building in front of us was built as a palace for the King of Turkey. The building behind us was built for Turkish troops. The building in front of us is now part Parliment and part Bardo Museum. The building behind us is used by the Tunisian military. "Photographs are not permitted. If you want a picture, go to Google Earth."
The mosaics are made from small cubes of marble; the smaller the pieces the more valuable the mosaic. The mosaics were typically floor decoration. Since the pieces of marble were the same color throughout they could stand up to foot traffic. The central theme of this large mosaic (and formerly known as the Greek god Poseidon) is the Roman god of the sea Neptune. More about him below.
On our way to our next stop, Old Medina, we passed the minaret at the top of this blog entry. Old Medina is a shopping area; small stall next to small stall; lots of alleys with twists and turns. Everything was "Special for you; 50% off." The only shop where the group spent much time was one that sold knotted sheep wool, camel wool, and silk Berber carpets. Someone on the tour used Nina's camera and took a photo of our two tour managers, Inger (left) and Nina.
We walked to lunch at the Dar Harmmouda Pacha restaurant; originally built as an Ottoman nobleman's house. Here is a tour manager's picture. The meal started with assorted salads. The main course was lamb with vegetables on a bed of couscous. The meat was thoroughly cooked and at my table there was some discussion about whether it was lamb or beef. Dessert was date ice cream. There was a large skylight over the former patio, now main dining room. It appeared that Berber rugs were being used to control the amount of sunlight coming in through the skylight.
After lunch we went to the Phoenician city of Carthage. It was founded in the 9th century BC. The thing is, the Romans really hated the Phoenicians and after conquering Carthage the Romans destroyed everything they could. They even put salt in the fields so that they couldn't be used for crops.
We visited the Roman Antonine Baths. In this picture you can see some of the lower structure where the waters were heated. Men and women were in separate sections and bathed naked. Baths were called the people's palace. Romans went to the baths to exercise, to bathe, but also to socialize, to meet, and to see and be seen.
We did see these rare surviving Phoenician ruins. A nearby Phoenician temple and the top of Byrsa Hill on which it stood were destroyed by the Romans. Some of the rubble was dumped onto the remains of these Phoenician homes.
We visited these Roman Cisterns. Very interesting. Water came in on the aqueduct at the left. It went into the closest cistern. When that one filled water flowed out the holes at the top and flowed into the next cistern, and so on, and so on.
We returned to the ship and were on our way. Cecil Wooten gave a lecture on Roman Sculpture. The sirocco had really picked up and we were now in open water. We had a 30 to 35 knot wind. We were in 4 to 5 meter (13 to 16 foot) seas. Not good. Neptune was really, really upset about something! I ate a very light dinner with the hope that I would not get seasick. It didn't work. My cabin was in the bow and the ship was moving up and down so much that I went to sleep on the floor. I figured I couldn't roll off the floor. As I went to sleep I realized that I might be too sick for Trapani, Sicily the next day and I might just stay aboard the ship.
