I’ve only been once to a Turkish bath, or hammam as they are called in Arabic. I don’t know that I’ll ever go again, but it was certainly an experience. The hammam I attended was the Hammam al-Nasri, located in a 14th century building in the charming old city of Aleppo, Syria. I don’t remember every single detail, but there are certain parts that really stick out. After disrobing and putting on a special towel, I was ushered into the steam room, where I was soon surrounded by billowing white clouds, which rendered it impossible to see anything more than a few feet away.… Read more
Tunisia
A Trip to Old Carthage
After completing our tour of the Bardo Museum, we still had an afternoon left, so we set off to visit the ruins of Carthage. Carthage is, in fact, still inhabited. We go there every Sunday to visit our friends who work at the embassy. It is now a posh suburb of Tunis, resplendent with nice villas and palm trees. But back in the day, it was the domain of Dido (who is called Elissa here, and appears on coins and bills, cell phone commercials, and anywhere else an imperiously beautiful woman is needed). Because the Romans sacked and took possession of the city at the conclusion of the third Punic War, most of the sites now are Roman.… Read more
Mosaic Hunt at the Bardo Museum
Yesterday we went to the Tunis airport to rescue a package from the catacombs of customs. Eventually we lost count of how many times we went from office to office, collecting and relinquishing slips of white, pink, and yellow paper. When the long-awaited moment for recovering the package finally arrived, we were in suspense about how much duty they would charge us. With each trip to a new office, we pictured the duty going up, until by the end we were fully expecting to pay hundreds of dollars for our package. So when the customs official bestowed a final stamp and signature on our pile of papers and announced, “nine dinar,” (about $7.00), Tony almost laughed in relief.… Read more
The Dreamers of the Day
“Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.” – T.E. Lawrence
What would it have been like to walk the streets of ancient Athens, and see Solon’s new laws resting in the Prytaneum? Or stand with the English barons as they forced King John to sign the Magna Carta? What must have been the atmosphere of the Second Continental Congress, as it took the helm of a revolutionary war and struggled to hammer out the structure of a government the people could believe in?… Read more
May the Force Be With You
So, I let my preschoolers watch a PG-13 movie. I know, bad mommy. In my defense, it was Star Wars (that makes it OK, doesn’t it?). It was also Tony’s custom version, expurgated for three- and six-year-old eyes. And, we LIVE on the planet of Tatooine. Besides, the damage had already been done six years ago when Axa saw it multiple times in the theater as a baby in the Philippines.
Bizarrely enough, Star Wars is something my children can really relate to. As we were preparing to come to Tunisia in the wake of the revolution, I cast about for a way to explain the events to them without overwhelming or frightening them.… Read more
When is a politician not a politician?
Those of you who contacted me, concerned for our safety after my post last Sunday will be happy to hear that this week Tunis was perfectly quiet and safe when we rolled up on Sunday morning. The kids were a bit disappointed with the diminishment in “army men,” but I can’t really say I shared their sentiments. And, as a result of the protests last week, Tunisia is now the proud owner of its third caretaker government in two months. I don’t know where they keep getting all these new government ministers. I’m half expecting a call with an invitation to join the cabinet myself.… Read more
In the Arms of the Angel
As of today, we are officially out of olive oil. Whatever our failings, we are at least Italian enough to be unable to cook for even one day without some good extra virgin olive oil. We’ve been trying to buy it for a couple of days now. There’s no chance of getting it in our neighborhood. The abundance of little corner shops where we can get our normal staples (butter, yoghurt, fruits/veggies, fresh bread, etc.) only have various kinds of gross vegetable oil. I haven’t used vegetable oil in years. So it was off to the grocery store in downtown Hammamet, just across the street from the medina.… Read more
A Plea for Help
The sun finally came out this morning, and it was beautiful. It’s been rainy and cold (for Tunisia) all week. I lie awake at night listening to the rain and thinking about the tens of thousands of refugees from Libya stranded at the Tunisian border. Many have been sleeping out in the cold for days. The Tunisian army, the Red Crescent, and many Tunisian volunteers have been doing all they can to help, but food and supplies are short, and the flow of refugees comes in at over ten thousand per day. Many of the refugees (who are mostly Egyptian, Tunisian, Chinese, and Southeast Asian) have witnessed terrible scenes of violence, been personally assaulted, and traveled for days without food.… Read more
Just another manic Sunday
So, I’ve noticed that whenever I make an optimistic blog post, things get worse here. Hopefully it’s not my fault. Friday 100,000 people marched through downtown Tunis in the largest demonstration yet against the transitional government. Another rally on Saturday turned violent, with three deaths, dozens of wounded, and a hundred arrests. Our taxi driver this morning told us that the violence had been caused by Ben Ali supporters who had infiltrated the crowd and incited security forces. I wonder . . .
The reason we were in a taxi in the first place was our weekly pilgrimage to visit friends in Tunis.… Read more
Ripples of Revolution
Well, looks like we timed our visit to the south of Tunisia perfectly. I’m sure things are a bit more hectic there now, as thousands of refugees from neighboring Libya stream over the border into Tunisia. Especially heartwarming to me is the fact that the Tunisians in the area are opening their own homes to the refugees as they wait for the delivery of tents from the United Nations. Thousands of Tunisians also marched in Tunis today to express solidarity with their Libyan neighbors, as well as to continue criticisms of the interim Tunisian government. Feelings of brotherhood with the rest of the Arab world are very much in evidence here in Tunisia.… Read more