Tunisia things to Do

Spring, March through May, brings spectacular displays of wild flowers throughout the countryside and Autumn, October to December, offer warm seas and a particularly golden sun. From June through September warm weather is the rule and August brings the peak of the summer heat. This is the season for the joy of refreshing a sun bronzed body in the cool sparkling Mediterranean.

Golf

Tunisia is the ideal destination for the amateurs of golf  with 6 courses open all year round.

Carthage Golf Course  with a 4432  meters length  ,La Soukra  has a distance of  10 km from Tunis  and with  18 holes par 66,  stands of eucalyptus, pine, palm and olives trees becomes a very attractive sport for the amateurs of the sport  and not only.

Additionaly, the Hammamet Golf Course - Jasmine just outside Hammamet resort area has  18 holes par 72, water hazards, practice ground and 9 hole school for beginners. On the other hand, the Hammamet Golf Course – Citrus is  designed around 6 lakes on 300 acres of olive groves and forest near Hammamet beaches.

There are 2 courses, "La Foret"  with 18 holes, par 72 . 617 5 meters and "Les Oliviers"  with 18 holes, par 72 .6178 meters plus a 9 hole school were you can learn all about golf. El Kantaoui Golf Course - El Kantaoui Sousse Resort Area with 27 holes, par 108. Championship competitions over 9576 meters take place there  as well as standard 8433 meters. 18 hole putting green and practice ground .This high level course runs across an olive grove and ends alongside the beach.

Following the Monastir Golf Course - Sousse/Monastir Resort Area with a  very technical course overlooking the sea has 18 holes par 72 length 6140 meters. 5 starting areas and 3 hole school for beginners.

Tabarka Golf Course - Tabarka Resort Area has  top quality greens 18 par course (can extend to 27) similar to Cypress Point California. 6306 meters and a 9 hole school.

Tennis

In most hotels  you will find  tennis courts available for their guests at no charge. Visitors may be charged a token fee for use of the facilities and instructors and sparring partners should be requested beforehand and won’t cost you a fortune

Some "tennis hotels" specialize in providing top quality courts and onhand instructors for tennis players and amateurs alike but it’s still better for you to bring your own racket with you.. Tennis Clubs in most cities will permit temporary entrance with lessons.

Wind Surfing

The most popular   summer sport is offered to you  during your holidays in Tunisia may be enjoyed throughout the year though a wet suit is desirable during  December through April.Outside the hotel circuit and local events, Tunisia is the departure/arrival point for many trans- Mediterranean and Mediterranean competitions. The port of Sidi Bou Said with its school of wind surfing and sailing is a focal point for these international activities will help you learn the patern for this fantastic sport.

Landsailing

On your way to the Oases of Tozeur and Nefta lies the Chott El Jerid a 6600 km salt lake. Outside of the rainy season these salt flats present  a wide range of  opportunities for the fans of "land sailing ".

Hunting

Hunting of the wild boar in the regions of Tabarka and Ain Draham is organized during the autumn and winter months. The mountains of Kroumirie abound in game and attract hunters from all over Europe. Hunting licenses must be obtained.

Shopping

You will find  Artisanat (handicraft) shops,  full of a variety of goods  from carpets to birdcages bears a price tag, and carpets a stamp of origin and caliber,  that sets shopping in Tunisia  an art of it’s own . Located in the old city (the Medina), the Souks offer a selection of objects of unbelievable  beauty and distinction , excellent arts and craft and traditional work. A sharp eye, nerves of steel, a show of disinterest and a good sense of humor will make shopping a real pleasure for you and your loved ones.

Inflated prices give both parties the pleasure of bargaining ,you can  start by cutting the offer in half, then work up to a compromise if you are really interested. The choice is yours , the opportunities are uncountable!

Handcarved olive wood: Salad bowls, kitchen articles, vases, lamps, bracelets...beautiful , solid wood , each is distinctively different. This hard and durable wood needs only an occasional slight rubbing with oil to bring out the richness of its patterns.

Eating out

Tunisia  is located on the northern coast of Africa, has boundaries with Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east.

The Atlas Mountains divide the country into two regions, the well-watered north and the semi-arid south. The northern region, which contains the Kroumirie Forest, Bizerte, and the Medjerda River Valley, is further divided into three subregions: the northwest, with extensive cork forests; the north central, with its fertile grasslands, and the northeast from Tunis to Cap Bon, noted for its livestock, citrus fruits and garden produce.

The southern regions contain a desert area in the south, which merges into the Sahara and is characterised by the date palm oases and saline lakes. The Medjerda Mountains, which run from Kroumirie to Bizerte, and the Tébessa Mountains (or Massif Meridional), in the southern region, are the two most important mountain ranges. The Medjerda, the most important river system, rises in Algeria and drains into the Gulf of Tunis.

Tunisia's list of attractions would do justice to a country twice its size. From the Roman-era hot springs at Hamman Mellegue to the space-age sets of Star Wars (parts of which were filmed at Matmata), its lush-to-lunar landscapes have seen more action than the New World nations combined.

Spend a few days here and you'll agree: daydreaming at the famous Roman ruins of Carthage and El-Jem is almost as good as stepping into Virgil's Aeneid and knocking one back with Dido, while a day's dawdling on the north coast's beaches or those of Jerba Island, the 'Land of the Lotus Eaters', will leave you wondering why Hannibal ever left.

Food

Tunisian cooking is a blend of European, Oriental and desert dweller's culinary traditions. Its distinctive spicy fieriness comes from neighbouring Mediterranean countries and the many civilizations who have ruled Tunisian land -- Phoenician, Roman, Arab, Turkish, French, and the native Berber.

Many of the cooking styles and utensils began to take shape when the ancient tribes were nomads. Nomadic people were limited in their cooking by what locally made pots and pans they could carry with them. A ::I<TAGINE< I> is really the name of a conical-lidded pot, although today we apply the same word to what is cooked in it.

Unlike other North African cuisine, Tunisian food is spicy hot. There is an old wife's tale that says a husband can judge his wife's affections by the amount of hot peppers she uses when preparing his food. If the food becomes bland then a man may believe that his wife no longer loves him. However when the food is prepared for guests the hot peppers are decreased to suit the more delicate palate of the visitor.

Couscous is the national dish of Tunisia and can be prepared in a dozen different ways. It is cooked in a special kind of double boiler called a couscousiere. Meat and vegetables are boiled in the lower half. The top half has holes in the bottom through which the steam rises to cook the grain which is put in this part. Cooked this way the grain acquires the flavour of whatever is below. The usual grain is semolina. To serve, the grain is piled in the middle of a dish, and the meat and vegetables put on top. A sauce can be then poured over before serving.

Following a list of some  popular Tunisian dishes :

Chorba -- soup with lots of pepper.

Brik -- tiny parcels of minced lamb, beef, or vegetables and an egg wrapped in thin pastry and deep fried (pictured). Brik is very popular, but requires careful eating with your fingers if the egg is not to trickle down your chin.

Bouza -- rich and sticky sorghum and hazelnut cake.

Chakchouka -- ratatouille with chick peas, tomatoes, peppers, garlic and onions served with a poached egg.

Felfel mahchi -- sweet peppers stuffed with meat, usually lamb, and served with harissa sauce.

Guenaoia -- lamb or beef stew with chillies, okra, sweet peppers and coriander.

Harissa -- hot red pepper sauce used with almost any main dish.

Koucha -- whole baby lamb baked in a clay case with rosemary.

Lalabli -- rich garlicky soup made with chickpeas.

Makroud -- semolina cake stuffed with dates, cinnamon and grated orange peel.

Mechouia -- an hors d'oeuvre of grilled sweet peppers, tomatoes and onions mixed with oil lemon, tuna fish and hard-boiled eggs.

Mhalbya -- cake made with rice, nuts and geranium water.

Salata batata -- a hot (in every sense) potato salad flavoured with caraway seeds.

Samsa -- layers of thin pastry alternated with layers of ground roast almonds, and sesame seeds, baked in lemon and rosewater syrup.

Merguez -- small spicy sausages.

Tagine -- a stew.

Tagine ez Zitoun -- veal and olive ::I<TANGINE< I>.

Tagine J'bin -- cheese ::I<TAGINE< I>.

Tagine Maadnus -- spinach ::I<TAGINE< I>.

Torshi -- turnips marinated with lime juice and served with ::I<HARISSA< I> sauce.

Yo-yo -- donuts made with orange juice, deep fried then dipped in honey syrup.