Sousse, Utique, Ichkeul

Here are some pictures from a few day trips we’ve gone on:

Sousse is an interesting city. There is the medina (marketplace/souk) that is of historic interest, as well as a weird touristy marina, where I happened upon a zoo featuring a chiuaua and a bunch of guinea pigs…

Here are some pictures from around the souk:

We made a quick stop in Monastir to see Habib Bourguiba’s tomb. I only have pictures of the entrance area, though.

Utique is an ancient city northwest of Carthage that doesn’t actually exist anymore (i.e. more ruins). What was
most impressive was the various layers of stone indicating Utique under Punic and Roman rule:

I also really liked the various patterns preserved:

We also went to Ichkeul, a national park in northern Tunisia. The lake there is a maaajor stopping point for migrating birds (geese, flamingos, storks). Unfortunately I could only see birds (flamingos!!) through a telescope, so no pictures. I felt like I was in Jurassic Park.

We stopped for tea and we met the most perfect man. Apparently our director has known him for a while…I’m not too clear on the story. But he was marvelous. His face was so expressive. I wish I spoke better French or Arabic so I could talk with him. We liked the cardboard cutout he had of himself so much, he posed with it for us. He brightened my day.

Trash

Scavenger cats in my neighborhood.

Trash on a beach in Sounine.

Trash in the neighborhood next to mine. This pile is perpetual. Notice how the cat is next to a bag filled with sheep skin (from after the eid, which will be addressed in a different post).

Trash stuck in the razor wire in front of the Libyan embassy. Yes, I was brave enough to snap a few hasty photos! Finally.

This tractor seems to be the means of collecting yard waste (at least from public places around where I live).

Part of a factory on the outskirts of Gabès.

One of the first field trips we went on in Tunisia, I remember my program director apologizing on behalf of his country, citing excess liter since the revolution. It is true, after the fall of Ben Ali, Tunisia has suffered from many administrative issues, a difficult one to ignore being trash collection. Trash is in the streets and on the beach, in neighborhoods it piles up on the sidewalks, feeding colonies of stray cats who seem to be complacent with the recent abundance of food. After the revolution, dumps, trash collectors and recycling centers have been facing difficulties as a result of the strikes, demonstrations and movements of waste management workers.

While this is an important factor in the large amounts of trash I have been seeing, I cannot help but wonder about waste management during Ben Ali and before and Tunisia’s environmental situation as a whole. Tunisia is a small country where a majority of the population is concentrated in coastal region. Two-thirds of the population (which is between ten and eleven million) live in urban areas.

Tunisia is a semiarid country that faces climatic challenges because of irregular and insufficient rainfall. The already fragile ecosystem (polluted water from raw sewage, limited freshwater resources, deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion, and desertification) is further burdened with large populations concentrated in sensitive areas (mainly coastal) as well as the pressure placed on the environment when extracting the few natural resources Tunisia possesses.

The trash that caught my attention at first is an indicator of larger issues Tunisia faces at the hand of urbanization (and tourism, which has been a major driver of urbanization). As I’ve seen just about everywhere we’ve gone, tourist institutions come at a price, often generating much needed income while also putting in danger an invaluable environment.

Municipal solid waste in these areas alone requires immediate attention. Trash is often dumped into areas without any form of a sanitary landfill system. Industrial pollution, as we observed on the outskirts of Gabès, is an issue as well because often industrial waste is dumped in sensitive areas along the coast, contributing to further degradation. There are around 66 existing waste disposal sites in Tunisia are uncontrolled (little to no separation prior to collection, meaning that medical and industrial waste is disposed with municipal waste).

The solid waste I am addressing (both municipal and industrial) has been a heavy burden on Tunisia for appropriate management of such waste, the mobilization of such considerable material, requires specialized human resources, techniques and technology. Not to mention space.

Due to population growth and urban expansion, problems related to solid waste management have increased, as noted by people such as myself or my program director who observe increased amounts of trash everywhere. The main issues that arise are at the collection and disposal level (two areas that have obviously been further impacted since the January 14th revolution).

However despite all of the negativity, Tunisia has many positive factors in the realm of waste management. For example, there are laws, assistance and investments in the field of waste management, the provision of necessary finances, as well as the actual existence of landfills and a waste agency.

The negatives, such as lack of treatment for solid waste and lack of trained personnel and methods for operating landfills, seem to be problems that can be addressed in a post Ben Ali era. People are aware of the improvements needed and hopefully with administrative support that will come from a functioning government, that support will be provided.

Look forward to some posts featuring pristine Tunisian landscapes, coming soon!

Finally posted.

Way back during week two we road tripped all over southern-ish Tunisia. I have been procrastinating putting photos up because I have so many. But, it’s about time, since I only have a few more weeks left here (mixed feelings about that…I’m excited to come back but I’ll miss my host family a lot; I mesh with them really well).

During the week we hit the cities of El-Jem, Maharès, Gabès, Jerba, Matmata, Douz, and a few others. Here are some maps of Tunisia to give you a better idea of where I was:

El-Jem is probably most well known for the Roman amphitheatre there (built, like most Roman ruins in Tunisia, on top of ancient Punic ruins). I saw a baby camel there, and at a museum I found a mosaic triforce.

Pigeons flying away as the call-to-prayer sounded

Here are some sculptures on a not-very-good-looking beach in Maharès. Apparently the green algae that you can see by the water is harvested. Unfortunately I do not remember what for.

In Gabès we stopped at an oasis where there were date palms, pomegranates (the best I’ve ever had), and grapes. I got to climb a date palm there but I look stupid in every picture taken of me while trying, so I don’t feel like posting one. We also saw many industrial sites (and thus, industrial waste) on the outskirts of Gabès, but those photos are for another post about trash!

Jerba (Djerba) is Africa’s largest island (we got there by ferry, the kind where you drive your car on!) It is one of the only places in Tunisia where the Berber language is still spoken and there are sizable minorities of both Jews and Catholics. Finally, it is supposedly the island where Odysseus was stranded during his voyage of the Mediterranean. I liked the hotel we stayed at. There was a birdcage there, and I felt a little sorry for the captive birds, but I have to admit that it was beautiful. I’d like to have one filled with plants. We visited a local potter and he demonstrated some of the techniques he uses. Djerba is also where we visited the synagogue with the cats (from the earlier post of me with cats).

Wish scrolls in the synagogue and a very old, phlegmy man reciting things in Hebrew.

Matmata is most famous for two things: the troglodyte dwellings (large pits dug in the ground, around the perimeter of which caves are created to serve as rooms), also, the “home” of Luke Skywalker was filmed here.

This last picture features a Marabout, a tomb for a revered saint. I think they seem tranquil.

In Douz we rode camels and had a mini-picnic on the boarder of the Sahara desert.

Camels are the nicest.

Finally, here are some random pictures from along the way.

What is a confort toilet? I dared not learn.

An Eiffel Tower of Desert/Sand roses – the colloquial name given to rosette formations of the minerals gypsum and barite with poikilotopic sand inclusions (Wikipedia).

A slightly wilted bouquet of Jasmine flowers. These bouquets (called Machmoums) are sold on the street everywhere and they smell wonderful. They come with the flowers un-blossomed and bound by string, and you clip it to watch it slowly expand as the flowers themselves bloom.

So much stuff.

Bus skeleton.

Where I’m at, usually

Here are some pictures from around where I live:

Here’s a little bit of downtown:

Upcoming Elections

The following general review of Tunisia’s government was based on this article.

After Tunisia gained independence on 20 March 1956, their first constituent assembly convened with the goal of establishing a democratic state and a just society. Fast forward 3 years and there’s Habib Bourguiba as the head of a republican system that kind of resembles a monarchy.

In 1974, Bourguiba inserted a clause in the constitution decreeing his presidency for life under a one-party state, supported by a powerful political police. He concentrated on developing the eastern regions, especially his own coastal region. The result was a social and political crisis that reached its climax in 1987 when Ben Ali came into power. Political repression and corruption grew, together with regional marginalisation and poverty.

When the revolution of December 2010 erupted in provincial towns such as Kasserine, Thala and Douz, it was because people there could no longer bear their poverty and humiliation in contrast to the wealth of the developed coastal cities – and the coastal cities themselves could no longer put up with the corruption and denial of freedoms.

Tunisia’s revolution was the beginning of a string of revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East…and maybe the rest of the world. It triumphed quickly and Tunisians did not pay as huge a price as the people of Libya and Syria. Now everyone who’s watching is wondering, will Tunisia successfully demonstrate a peaceful people’s revolution, without ideological strictures and idols, as well as a successful democratic state? That depends on the second constituent assembly which Tunisians will vote for this Sunday. The upcoming elections signify the end of the seven-month transitional period – a difficult time marked by continued economic stagnation, instability and inflation, which has tested the patience of the youth who are still waiting for promised reforms. This is not a presidential election of any kind, though an alarmingly high number of citizens of Tunisia (around 20%) as well as people around the world have expressed confusion about what, exactly, will be up for election on October 23rd. Or now, referring to Tunisians who are voting abroad.

The constituent assembly will have 1 year to lay the foundations of a republic in the form of a written constitution. Tunisians demand the establishment of a system that will protect future generations from the return of tyranny: a free press, an independent judiciary, and the restoration of balanced development between the regions.

Three weeks before the elections, polls have shown that at least half of the country’s 7 million voters remained undecided. The frontrunners in the election are the well organized moderate Islamist Ennahda Party, which has polled around the fifth of the electorate and the center left Progressive Democratic Party with around 10% support.

Some potential setbacks that really confuse me: There are so many political parties, 111 to be exact. Of them, 81 will be competing in the election in 785 lists together with another 676 lists of independent candidates across 33 constituencies for 217 seats. Besides rendering me lost, ordinary voters are having to wade through the same rhetoric under different symbols. My host sister and I were talking about this. She’s read each party’s manifesto..and aside from sounding similar, she worries how they will be held accountable for their promises. And there is another dangerous trend: the flow of dubious money to some of the parties which now behave as political businesses. Many people believe that those who have invested in these parties are the remnants of the former regime. Meanwhile, some media outlets support parties without any impartiality or objectivity. There are also speculations that the political police are manipulating some parties and infiltrating others. I don’t know much about this…

Tunisians also fear that the proportional representation system will lead to a hotchpotch assembly unable to agree on the constitution or to form a national government. Only a unified government will be able to purge the security and judiciary apparatus and begin the necessary reforms, which will then restore investors’ confidence so the economy can recover, hopefully.

Of course there are positive indicators, too. The election is real, and the campaign has passed peacefully so far with benign demonstrations for liberties such as freedom of expression.

Tunisians are engaged in a never-ending political debate; they follow the many meetings convened by the parties with great interest, like my host mom, who often attends meetings of a coalition of 4 parties, and just about every other Tunisian I know.

The entire world is monitoring the Tunisian experience with interest and I cannot wait to see, and report, what happens next.

Here are some pictures of different parties posters plastered on walls around Tunisia:

In Gabes, RCD dégagé (get lost, Ben Ali!)

Around Tunis

Sidi Bou Said

My neighborhood

I’m kind of disappointed in myself…

Something I regret immensely about my blogging while in Jordan is that I did not do a very good job of showing you guys what Jordan is all about apart from the touristy stuff. Either things seemed too normal or the situation was too awkward to warrant me documenting it. I have thus promised myself to do a better job of photographing ordinary things in Tunisia. However, before I post more about what’s going on here, I have a little selection of miscellaneous “normal” pictures from around Jordan. Here’s a flashback for ya:

I think I’ve posted pictures like this before, but here’s one to set the stage… Just one of the many views of the buildings upon buildings in Amman.

Close to downtown Amman, I captured a man taking a break from selling melons.

My old neighborhood. There were a lot of cats in Amman, too. But not as many as in Tunis.

A car at the end of the famous Rainbo Street, popular with locals and tourists.

Some people I saw having a rooftop conversation from an outdoor restaurant on Rainbo St. I’m kind of invasive.

Outskirts of Madaba.

Some more pictures from As-Salt. That picture featuring a truck isn’t just any regular truck…it’s a truck carrying propane tanks and it plays music similar to the ice cream trucks you might hear at home! They are all over Jordan, from what I heard. This particular truck was playing “Happy Birthday.”

Some pictures of an art gallery type thing in Amman. This particular room featured Naji al-Ali cartoons!

Carthage

Carthage was our first trip since arriving in Tunisia. The city was founded in the 9th century B.C. on the Gulf of Tunis. From the 6th century onwards, it developed into a great trading empire covering much of the Mediterranean. During the Punic wars, Carthage occupied territories belonging to Rome until 146 B.C., when Rome occupied Carthage. A second – Roman – Carthage was then established on the ruins of the first.

Because of its rich history, Carthage is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Here’s a little more information from UNESCO’s website:

Carthage was founded by the Phoenicians

There was an exceptional mixing, diffusion and blossoming of several cultures that succeeded one another (Phoenico-Punic, Roman, Paleochristian and Arab).

The major known components of the site of Carthage are the acropolis of Byrsa, the Punic ports, the Punic tophet, the necropolises, theatre, amphitheatre, circus, residential area, basilicas, the Antonin baths, Malaga cisterns and the archaeological reserve.

Phoenician foundation linked to Tyre and Roman refoundation on the orders of Julius Cesar, Carthage was also the capital of a Vandal kingdom and the Byzantine province of Africa.

The site of Carthage is notably associated with the home of the legendary princess of Tyre, Elyssa-Dido, founder of the town, sung about by Virgil in the Aeneid; with the great navigator-explorer, Hannon, with Hannibal, one of the greatest military strategists of history, with writers such as Apulée, founder of Latin-African literature, with the martyr of Saint Cyprien and with Saint Augustin who trained and made several visits there.

Although its integrity has been partially altered by uncontrolled urban sprawl during the first half of the 20th century, the site of Carthage has essentially retained the elements that characterise the antique town: urban network, meeting place (forum), recreation (theatre), leisure (baths), worship (temples), residential area, etc. The conservation of the site guarantees the maintenance of the intact character of the structures. However, it continues to face strong urban pressure that has, for the most part, been contained thanks to the national listing of the Carthage-Sidi Bou-Said Park.

Now for pictures!

The End: pictures of my last 2 weeks in Jordan

I’ve been putting off posting these because thinking about the end makes me sad, but I also can’t stand not wrapping up my time in Jordan. So:

We went to Karak and toured the famous Karak castle, an ancient Crusader stronghold, a nature reserve in Dana, Petra, a bedouin compound in Wadi Rum, to the Red Sea, and finally to another reserve in Ajloun

What I’ve been doing…

Last Thursday I went to north-eastern Jordan. I stayed in the Badia region for 3 days with a Bedouin host family. Unfortunately I don’t have many pictures since it is not acceptable to take photos of the women. Hopefully later I will write a longer post highlighting my stay but for now here are some pictures (both from last weekend and this weekend, when I returned to the Badia for a day trip with one of my professors). Overall, it was an amazing experience. I stayed 3 kilometers from the Syrian border! I went to two weddings, and I got to learn about agricultural production in the Badia (which is fairly major, despite the fact that the Badia is a desert and water in Jordan is scarce). I also met camels!!!!!!!

As-Salt p. 3

Ending our day trip to As-Salt, we stopped at a “coffee shop,” which was a roadside…I don’t want to use the word “shack” because it sounds negative, so I’ll say hut. We stopped at a coffee hut on the side of the highway to watch the sunset. It was way windy and way weird, but I got over both of those things quickly and I enjoyed myself a lot. Also, stopping for roadside coffee isn’t a typical “Jordanian” thing…my host family teased me for sitting on the side of the highway for so long