There is something in Tunisia that everyone who has had the chance to live in this country long enough adopts, and that is an integral part of the Tunisian way of life. It is the habit of hanging out in the evening in a "café maure", watching passersby, smoking "shisha", drinking amazing "capucine" and doing absolutely nothing. Moreover, it is useless to try to reproduce this state anywhere else.
For this to happen, too many components must come together: a warm evening, the whimsical interweaving of an oriental melody, the taste of the air, the expression on the faces of the people around, and, most importantly, the mood. Tunisia has its own special rhythm of life. Tunisians never hurry, never quarrel with their wives, and under no circumstances raise their voices at children. Even though life in the country is not easy, earnings are small, and there are plenty of problems, these people know how to be content with little and live with pleasure.
African safari in Russian
I have loved picking mushrooms since childhood. With age, this becomes a kind of therapy that compensates for a lack of solitude. The main thing is that mushrooms are found, otherwise all this communion with nature begins to seem meaningless, and fatigue and irritation replace philosophical serenity. That is why in my personal ranking of mushroom places, the absolute leader is... Tunisia, or more precisely Tabarka, an ancient Phoenician port in the north of this country.
The city is nestled at the foot of mountains stretching along the coast, entirely covered with dense forests, where among cork oaks, Lebanese cedar and a local variety of pine there are countless butter mushrooms, saffron milk caps and porcini mushrooms. The Frenchified Tunisians recognize only champignons among mushrooms, which cannot be said about the nostalgic compatriots from among the few employees of the diplomatic corps and trade missions.
But not by mushrooms alone is the north of Tunisia famous. For those who prefer contact martial arts in communing with nature, there are unfriendly but very tasty wild boars in the African forests. Moreover, unlike ownerless mushrooms, wild boar hunting in Tabarka is commercialized. There, in the mountains, you can also find several small but cozy hotels where a guest can rent a gun, ammunition, and a team of beaters. Since boar culling in Tabarka has never been carried out on an industrial scale, the probability of meeting this representative of artiodactyls is quite high. As for its outcome, it depends entirely on the strength of spirit and accuracy of the hunter. The Tunisian wild boar is smaller than its domestic counterpart, but it has no equal in spitefulness and aggressiveness.
The caught animal is prepared, at the hunter's request, right there in the hotel, on a spit. The climax of this very masculine act is eating the prey in a circle of friends over a bottle of good whiskey. By the way, a verified fact: in Tunisia, it is whiskey that goes well, the French anise liqueur "pastis" is well accepted by the body, even the local fig moonshine "boukha" is digested fairly well, but traditional vodka somehow doesn't go down. This cannot be understood; you have to believe it. And one more observation: in Tunisia, especially in the mountains, you can drink a great deal of all these beverages, without catastrophic consequences the next day. I tried to repeat this experiment at home - almost died.
Features of Tunisian fishing
From the category of less bloody, but no less favorite pastimes of our people in Tunisia is fishing. Just don't think that we are talking about a show for rich tourists with a trip on a specially equipped boat to catch especially large representatives of marine fauna. Unlike tourists, our compatriots who have been living in Tunisia for years prefer traditional meditation with a float rod. There is only one such place in the country. On the road from the capital to the resort of Hammamet, there is a small town of Zaghouan, known for its library and the ruins of a Roman settlement. Also in Zaghouan there is a dam, and with it an artificial pond where Tunisians once stocked carp. These voracious fish destroy algae thickets, preventing the reservoir from becoming overgrown with various muck. Since the locals themselves do not catch these aquatic sanitation workers, the carp have multiplied in huge numbers and have grown to incredible sizes. Therefore, fishing on the Zaghouan dam is pure pleasure. The speed with which the fish is caught, as well as its size, evoke a feeling of deep satisfaction in the soul of an avid fisherman. Also in Zaghouan there is a mineral spring from which water flows to the presidential palace.
In general, Tunisia is famous for its waters. So, on Cape Kabbon there is a very small settlement - Korbous. Despite its modest size, this town is very popular among the local population. Korbous is famous for its thermal springs, baths and muds that treat almost everything. Interestingly, despite the worldwide fame of the thalassotherapy centers of Hammamet and Sousse, there are no tourists in Korbous. Despite the obvious usefulness of the local waters, the authorities are in no hurry to open comfortable clinics and hotels here. And they are doing the right thing. An invasion of tourists would destroy all the charm of this ancient resort. By the way, some of the baths were built by the Romans; they say that Caesar himself was treated here for gout.
Berbers, Phoenicians and gigolos
When you get to know Tunisia closely, you involuntarily marvel at the incredible mixture of styles, cultures and influences in literally everything. Take, for example, the Tunisians themselves, who take offense when they are called Arabs. Moreover, when asked who they really are, you can get very different answers: from the most common - Berbers, to the sophisticated - Phoenicians. Well, if you remember that in addition to Berbers and Phoenicians, many peoples were involved in the creation of the modern Tunisian - Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Turks, Normans, French and who knows who else - then it becomes clear that Tunisians are best called simply Tunisians.
Apparently, the lack of distinct ethnic roots has given rise to a peculiar attitude among the local population toward their own history. Completely failing to understand the value of ancient monuments, which are state-owned, that is, as if belonging to no one, Tunisians carry off elements of Roman and Phoenician ruins to their homes, where columns and balustrades become part of the interior.
However, there are places from which nothing is taken: such as Carthage - a national treasure. And there are ruins to which even tourists are not usually taken. Chief among these is the underground city of Bulla Regia: a network of baths and brothels from the 2nd century AD, where mosaics and signposts in the form of male phalluses have been perfectly preserved. It is precisely thanks to a monstrous mixture of bloods that the local population has a most attractive appearance. Tunisian men are especially popular. Gigoloism in Tunisia is an industry. At every step you can see a German (Italian, French) woman melting with happiness, walking arm in arm with a curly-haired macho, fifteen years younger than her.
It is precisely in the history of the country that lies the reason for the cosmopolitan nature of its people. Tunisians are quite restrained in their attitudes toward both politics and religion. When I asked a Tunisian friend of mine why, on Friday, instead of praying, he was drinking beer with me, I heard in reply: “My friend, we Tunisians are theoretical Muslims, not practical ones.”
Speaking of alcohol. Another sign of the country's secular nature is the free sale of strong drinks. Moreover, not only the sale. Tunisia is famous for its wines, which, in my opinion, are in no way inferior to French ones. And what beer they have in Tunisia! Forever in my heart will remain the network of breweries “Brau Haus”, located in the resort towns of Sousse and Hammamet, where I was able to try seven kinds of freshly brewed, unfiltered beer, the equal of which I have never encountered since.
The religious tolerance of Tunisians is especially evident in urban planning. Thus, in the capital of the country, not far from the heart of the city - its ancient part - stands a huge Catholic cathedral, and on Avenue of November 7 is an Orthodox church where Father Dmitry serves. He also holds services in another church, in the city of Bizerte, where there is a cemetery of Russian sailors who arrived here as part of a squadron of 20 ships at the beginning of the Civil War in Russia. To this day, the chairman of the church's board of trustees is Princess Anastasia Alexandrovna Shirinskaya-Manstein, the daughter of the captain of one of the ships of the squadron.