1 PLAIN DEALER, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1993 7-J Tunisia And the offerings a tourist might want? Next to the junk (sleazy caftans or dresses with harem-draped skirts, jewel-encrusted belts and gold embroidery, stuffed camels in every size) can be found rugs of fine quality, handsome heavy wool capes and handmade pottery. And what bargains! Tunisian shopping is irresistible, partly because souks are so much fun and partly because the dinar is worth almost exactly $1, so you know instantly that the large, handmade casserole with lid for four dinars is only $4. That 2-foot-diameter, charming, handmade salad bowl is $3. "Bargaining it's the fun, it's the getting to know the people," said the proprietor of a rug shop in Kairouan. "In America you just go in, pick out what you want, pay the money.
You are too much in a hurry. You learn nothing, get to know no one." Souks are the best place to observe the citizenry of this Englandsized country nestled between Al-' geria and Libya North Africa's Mediterranean coast. Dressing modestly Of the 51 Muslim nations, Tunisia may have done the most for its women. Five months after independence was won from France in 1956, Tunisia gave women the right to initiate divorce. mandated a woman's consent for marriage and abolished the polygamy sanctioned by the Koran.
Women got the vote in 1957; a policy of birth control was introduced in 1961; contraception is free. Habib Bourguiba, the 30-year president who spurred these changes, also called the veil that most Muslim women wore over their faces, that "odious rag. Fewer than a fourth of Tunisian women wear the sifsari. a creamcolored wrap-around about the size of a skimpy single-bed sheet. It covers the hair and wraps around the body down to mid-shin; the face is uncovered, although often a woman will grip the sides of her sifsari with her teeth to free her hands for purse and groceries.
Inappropriate garb can get Western women in trouble especially away from the tourist areas. If a proper Tunisian women dresses modestly, a Western woman in shorts is considered well, fair game. A long skirt or loose slacks, a long-sleeved shirt or a jacket will go a long way toward deflecting unwanted attentions. A head scarf will add even more respectability; sunglasses will enable you to avoid eye contact. Having said all that: The men, at their best, are without doubt the handsomest I have scen anywhere: perfectly shaped heads with hair like John F.
Kennedy moviestar features, black eyes under heavy black brows. And the old men. I saw dozens who were Ican, straight and dignified, those striking faces deeply seamed under a turban or a chechiac (pronounced checkia), the Tunisian maroon wool cap that looks like a fez lopped off midway up. with no tassel. Early in my visit, I asked a Tunisian guide why Tunisian women wore the sifsari instead of the voluminous black chador.
"That's Iran: that's a whole different world." he replied impatiently. "You in the West put us all together as one. Tunisia, like Libya, is a complete melting pot. Think how many invasions we have seen." Invader after invader First came the Berbers. from western Asia.
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That said, Tunisians Spring and fall offer the best couldn't be more friendly and helpful. weather. Spring is best for greenery; French is spoken even in the fall gives you a nice warm Mediterra- smallest villages. nean. Winter can be rainy; summer Reading: brings heat and Europeans on holi- David Lamb's "The Arabs" Vinday.
Club Ramses, the two star ram-: tage Books (Random House). the A Arab workmanlike introduction to bling hotel where I stayed, is outside world. Nabeul on Cap Bon, a green and fertile peninsula only 80 miles from Sic- Mahfouz's "Cairo Tri-. ily. Address: Club Ramses, 8000 Na- logy" Walk," "Palace of Debeul, Tunisia; fax: (02) 86-166.
sire," "Sugar Winner of the More nicely landscaped and fur- Nobel Prize for literature, this saga of nished is the nearby three-star Hotel a Cairo family is quite simply a Lido, where bungalows in the lush memorable read. It also gives an intigarden are $12 a person, plus full mate look at the role of Islam in Musboard for $15 a day. Same address lims' daily lives and the pluses and as Club Ramses; fax: (02) 85-487. minuses of its effect on women. Sightseeing around Cap Bon, to Anchor Books (Doubleday).
Kairouan, el Djem and the oases is "Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia," easily arranged through either hotel. (Lonely Planet), and "Insight Guides: A rental car is available, but be sure. (Houghton Mifflin). These and ask about the total cost per day; are $17 and $20, respectively, so unseveral taxes do not show up in the less you are visiting Morocco and Alprice and nearly double the cost. geria, too, the beautifully illustrated Remember that Tunisia is a Muslim "Insight Guide: Tunisia" is the better country where women are expected buy.
to dress modestly, with their arms Sally Bixby Defty who by the 7th century B.C. had trading ports around the Tunisian coast. One of them, Carthage, grew so threateningly powerful that it triggered the Punic Wars and, after its total destruction in 146 A.D., Roman settlements sprang up throughout what is now Tunisia. The Vandals from Northern Europe wreaked destruction in 5th century, the Arabs founded the holy city of Kairouan in 670, then spread Islam throughout Tunisia and North Africa. The Turks were in control from the 16th century until French rule began in 1881.
In EUROPE SALE Discount Prices All Special Fares London Glasgow AMERICAN TRAVEL 781-7181 jet-setters in the 1950s from Elsa Schiaparelli, Paul Klee and Andre Gide to Romanian conductor George Sebastian. Sebastian's villa above the bay, complete with arcaded marble pool and an amphitheater, was called "the most beautiful house I know" by Frank Lloyd Wright and often housed Winston Churchill. Today, Hammamet draws hordes of Northern Europeans seeking the sun. Do the hoteliers manifest a bit of Egypt envy? I stayed at Club Ramses, and nearby stood the Hotel. amides.
Cheops Club Ramses the is Hotel Pyra collection of two-story whitewashed units scattered among mimosa trees. My room, with a straight shot to the sea, cost $14 a day, including three meals and all-you-want wine at lunch and dinner. Every night the hotel presented bingo (a tour de force in rapid French, German, English, Arabic and Italian) followed by a floor. show that ranged from belly dancers to fakir, who lay on a bed of nails with three male guests sitting on him, feet off the floor. Many of the guests mostly German, French and Tunisian discoed after that into the morning hours.
My granddaughters loved the place, and I think most youngsters would. Hour-long horseback or camel rides down the beach that stretches for miles on either side are seven dinars An American first I was the first American ever to visit Club Ramses. The only staff -TRAVELPAY LESS TRAVEL, EU LOWEST FARES CALL AND COMPARE SPECIAL ROME RT AIR FROM CLEVELAND $689 5 RT NGTS. AIRPORT 3 STAR TRANSFER HOTEL SPECIAL ONE WEEK WESTERN CARIBBEAN CRUISE FEB. 26 FROM NEW ORLEANS 199897H $1039 INCLUDES CLEVELAND RT AIR.
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