Overview

Introduction

Northern, green Tunisia is spoiled by a mild Mediterranean climate, which the ancient Phoenicians and Romans already appreciated. Lush agriculture flourishes here, with extensive vineyards, grain fields and olive groves. They made the country in ancient times the "granary", main supplier of "olive oil" and the "wine cellar of Rome". Cork oak forests of Tabarka and world heritage sites El Djem and Thugga In this balanced cultural tour you will visit Roman ruined cities in the central Tunisian steppe highlands to experience nature and culture. The journey runs through an almost Arcadian landscape with vast cornfields, meadows - dotted with wild flowers, geometrically precise olive groves, long avenues of eucalyptus trees and vineyards. The lively village life off the beaten track gives them an idea of the Mediterranean beauty of Tunisia's northern, green regions and of the everyday life of the population, about 80% of whom live from agriculture. Artists' village Sidi Bou Said, "holy" city of Kairouan and ruins of Carthage A visit to the Bardo Museum and the "holy" city of Kairouan, the spiritual and religious center of Tunisia, rounds off the experience of the country and provides a deeper understanding of the way of life of Hannibal's grandchildren. Not to be missed is the typical Tunisian cuisine. Whether delicious couscous and fresh fish in a simple restaurant or a menu with several courses, the Tunisian cuisine is very tasty and has a lot to offer. In addition, you can enjoy one of the good red, rosé and white wines of the country. Experience with us the original Tunisia away from the bunkhouses and tourist crowds.

7 Nights 8 Days Available on request Tunis, Tunis

Inclusions/Exclusions

What is included in the tour

Accommodation
Guide
Meals
Transport

What is NOT included in the tour

Flights
Insurance
Additional Services

Highlights

Visit to the artists' village of Sidi Bou Said
Visit the ruins of Utica
Journey continues via Siliana to Maktar
a visit to the Punic War Port

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival

Day 1: Arrival

Individual arrival in Tunis. Transfer to the hotel. Visit to the artists' village of Sidi Bou Said. You will use the remaining evening hours to stroll through the suburb of Sidi Bou Said, situated on a hill overlooking the sea, with its listed architecture. The artists' village is known for its pretty townscape, dominated by whitewashed houses with wrought-iron door and window shutters painted sky blue. Overnight at the Hotel El Mouradi Galmmarth in Tunis.

Hotel el Mouradi Gammarth

Tabarka coast

Day 2: Tunis - Bizerte - Tabarka 1×(B/A)

Day 2: Tunis - Bizerte - Tabarka 1×(B/A)

You will leave the big city atmosphere of Tunis behind and head north. First, you will visit the ruins of Utica. According to ancient sources, ancient Utica is the oldest Phoenician foundation in Tunisia. It took place about 81 years after the fall of Troy, probably around 1100 BC. Once an important port city, its ruins today lie almost 12 km from the Gulf of Tunis. The river Medjerda runs here in a flat coastal plain since ancient times and its carried sediments shifted the coastline further and further away from the city. Then we continue to Bizerte, the northernmost city of the country. Especially worth seeing the old harbor with the colorfully painted fishing boats, the medina, the Kasbah, the Spanish fort and the Andalusian quarter. The inner harbor and the large lake of Bizerte, which is connected to the sea, served the Turkish pirates as a hiding place for their galleys until the 17th century. Bizerte is especially popular among the inhabitants of Tunis as a summer residence. The rest of the year, however, the city is quite tranquil. Overnight stay at Hotel Dar Ismail in Tabarka. (Driving time approx. 5-6h, 210 km).

Day 3: Tabarka - Bulla Regia - Teboursouk 1×(F/A)

Day 3: Tabarka - Bulla Regia - Teboursouk 1×(F/A)

Drive over the Djebel Beni M'Tir and the spa town of Aïn-Draham across to the valley of the Medjerda to the Roman ruins of ancient Bulla Regia. The road winding from Tabarka to Bulla Regia through pine and oak forests is considered one of the most beautiful in Tunisia. Built on old settlement remains from Numidian/Phoenician times, the large buildings known from other Tunisian "Roman cities" are missing here, but on the other hand the basement villas still well preserved here are highly interesting. As protection against the summer heat of the sun in the Medjerda Valley, the inhabitants built the basements of their villas vertically into the insulating earth. Provided with beautiful, cool mosaic floors, they thus created a pleasant microclimate in their homes. A construction method that was often practiced by many desert civilizations (e.g. the Berber villages in southern Tunisia). The "House of Hunting" and the "House of Amphitrite" are particularly worth seeing. Around noon you will reach your hotel in Teboursouk, a lively village of Numidian origin, beautifully situated on the slopes of the Monts de Teboursouk, a small mountain range of the southern Tell foothills. After lunch, you will take a tour of the ruins of ancient Thougga, a real archaeological treasure, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Overnight stay at the Thugga Hotel. (driving time about 3h, 130 km).

Vegetation in the desert

Day 4: Teboursouk - Siliana - Zama - Maktar - Sbeitla 1×(B/A)

Day 4: Teboursouk - Siliana - Zama - Maktar - Sbeitla 1×(B/A)

The journey continues via Siliana to Maktar. On the way you will pass by Zama, the most important battlefield of the Second Punic War. Today a quiet and contemplative place. Extensive cornfields, lark song, field flowers and a wide, slightly hilly landscape. Some remains of former fortifications and sacrificial altars can still be seen on the hills as silent witnesses of that great Punic-Roman conflict. It was in this idyllic landscape that Hannibal and the empire of the Cathars were defeated by the legions of the Roman Empire as Rome's economic rival was too great. Afterwards you will reach Maktar or the Roman Mactaris. The village of Maktar, which today can be found on almost every tour of Tunisia, was already a prosperous place in Numidian-Phoenician times. The mighty thermal baths (the largest in Tunisia and the best preserved of their kind in North Africa - a real antique wellness temple) with their mosaic floors are particularly splendid. Furthermore the Schola of the Juvenes is worth seeing. In the afternoon we continue south through the barren Tunisian highlands of the Dorsale. Fallow land and semi-grass steppe displace the lush agricultural crops. Towards evening, reach your hotel in Sbeitla on the edge of the central Tunisian steppe country. Overnight stay at the Hotel Byzacene. (Travel time approx. 4h, 180 km).

Hotel Byzacene

Day 5: Sbeitla - El Djem - Kairouan 1×(B/A)

Day 5: Sbeitla - El Djem - Kairouan 1×(B/A)

Olive trees as far as the eye can see. In the morning, after visiting the ruins of Sbeitla, the bus will take you to another masterpiece of Roman architecture. From far away you can see the colossal building of the Roman amphitheater of El Djem or the Roman Thysdrus protruding from the table plain Sahel landscape. Olive oil was used for cosmetics, cooking and lighting. The oily fruits flushed a lot of money into the coffers of the Roman landowners. The nouveau riche provincials apparently fell into gigantomania and built in their provincial city the "third largest amphitheater" of the Roman Empire (UNESCO World Heritage Site). In the afternoon you will reach Kairouan. In the midst of the steppe on the western edge of the Sahel of Sousse, the Arabs laid the foundation stone for Kairouan in 671 A.D. with the establishment of a military encampment - a fortress of Islam, a site of Near Eastern scholarship and, for the inhabitants of the Maghreb, the fourth holy city of Islam after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. The city, with its walled medina (old town), its souks (market streets) and its many mosques, has been able to retain its medieval Arab appearance. Kairouan houses many sights within its 3.5 km long city wall with 20 towers. Its rank as an Islamic center is proven by the more than 60 mosques, marabouts (holy tombs) and about 100 zaouias (Koranic schools) of the city. From your hotel, located on the edge of the medina, stroll through the narrow streets of the old town and the souks with their oriental market atmosphere. Overnight at the centrally located Hotel La Kasbah. (Travel time approx. 5h, 250 km).

Hotel La Kasbah

The old Village called Zriba Olia

Day 6: Kairouan - Thuburbo Majus - Zaghouan - Tunis 1×(B/A)

Day 6: Kairouan - Thuburbo Majus - Zaghouan - Tunis 1×(B/A)

Around noon you will reach El Fahs, where you will visit the ruins of Thuburbo Majus, the fourth Roman ruined city of Tunisia very worth seeing. In the midst of the fields, the columns of the capitol of the ancient Roman city rise into the sky. The forum with the capitol temple and the remains of the winter baths are particularly impressive. Afterwards the bus takes you up to Djebel Zaghouan. From these mountains, the Romans once piped drinking water to Carthage via an aqueduct about 98 kilometers long - which began below the main summit lying temple of the Nymphs. The section that is still quite well preserved today is the most impressive aqueduct remains in all of North Africa. Parts of this system were still in operation into the 20th century. On the way back to Tunis, you will make a photo stop at the Oued Miliane. Overnight stay at the hotel El Mouradi Galmmarth. (Travel time about 5h, 190 km).

Hotel el Mouradi Gammarth

Day 7: Sightseeing Tunis 1×F

Day 7: Sightseeing Tunis 1×F

You will begin your sightseeing of Tunis with a visit to the Punic War Port, which once housed 220 warships. Today, the basins of the war and trade port, which the Greek mercenaries of Carthage once called "Kothon - Field Cup", rather convey the charm of two dreamy village ponds. Of the ruins of ancient Carthage, conquered by the Romans, razed to the ground and ritually cursed, only a few remains remain. There the Romans were very, very thorough. The last remains of Punic Carthage disappeared underground when Roman city planners "re-founded" Carthage in 29 B.C. on the orders of the Emperor Augustus and rigorously leveled the remaining ruins and rubble from the catastrophic destruction of 146 B.C.. Where the temple of the chief Punic god Bal Hammon stood, the French Cathedral of Carthage now sits enthroned. One of the few remains from Punic times is the Tophet, an ancient burial ground with urns filled with the bones of child sacrifices. Well preserved are parts of the huge cisterns that stored the incoming water at the end of the aqueduct from Djebel Zaghouane. Continue to the famous Bardo Museum. The stately palace complex of the former Turkish governor of North Africa, the Bey of Tunis, now houses a magnificent collection of beautiful mosaics recovered from the ruins of the Roman cities of Tunisia. Giant puzzles of the Roman period, which once decorated the villas of wealthy Romans. A walk through the Roman section of the museum is the perfect ending to this trip. Afterwards, in Tunis-Megrine, just a stone's throw from the center of Tunis, visit the "Cave La Fontaine aux 1000 Amphores", a beautiful barrel wine cellar of the large cooperative of "Vignerons de Carthage". Here wines mature in concrete and steel tanks and in wooden barrels. It is said that here are stored the "avant-garde wines" of Tunisia, which have already been awarded at many foreign wine competitions. During a small wine tasting you can get your own impression of the quality of the wines (optional). The rest of the afternoon is then at leisure. If you wish, you can spend a relaxing afternoon on the beach or visit the souks in the medina of Tunis. They are the largest complex of their kind in the country and well worth a visit with their covered alleys, small stores, stalls and street cafes. Overnight stay as on the previous day.

Hotel el Mouradi Gammarth

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