Travel Guides: All Countries / Africa / Tunisia / Hammamet
 |  | Travel Reviews : Hammamet |
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| | | | Glimpse of a great past
Our hotel in Hammamet was right on the beach, which was impressively clean, wide and safe - apart from dodging the hawkers trying to sell you things.
The town, with its walled old section and kasbah containing the souks, was pleasant to walk around and less threatening than markets I'd been to in Morocco. We were unadventurous and took organised trips everywhere, but it was a good way of learning a lot in a week.
It was fascinating to visit ancient Carthage in its impressive position by the sea and it brought dusty schoolbook memories to life. Later we saw the far better preserved Roman ruins at Dougga, but Carthage still held more mystique for me because of its legendary status.
My artist daughter loved the whitewashed hilltop village of Sidi bou Said, with its pretty blue iron railings and shutters and its cobbled streets. The candy stalls on the streets were colourful, even if the sweets looked jawbreaking! We bought a beautiful tin doll here.
I fell in love with the great ancient city of Kairouan, where we sat in a carpet shop sipping sweet mint tea and managed to resist buying a handsome rug. The Great Mosque here is superb with a wonderful atmosphere - the whole city has an air of past greatness.
Near Hammamet, we joined the masses at the Nabeul Friday market - chaotic but fun. Not many bargains as they're out to catch the tourists, but I did buy some blue and white bowls. Some were very brittle and broke on the way home, but other pieces survived to grace my kitchen and remind me of North Africa.
Travel guide: Tunisia
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