A VISIT TO TUNISIA

The Republic of Tunisia is a country in North Africa of nearly 10 million people.  It is almost 1.5 times as big as state of PA   [63,378 sq. miles]  The capital is Tunis, a city of about 1 million people.  Other major cities include Sfax and Monastir.
In English, the country is called Tunisia and the city is called Tunis, but both are called Tuunis in Arabic.  Tunisia is known as
"Tunisia the Green" (Tuunis al-Khadraa') because in the north of the country the land is very lush and green.

The area of modern Tunisia was settled by the Phoenicians almost 3,000 years ago.  Their capital was called Carthage.  The Phoenicians fought a series of wars, called the Punic Wars, with the Romans.   Hannibal was the name of their greatest general--he is famous for his campaign to cross the Alps Mountains and attack Rome with his army which included elephants.  The Phoenicians lost the Punic Wars to the Romans, who destroyed Carthage about 150 BC.  They plowed the ground with salt so that nothing could ever grow there.

The Romans called this colony Africa.  The name might come from a Latin word meaning sunny, or maybe named after the native Berber tribe Afrig which lived south of the Roman settlements.  This is where we get the name of the continent of Africa from.  The Romans ruled there for over 600 years, and today you can see many Roman ruins in Tunisia.

The Arabs entered Tunisia from the East in the 7th century, bringing Islam with them.  There were several Islamic dynasties that ruled Tunisia during the Middle Ages, until the Ottoman Turks conquered this territory.  In 1881, the French occupied Tunisia, making it a protectorate.  Tunisia got its independence from France in 1956.  It is now a republic with a president.

There are many beautiful and interesting natural and historical places to see in Tunisia.  It is famous for its beautiful beaches and oases, and the Island of Jerba is known as the "Island of Dreams" because of its beauty.
There are many Roman and a few Phoenician historical sites in the country, as well as native Berber architecture.  The Zitouna Mosque in Tunis is one of the oldest in Islam--it was built nearly 1,300 years ago as the first Islamic university.  The old city of Kairouan (Qairawan) is famous for its Islamic architecture, especially the Great Mosque and the 1,000 year old water reservoirs which are an example of medieval Islamic engineering skill.

If you have seen the movie Star Wars then you  have already seen much of  Tunisia's fascinating scenery.  In fact the name of Luke Skywalker's home planet, Tatooine, is taken from the real Tunisian city of Tataouine--many of the place names in  Star Wars come from real places in Tunisia.  And the famous underground houses you see in the movie are located in the Tunisian city of Matmata.   Some Star Wars fans went to Tunisia and visited the places featured in the movies.

To learn more about Tunisia you can go to these web sites:
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Country_Specific/Tunisia.html
http://www.arab.net/tunisia/tunisia_contents.html
http://www.tunisiaOnline.com/

Map Source:  CIA World Factbook 2001.