Cruising CY 2007

(Updated June 9, 2007)

Our plan was to stop at two marinas in Tunisia: Monastir and Hammamet. From these two locations we planned to do inland travelling to various points of interest in Tunisia like Carthage, Tunis, the Sahara desert and Star War locations. The Google Earth map belows shows our course from Isolde Lampedusa (Italy), Monastir, Hammamet, and Pantelleria (Italy). antelleria is included on this page since it fits here logically based upon our route.

Our course from Isolde Lampadusa through Tunisia to Pantellaria

Green denotes land touring to Star War locations and to Tunis and Carthage

In actuality, we only visited one port, Monastir via boat and toured all of Tunisia by car. We hired ourselves a driver Ali, and proceeded to do a circumnavigation of the middle and southern half of Tunisia. Upon returning back to Monastir, we had Ali drive us around the top half of Tunisia, primarily focusing on the coastal areas as these were the most interesting.

We spent about 2 weeks in Tunisia and believe, despite our limited time there, as though we got a pretty good feel for the country and the people. Ali turned out to be a real gem and became more like a friend than a driver. We discussed many things over the days we were together and he helped me with my French. Poor fellow, trapped in a car with me, listening to me spurt off all that bad French and being kind enough to suffer through it and still be patient enough to be helpful. Amongst the issues we discussed were issues regarding Tunisia, its people, where the country was going, the current political climate there, and of course, American politics, George Bush and Iraq.

Ali was very kind to us and took the time to invite us to his home and meet his family and to have a real Tunisian meal. We then went off and looked at his various ongoing projects which includes refurbishing a Mercedes limo once owned and used by the former President of Tunisia, his horse and his tractor and his second residence which he was planning to fix up so his younger brother, who just became betrothed the night we were at Ali's home for dinner, would have a place to live with his new bride. The betrothal period last for one year and at the end of that period, if all goes well, they get married. Ali had promised me some CDs and the next night, he, along with his brother, came by the boat to drop them off. We invited them aboard and it was touching to see how his brother appreciated being invited on board. He told us that he had always looked at the yachts in the harbor and had never had an opportunity to be on one. He was very appreciative.

Us with Ali Boussaid " Baskak", our driver in the resort town of Sousse, Tunisia

Ali has two children. He and his wife live with his parents and prefers it that way. They eat and sleep together and share a very close life together. His marriage was arranged in the typical Islamic fashion and the concept of marrying otherwise is a foreign concept to him. It just is not the way it is done there. With that said, it should also be noted that Tunisia is probably one of the most progressive, pro-western Islamic countries that we have visited. Yet, cultural traditions are still fastidiously adhered to.

There were several other Tunisians that we met and most notable was Slah Garaya. Slah actually set us up with Ali and provided us with a lot of support in our dealings with Tunisian merchants, making sure that they bled as well as us. Slah and Ali both helped us negotiate some great deals on 30x30 knot Tunisian carpets to the consternation of the carpet vendors. We did not know this at the time, but Ali had sold carpets for 10 years and clued us in on all the tricks and gimmicks and gave us good guidance on pricing, telling us in many cases that the price was too high. Ali also arranged for us to obtain a large antique olive oil amphora which we intend to use to decorate our wine cave.

If your going to visit Tunisia, then we recommend contacting Slah for all your arrangements and necessities: 002169891 0095.

For in country transportation requirements, we suggest Ali. Slah can be contacted to make arrangements with Ali.

Below is further coverage and details on our visit to Tunisia.

Tunisian Locations Visited except as noted:

Monastir

El Jem & The Coliseum

Hammamet, Sidi Bousard, Souzze

Carthage

Star Wars

Pantelleria (Italy)

Monastir

Bazaar Entrance Into Monastir's Marina

Around and about Monastir

El Jem

The Ampitheater at El Jem

This is the last of the great Ampitheaters built by the Romans in the 3rd Century AD. It incorporated all the the best technology known at that time from the experiences gained in building previous ampitheaters.

Medenne

These Green Mounds are the dye used for Henna tatooing	Spices at the local market.



The Sahara desert	Tourist lining up to take their camel ride

Camel Market





The best known Camel Market in Tunisia	Goats, donkeys, chickens, etc can be bought!

The Great Salt Lake known best for its Mirages

Camel Saddles for Sale

Ali's feet on the salt lake. The name of the Salt Lake is

Chott el Jarid (On the left in the pic.) In Goggle Earth it appears like a body of water, we did not see any.

Ali said that in the winter months there is water.

Ornate Islamic Tiles

Classic Tunisian Porch

All the locals were friendly, even if they weren't involved in the tourism trade

You got the money, I will sell you anything

Pottery is a big export of Tunisia

Classic Tunisian Door

Tunisian Puppets

The camel driven pump for the water well, a tourist must see? The camel was on break when we were there.

Hammamet

Hammamet and Harbor (on Left)

Carthage

Carthage, Tunisia

GE View of the Harbor

Modern Marina of Sidi Boussard adjacent to Carthage

Some Pics of What Remains of Carthage




	Karen with the goddess Helena
	Our Tour Guide for the Toman Villas

The ancient Carthage Harbor Entrance under Repair	Not much art work is left in place. Carthage was not only sacked by the Romans but it has been pilfered for centuries

Star Wars

Various Star Wars Locations

Thanks to Pamela Green & Gus Lopea

http://theswca.com/travel/tunisia/matmata/matmata.html

Star Wars, Matmata, home of Sidi Driss, where the interiors of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru's house were filmed


Hotel Sidi Driss, minimal accomodations
Star Wars Cantina	Inside the Cantina, it doesn't look like the movie
Dan and Ali in the Star Wars' Bar

Pantelleria (Italy)

Pantelleria is an island belonging to Italy that lies about half way between Sicily and Tunisia. For us, it was a 70 NM slog to this island. Never having heard of it before and it being in such a strategic location, we just had to go. The island is beautiful and worth (well maybe) all the difficulties we encountered while there. The major problem we had was a Force 7 storm that was whipping up 3+ meters seas in the Straits of Sicily and those waves were coming right into our anchorage. It wasn't nice!

Pantelleria Island, Italy

We rented a scooter to tour the island and it turned out to be a perfect day to do it. The weather was perfect, not a cloud in the sky and it felt good to experience the freedom of motorcycling around the island. We visited various sites, the most noteable was the steam bath cave in the island. It was located up along a cliff overlooking the sea and not only was it a fantastic natural steam bath, but the views afforded from its perch were outstanding.

The beautiful farmland of Pantelleria

The island is known for its sweet wine. We tasted it and it didn't appeal to us, but many did. There is a lot farming on the island and the land is beautifully terraced. The harbor was free and water was available. If it had not been for the storm we had to endure, it would have been a perfect visit. The storm did bond the cruisers together and after it was all over with we had a great party on the quay behind us. We became instant friends with our catamaran neighboirs, Laurent and Ellen Eschulten, whom we hope to see again in France.

Pantelleria from GE

Cooling off in the natural lake while motor scooter'ing around the island

Some Scenes from Pantelleria

Karen looking out from the Steam Bath Cave. It was the best natural steam bath location we have ever seen or experienced.	A view from the cliffs of Pantelleria
The Castle Today
The Castle after the bombing WW II, 1943	The Harbor of Pantelleria
Laurent and our local old timer	Ellen wishing us a bon voyage
Two of the 4 boats that were tied off to Dakare's port side during the NW's we endured. Waves coming into the harbor sometimes reached 3 meters and refracted around the harbor entrance, making our mooring location ourtight dangerous.	Lines tying Dakare to our Starboard neighbor can be seen in this picture as well as the lines connecting the 4 boats to our port side. We had a virtual tangled web of lines in place in an attempt to minimize the damage from the NW'er.

Pantelleria Fiasco

We had Northerly winds (25-35 in gusts) that came direct into the harbor. Later the winds switched to the NW. We were on a quay to the East of the main entrance. The waves were boiling into the harbor and refracting around the quay. The first night a French cat 47 ft. came in and Med Moored on the quay putting himself closest to the harbor entrance. At about 3-4AM he dragged sideways into a small French 28 ft boat and that boat was pinned between

the 1st cat and the second cat (Another French boat - 44 ft Aluminum hull). Dakare was next in line. The winds continued to build and the seas became worse. All the boats now were having problems as they were all being pushed sideways (Our included). The small French boat left and went to the other (Eastern) harbor while the 44 cat next to us tied off to the 47 foot cat after failing to wake the captain of that boat. That stabilized the 44 ft cat. We then proceeded to tie off Dakare to the 44

foot cat and 4 boats on the other side of Dakare tied off to us. This seemed to provide some relief to our combined situations but inspection of the 47 ft side-tied cat showed that he had only tied off with small lines. Being unable to raise the captain of the 47 cat, the captain of the 44 foot cat then tied off the 47 foot cat with extra lines to prevent him from breaking away from the dock and taking us all with him. The winds and seas continued to build throughout the remainder of the night.

In the early morning the French 47 foot captain (Who had caused all the problems to start with) awoke and proceeded to have a verbal fight with the 44 foot French captain (All in French). It was not pretty. He then, without warning or providing an opportunity for all the other boats to make precautions, cast off the lines. This left all of us in a terrible position. We quickly tied off extra lines to shore and then proceeded to dispatch additional anchors. Conditions were bad enough that no

one could leave but our current situation was tenuous even with the additional anchors. We then found some large boulders / underwater mooring blocks and tied off 2 heavy duty lines to them. One going to Dakare and one going to the 44 ft. Cat. This gave us some confidence. In the mean time the 47 cat, without the advantage of the extra lines we had used to tie his boat to the quay, broke his lines. He left under duress and went over to the other harbor never to be seen again. He also never

opologized for the mess he created. We then tied off even more lines to the 44 ft cat and the dock where the 47 ft cat had been and this was our circumstances for 2.5 days more. It was very uncomfortable and worrisome as the boats would surge from the waves towards the quay. Unfortunately, just about every line we had was destroyed and we suffered some minor gel coat damage on the cleat holding the other 4 boats. We were all glad to see the seas calm down and learned our lesson not to be in Pantelleria when the Northerly seas build.

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____________________________________________________________________

(Temporary Place holder - all material below...credit to: By Pamela Green & Gus Lopea

Photography by Pamela Green and Gus Lopez

http://theswca.com/travel/tunisia/matmata/matmata.html

I used this material to plan my own trip in Tunisia. Dan)

Location of Tataouine, for Star Wars

The sign welcomes visitors to Tataouine, and you feel like you're stepping into a planet in the Star Wars universe. Tataouine is both a city and a region of Tunisia. Although the name of this city was obviously borrowed to name Luke Skywalker's home world, no actual filming occurred in this city. However, it does make an excellent place to photograph oneself entering "Tatooine". Thanks to Fus Lopez

Chott el Jerid

The Lars Family Homestead: Exteriors

West of the oasis town of Nefta, on the road to Algeria, there is a little-used turnoff that leads past a tourist stand, and along a salt flat. Follow this unremarked dirt road out to the location of perhaps the most memorable scenes in all of Star Wars: ANH.

Location: 33° 50' 35" N, 7° 46' 44" E (using Magellan GPS Pioneer)

Directions: If you start from Tozeur, head west towards Nefta. The turnoff is 11.8 kilometers west of the Nefta arch. Turn left. The road leads first south, past a Berber souvenir and camel stand, and then veers to the west, towards Algeria. Since you're driving across a salt flat, be aware that conditions can be quite bad during the rainy season.

Ksar Hadada

The slave quarter

By Pamela Green

Photography by Gus Lopez

A few miles northwest of Tataouine, along a hair-raising, part gravel road, lies the hill town of Ksar Hadada. Once a ksar, or fortified grainary, Hotel Ksar Hadada is now a popular tourist destination (not to say, tourist trap), and this location has been rumored to play an important role in the Star Wars prequels.

Location: 33° 05' 54" N, 10° 18' 38" E (using Magellan GPS Pioneer)

Directions: Ksar Hadada is really easy to find as it is a major tourist destination. From Tataouine, take the road heading northwest (MC 207) to Ghoumrassen. Continue on that road through Ghoumrassen and follow signs to Hadada. The road might be rough in places. Once in Hadada, it's relatively easy to find Ksar Hadada since it's in the center of the town on a small hill.

Ksar Hadada

The slave quarter

By Pamela Green

Photography by Gus Lopez

Location: 33° 05' 54" N, 10° 18' 38" E (using Magellan GPS Pioneer)

Matmata

The Lars Family Homestead: Interiors

By Pamela Green

Photography by Pamela Green and Gus Lopez

Just a few kilometers southwest of Gabes is the mountain town of Matmata, home of distinctive underground dwellings of Les Troglodytes. Star Wars fans know that Matmata is also home of Sidi Driss, where the interiors of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru's house were filmed.

Location: 33° 32' 26" N, 9° 57' 59" E (using Magellan GPS Pioneer)

Directions: You'll probably find the easiest going to Matmata following the road southwest out of Gabes. This road will head you through New Matmata, where most of the residents of old Matmata are now located.

You start seeing hand-painted signs for Les Troglodytes many miles before you hit the secluded mountain town of Matmata. Matmata's claim to fame (not to mention tourist bucks) is a distinctive style of underground dwelling.

Location scouts for ANH obviously noted the otherworldly look of the place. Although the 'vaporators are now gone, Hotel Sidi Driss, the location used for interiors of the Lars family homestead, still looks more like something you'd find on the planet Tatooine than on planet earth.

The stairs actually run up over Sidi Driss's kitchen. While Hotel Sidi Driss can not be said to possess the most inviting accommodations (see my remarks on Ksar Hadada for my opinions vis a vis spending the night in a cave), but it does boast a farily decent restaurant. Gus and I would later take advantage of this fact.