A trip to the ancient port city Bizerte

We were anxious to begin some sight seeing outside of Tunis while we all had vacation time together.  So, we decided that it was a good idea to start out early in the morning for the northern fort city of Bizerte.  It's about 75 miles north of Mersa Cubes.  This is an ancient city, founded over 1000 BC by the Phoenicians according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bizerte) and has been inhabited by Romans, Carthaginians  Arabs, Turks, and the French who retained it even after Tunisia declared independence!     

Along the A1 highway, heading north, we drove along beautiful plains of what looked like green grass, which we figured out later were wheat fields, and olive orchards of trees with thick, gnarly trunks and short, thick branches that had been pruned so that they looked like old fashioned shaving brushes.  Overhead, dramatic clouds drifted across the horizon.

This ancient port city is located where the sea connects to a large inland salt lake.  For thousands of years this area received trading ships from all over the Mediterranean and consequently a large forte was built at the mouth of the lake.  It had lookout towers and a large, high and thick stone wall surrounded the city.  Today the inner wall of the city still exists and there is a still viable city where people live in small apartments that line serpentine alleys.  If you wonder down these lanes, you will find children playing, cars parked, and laundry blowing off balconies in the wind.

The Port entrance and inside 'lake'

    

        

      A Boat Restaurant

 

A Village inside the old Fortress Walls

      

 A Mosque inside the Village within the Wall

 Winding Alleys

      

Outside the Walled Village

   

 An Old Hammam Bath

Part of the Wall - it's very thick & high!

"Work Hard and God will help you succeed" 

  A Spice Shop

 Fort on top of the Hill in Bizerte

Entrance Gate

 Inside Courtyard

View of Bizerte from the top of the hill with part of the old wall

On the other side of this wall is a beautiful, old, cemetery

          

    

Windmills in the countryside

    

So, after our visit to Bizerte, on Dec. 27th, we lost our home internet connection!  

In the meantime, we spent New Year's Day at the beautiful Movenpick Hotel where we had a lovely lunch and sat in the lobby using the internet for hours!  Hope everyone had a great New Year's 2012!!

Today we bought a Tunisiana mobile internet device and now I'm back online!

Next: The Old Souk, downtown Tunis!