Tourism in Tunisia

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Tunisian cuisine touted as next hot trend....

Tunisian food is spicy and rich but also healthy with an emphasis on grains, fresh fruit, fish and vegetables

Tunisian cuisine can be included in a healthy diet for a new age. It's full of flavour from herbs, spices, garlic and chilies and brimming with goodness from grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes.

But Joyce Goldstein, a top California restauranteur and cookbook author, says this next "hot" addition to Mediterranean cuisine may not hit the restaurant mainstream for a while. At least, not in its pure form.

Paula Wolfert, a food writer with experience in the culinary traditions of countries along the Mediterranean, took people at the symposium on a figurative journey to Tunisian markets.

"Tunisian food is spicy and rich, but also very healthy," says Wolfert, who has spent 15 years studying food of the Mediterranean region and its health-giving properties.

By JUDY CREIGHTON -- The Canadian Press

HANDICRAFTS

The craft industry is one of the most dynamic sectors of the Tunisian economy. It also represents one of the oldest professional activities and is well represented across the country. The major branches of the craft industry are :

Textile crafts: Essentially in Tunis (traditional costumes and carpets).

Ceramics: Mainly in Jerba and Nabeul

Leather: In Tunis, Sfax, and Kebili.

Copper: Specialty of Tunis and Kairouan (enameled, chiseled, or engraved).

Jewelry: Goldsmiths in Tunis, silver costume jewelry in Nabeul and Sfax, gold and solid silver in Mahdia and Sousse, and filigreed silver in Jerba.

Wood: Furniture and traditional musical instruments in Ain Draham and Kelibia.

TOURISM

Tunisia is dwarfed by its North African neighbors, though it's not much smaller than most Mediterranean European nations. The Mediterranean laps at roughly 40% of the country's border, with Sardinia and Corsica lying directly to the north and Malta and Sicily off to the north-east. Northern Tunisia has a typical Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers (June-August) and mild, wet winters (December-February). Tunis' high temperatures top out around 32°C (90°F) and drop no lower than 6°C (40°F). The mountains of the north-west occasionally get snow, while the farther south you go, the hotter and drier it gets. Annual rainfall ranges from 1000mm (40in) in the north, down to 150mm (6in) in the south, although some Saharan areas go without rain for years on end. Tunisia's lowest point is at Chott el-Gharsa, at 17m (56ft) below sea level, and its highest point is at Jebel Chambi at 1544m (1785ft).

Tunisia's beautiful beaches, historical treasures, and colorful festivals attract millions of tourists from all over the world. Nearly 5 million tourists visit Tunisia every year. American and most European tourists do not require visas to enter Tunisia. There are more than 722 hotels in the country, totaling 191.955 beds. Seven international airports, and eight passenger ports connect Tunisia to the United States and Europe. The capital city, Tunis, is a two-hour flight from Paris and London and a fifty- minute flight from Rome. Daily flights connect Tunisia to virtually all European, African and Middle Eastern destinations.

MEDITERRANEAN COAST

Visitors sunbathe, dive, sail, and fish along the vast stretches of glistening, white sandy Mediterranean beaches covering a 810- mile coast. Beach resorts include Tabarka, Hammamet, Sousse and Jerba. El-Kantaoui's 27-hole golf course and Andalusian style marina is a fully-integrated tourism complex. The perched village of Sidi Bou Said offers a unique scenery of domes, arched doors and balconies in blue and white set against a sparkling sea.

ARCHAEOLOGY

Punic and Roman archaeological sites can be visited in Carthage and other historical areas around the country. They include second century Roman temple in Dougga, the Phoenician port of Utica, Sbeitla's Roman temples and arches, Bulla Regia's Roman villas and El Jem's Coliseum, which is second only to Rome. The Bardo Museum, near Tunis, boasts the largest collection of Roman mosaics in the world.

ARCHITECTURE

Masterpieces of Arab-Islamic architecture attract the attention of visitors. Among them: the Great Mosque of Kairouan, the Moslem World's fourth holiest city, and the Great Mosque of Ezzitouna, at the center of the old city (the Medina) of Tunis. The great Tunisian south is home to lush oases and great Saharan landscapes . A special attraction is the unusual Matmata where the ground is pockmarked with craters (and where incidentally the Star Wars movie was filmed). Chott El Jerid, 2,000 sq. miles salt-flats as big as Kansas, offers mirages and sand-yachting activities. Filming of "Star Wars" Filming of "The English Patient."