Travel

The tourists who arrive in Tunisia thinking just about Sahara and the beaches on the Mediterranean coast will have a surprise of big proportions: the northern half of the country, where all touristic resorts  are grouped is extremely potential over the areas of southern Greece. When you’re in Cape Bon Peninsula, near the capital Tunis, you can even believe you are in the temperate areas of Europe: the corn fields and the plantations of grapes do not suggest in any way that you have reached northern Africa. If you want oases, sand dunes, dromedary, shortly speaking the whole Sahara, you must register in the optional tours for two days, which will take you right into the heart of the desert.
In June, a one week stay at a new hotel of four  stars, all included, costs only 299 euro, money which is added to airport charges.  If we take into account the fact that these funds are deducted about 110 euro per person (cost to place a charter flight), we understand why Tunisia receives about 6 million tourists every year. In fact, extremely low prices charged by hotels are the reason that most tourists who come here choose the two weeks stays, costing around 500 euro plus airport taxes.
Things do not change  even when you go out from the hotel: a meal for two persons, on a terrace at a near the great Roman amphitheatre at El Jem, costs 17 dinars, that is not even 10 euro. Normally, as in any Arab country, the tip has its place of honor, but at these prices it does not matter how big is the tip you give to the waiter.
An ideal climate, a long and gentle seacoast, Tunisia, the northernmost country of Africa has for over 3000 years witnessed the passage of Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Turks, Spanish and French. They came as fugitive s or adventurers, to conquer or to claim, warriors and missionaries, traders and farmers each leaving a part of their story in stone or mosaics, on hills of Carthage and the threshold of the Sahara. This heritage, Tunisia’s greatest wealth has been held in trust and preserved in hundreds of sites and museums from the small Punic museum in Utica to the vast collections of the prestigious National Museum of Bardo. Most Museums are closed on Mondays, whereas many on-site archeological museums and ruins are open all week. An entrance fee is usually charged and a caretaker will often act as guide.

Places to visit…

Sahara: the giant dunes - the desert offers adventure and magic, all without the need to give up comfort. You have the option of a luxury hotel and a car equipped with air conditioning. In fact neither holiday in Tunisia is complete without Sahara. You should try a three-day safari jeep with the unpredictable among the dunes of Sahara. But no one ever did it alone. Or simply, you can try something more quiet, such as the camel riding.

Cartagina: No other place in Tunisia does have such a strong resonance than Cartagina. Located in the suburbs of capital Tunis, the old fenician   city reveals even today part of its agitated history. The National Museum of Carthage owns an impressive collection of vases, statuettes or old inscriptions. Besides, recently restored,the imposing  Catedral of St. Louis, built on the same place where in 1270 Louis IX died during a crusade. But the best preserved Roman building remains the Theatre which, although mostly restored,it is hard to believe that bears the legacy of a so further past.

The island of Mauritius is known for its diversity. Here live Indian, Chinese, Creole, African, European and Malagasy populations. They all live in a perfect harmony, and they all respect each other’s traditions. The inhabitants of the island are friendly and hospitable. They believe that their success is due to this fact, how they treat their tourists. All this, including the variety of religions, make the island of Mauritius one of the most visited touristic places. The multi-ethnic characteristics of Mauritius make it a multi-lingual country with ethnic languages such as Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Urdu, Mandarin and Cantonese being commonly used. But the true language spoken in the island is Creole, which resulted from mixing French with the language of the African slaves.
Among the festivals celebrated in Mauritius, there are :
Yaum un Nabi January ( Day of death of prophet Mohammed for the Muslims)
Spring Festival February (The Chinese New Year is celebrated each year on a different date, owing to the differences between the lunar and the solar calendars)
Eid-Ul-Fitr February (The Id-El-Fitr festival signals the end of the Ramadan - the fasting period for Muslim people)
Independence Day 12 March (Republic Day)
Divali September / October (The Festival of Lights is celebrated in a spirit of pure joy, in the month of October or November. Small clay lamps line the walls, balconies and yards for Hindu people).

Mauritian Sega – the traditional dance…
The Sega is the national dance as well as a musical genre met only in the island of Mauritius. Introduce in the island by the African slaves, the sega is a passionant dance, exotic, but it can become erotic also. In general it is danced by women dressed with large, colorful dresses. Among the songs, the best known are “Li tourne, li tourne” by Alan Ramanisum, “Le Morne” by Cassyia, and “Let me fly” by King. All these are emotional songs, which they hide true stories.

Mauritian Cuisine…
Mauritius is a paradise known not only for its views, but also for food. Each religion has a specific type of food. Culinary traditions from France, India, China and Africa, the best-known and appreciated cuisines in the world, have been passed on through generations. The combination of curries and rougailles along with white rice and other beans is popular with the locals and is generally included in their everyday food. The unique interblending of spices with vegetables, meat and fish is what lends that distinctive, unique charm to the food of Mauritius. Among the Mauritian dishes there are dholl purri, farata, gâteaux piment and samosas. Mauritius food includes also sea food, like the “Millionaire’s salad” comprising of oysters, shrimps, crayfish and crabs. It is said that to get the taste of real Mauritian food, you must have a dholl puri with a large glass of Alouda or tamarind juice.

Mauritian Beer…
Mauritius produces a wide range of cane rum. It is very cheap and is a nice drink when mixed with cola and ice. While drinking it, you must put coconut water with a dash of lime and a splash of local rum over ice. The local beer Phoenix is considered to be one of the best in the world.

Today we continue the wonderful story of the island of Mauritius. In this issue we talk about Dodo bird, considered the symbol of the island, and about the region Le Morne, the symbol of the slaves’ sufferings.

Dodo bird…

As I mentioned, Dodo bird is considered to be the official symbol of the country. However, very few things are known about this bird, although it has spread only 300 years ago. The irony of faith is that although the bird lived in a period of written history, we know more about the dinosaurs themselves, than we know about this relative of the pigeon. The development and even extending of this bird remain a mystery. All that is known about this symbol of the island was found in the writings and drawings of the sailor who visited the island in the 17th century. The birds have a huge size and have only lived in the island of Mauritius. Due to the size of the wings (they were very small) and due to their body shape, the birds could not fly or run to escape from danger. The story of Dodo bird is tragic indeed. First of all visitors, especially the Dutch, were hunting the bird for food. The ones which survived became very soon food for rats, pigs, or even monkeys, which were brought on the island by sailors. By the year 1681 died the last Dodo bird. Tough later scientists discovered a Dodo bird grave in the island, and they suggested that the bird might have died of natural death. But this is a fact we will never know…
Le Morne…
Le Morne Brabant is a Peninsula in the southwestern part of the island. The Peninsula is surrounded by a very beautiful lagoon. Two very rare plants grow in the region ,the Mandrinette and Trochetia boutoniana. The hill became very famous in the 19th century when the slaves used Le Morne as a mean of escape. After banning the slavery in 1835, an expedition of police in the region went to say that the slaves are free people. However, many of them misunderstood, and they jumped into the ocean from the top of the mountain. This episode is reported in Cassiya’s song, Le Morne . Since then this day is the day celebrated by all the inhabitants of the island as Annual Commemoration of the Abolition of Slavery.
Today, Le Morne is a small village known for surfing, paragliding, and kite surf. It is quite windy on this side of the island. The lagoon of Le Morne is known to be one of the largest, with its blue turquoise water. From the beach there is a beautiful view of the Le Morne mountain.

Mauritius is a small island situated in the Indian Ocean, near Madagascar belonging to the African continent and to the Commonwealth organisation.

The island was first discovered by Arabs, but this being off the record. Though the first official evidence of the discovery was the Italian Alberto Cantino’s map in 1502. Cantino’s map to exposed the names of three islands discovered: Reunion called diba margabin, Mauritius, called dina aroby and Rodrigues called dina morare. Another oficial discovery of the island was made by the Portuguese between 1507 and 1513.The island was discovered in random in an expedition organized on the coast of the Gulf of Bengal, leaded by Tristão da Cunha. However the Portuguese have not shown any interest in these isolated islands and have not installed in the area any permanent colony.

Between 1598 and 1637 followed a series of colonizations and conquests in the island. Following an expedition started in Texel (Netherlands) under the leadership of amirals Jacques Cornelius Van Neck and Wybrandt Van Warwyck on the Indian continent, the Dutch have discovered the island. The eight vessels were separated from Cape of Good Hope. Five of them went in recognition on the island under the command of the amiral Wybrandt Van Warwyck. The Dutch were also the ones who gave the name of the island after Maurits prince of the Netherlands, whose name was Mauritius in Latin, as well as the name of the city in the Northwestern part of the island, Port Louis, which later on became the capital of the country. Thus the Dutch abandoned the island in 1710.

The slaves were not very well treated by the inhabitants of the island. They were punished very severely. Some of the punishments consist of amputation of several parts of the body and their exposure as an example for others in full day, possibly ending with the execution of the sentenced slaves at sunset. The region which reminds them most of the slaves’ sufferings is the Peninsula Morne Brabant,in the Southwestern part of the island. Those who did not rezist the pains and sufferings came here and they jumped into the ocean from the mountain with the same name. This emotionant story of the slaves is also the theme of the song entitled LE MORNE interpreted by Cassiya. All the inhabitants of the island listen today with emotion the story of the slaves and of the Le Morne mountain.

Abandoned by the Dutch, the island was conquered by the French, being called “Ile de France”. During the Napoleonic wars, “Ile de France” has become a base where French corsairs organized raids on the English fleet. By the year 1810 the island was under the domination of the French government. However, the situation is changing in the same year when the British arrive on the island and they beat the French. By the Treaty of Paris in 1814 the island is now under English domination. Also under English domination the slavery is abolished. The island won its independence in 1968, on March 12th after a referendum for independence.