La Goulette, Tunisia

11/06/2012 (Tuesday) -- La Goulette, Tunisia

We were both excited and nervous about this port. With all that had happened in the last year in this country we were not sure if we should even get off the ship. MSC is one of the few cruise lines that still call at Tunisia. Finally, we decided to book the ship excursion just to be safe. It turned out to be a very pleasant stop on this trip. We boarded one of the two buses for English speaking passengers and off we went to this North Africa country.

The Port

This is one of the more interesting ports where we have been. When we arrived, the camels and band were already getting ready right next to the ship. We needed to fill out a form to get into this port so going through immigration was a little serious. Tour groups go out on the left side of the port terminal while individuals go out on the right side at the village area. There are many stores in the village area, including a couple of restaurants where wi-fi is available if you are a customer. We regret not buying saffron from the stores here. They were selling them for 5 euro per container, a very good buy but we were not sure if it was allowed to be brought back to the states. We bought some keychains here 6 for 5 euro. 

arriving the port in La Goulette, Tunisia

calm and beautiful

camels waiting at the port

La Goulette port

band playing at the port

tour buses waiting outside the port

port terminal -- passengers using taxi or doing their own tours will follow this to exit port

camel rides next to the ship

building in the background is the 'village' with shops and restaurants

waiting to exit the port

outside the port area

commuter train

on the tour bus

leaving the port area

our guide

some street scenes

pretty, clean, and quaint

some houses in a more upscale area

our first stop was an inner man-made harbor where war ships were docked

forgot the name of this place (Punic Port?)

Sid Bou Said
This is a very pretty area with blue and white wash

There are many tents selling souvenirs near the parking lot at Sid Bou Said. This is a better place to shop. "Everything one eruo." was what we heard from the sellers when we were leaving.

white and blue--kind of like Santorini

leather magnets

We visited a private museum which we had to pay for entrance fees. This was a private resident of a rich family. An interesting place to visit.

the original owner of this house

mint tea was served here and this is also a shopping place inside the museum

stairs leading up to the terrace

our ship can be seen all the way from the rooftop

We were taken to a store that was recommended by the tour guide. Make sure you bargain hard. You may find better buy at other stores nearby, much better buy. We bought a small ceramic bowl for 5 euro and we found another place selling for 1 euro.

more street scenes

Byrsa Hill
Byrsa Hill is a hilltop where you can see remains of Carthaginian quarters and columns. You can also see the views of Gulf of Tunis from here. There is a museum on the ground and a camera pass has to be purchased in order to take pictures here.

Then we came to Byrsa Hill over Carthage

Punic remains

Cathedral of St. Louis on Byrsa Hill, now only used for cultural activities

Carthage Museum

Not a huge museum but has many interesting items on display. Small statues, vases, lamps, mosaic etc. mainly from the Roman era. 

mosaic floor in the main hall of the museum

mosaic pictures on the wall

remains and parts of Punic columns

back outside Byrsa Hill

zooming in our shp

Antonine Baths

This maybe one of the largest baths in the Roman empire. It was amazing to see such a large area of bath remains. To just walking around and admiring the structures was an experience itself. 

the Presidential palace is behind the white wall

waiting to get back on the bus

back to the port

inside the village

playing beautiful music

inside the port

left side of the port terminal--for excursion groups

very nice sitting area

buying tickets for taxi serve inside the village area, fixed prices

using wi-fi outside of the restaurant using the code given to us by another customer

back to the beautiful Splendida

enjoyed another great dinner

La Goulette was an amazing stop. We really had a good experience here for the five hours we were there. I believe it is also an easy stop if people want to DIY. We saw many tourists using taxi at different stops so it should be quite OK to do it yourself. I kept telling myself "We should have done that." A good day in Tunisia, indeed.