Tunis, Tunisia

Legend and history mix to tell of Carthage's founding in the 9th Century BCE. Greek and Roman tales assert that Queen Elyssa of Tyre fled from her kingdom after her powerful brother had her husband killed. She ended up in Carthage, where local residents agreed to give her a piece of land equal in size to an ox's hide. She cleverly cut this land into such thin strips that it stretched to cover a whole hill: the Colline de Byrsa (Byrsa Hill) (byrsa means "ox" in Phoenician). It was atop this hill that the first Carthage flourished.

Carthage was settled in the 8th Century when Phoenician sailors from Tyre crossed the Mediterranean. They wanted to explore precious metal mines in Spain and set up permanent trading posts in Carthage. The name Carthage (in the Phoenician language "Kart-Hadasht") means "new town." Carthage prospered under Phoenician control, mostly through trade with neighboring villages in the Mediterranean.

Before the Punic Wars, Carthage rivaled Rome in power and influence. In an attempt to secure its dominance, Rome began to deny Carthage access to trade in the Mediterranean by blocking its passage through certain straits. After three wars with Rome, Carthage fell in 146 BCE; much of its population was murdered or enslaved. The new Carthage became the prosperous capital city of Roman-controlled Africa. Christianity became widely accepted and practiced in Carthage, making it a haven for Christian leaders such as Saint Cyprian (Bishop of Carthage in the 3rd Century).

The prosperity and power that sustained the vast Roman Empire for so long collapsed. Aware of this weakness, Vandals attacked Carthage, and annexed it for themselves. In the 6th Century, the Byzantines forced the Vandals out and tried to take over the city. As a result, Carthage sustained significant damage to its infrastructure. Arab conqueror Ibn an-Nôman passed through Carthage to the little village of "Tunes." He found the location to be strategically desirable: it sat atop a hill near a lake, which protected the village against naval attacks from the sea. What would become Tunis was created largely from the stone of Carthage's destroyed buildings.

Initially, Tunis was a valuable naval base in Ifriqiya (the land that was once Roman Africa), but with the building of the Mosquée Zitouna in the 8th Century, and the commercial development that followed, it soon became more powerful than Carthage ever was.

The Fatimids, who were of Shiite Berber origin, seized power in Ifriqiyah in the 10th Century. The Zirids, from Kairouan, governed on behalf of the Fatimid Dynasty (which was based in Cairo). A religious conflict erupted between the two powers. The Fatimids soon grew tired of this opposition, and sent two neighboring tribes to attack Ifriqiya. Kairouan, the Zirids capital city, was destroyed.

Tunis held up under the rule of the Beni Khorassan, who made the city their capital. In the 12th Century, the Almohad dynasty (which ruled from Marrakech) designated a governor to run Ifriqiya from Tunis. This governor established his own dynasty, whose rule upon Ifriqiya is characterized by a period of Tunisian prosperity.

The Hafsid princes, who ruled from the Kasbah Hill (to the west of the Place du Gouvernement), made Tunis their capital city. And it grew thanks to its trading influence. Its commercial centers and religious buildings became fully developed by the 14th Century. The population swelled to 100,000 inhabitants. The Hafsid rulers welcomed Andalusian Moors immigrating from Spain. The Moors influenced Tunis intellectually, and their artisans introduced new statecrafts. Most notably the Sheshia, the hat that has come to symbolize Tunisia.

The Hafsid rulers also welcomed Christians to the city, who were allowed to trade and to practice their religion without persecution. Inns were built for the Christian traders from Pisa, Genoa, Venice and Marseille around the district of Bab El Bahr, which welcomed Europeans until the establishment of the French Protectorate.

In 1534, the Ottomans plundered Tunis. Shortly thereafter, the Spaniards started a war with the Ottomans for control of the Mediterranean. Spain's King Charles V took back the city in 1535 and restored the rule of the Hafsids. The Spanish stayed in Tunis, striving to enhance its defenses (they built a fort in La Goulette), until the Ottomans regained control in the early 16th Century.

During most of the Ottoman rule, Tunis prospered thanks to slavery, trading and piracy in the Mediterranean Sea. Many new madrasas, mosques and palaces were built. The naval victories of the French and English in 1826 and 1827 ended piracy in the Mediterranean. This was a major blow to Ottoman power in Tunis. As a result, they raised taxes, and lost popularity. They also borrowed money from Occidental rulers, who took advantage of the situation by increasing their influence in the country. Europeans began settling in Tunis in greater numbers. A French military expedition from Algeria led to the signing of the French Protectorate (Bardo's treaty) in 1881.

Tunis' history changed dramatically with the coming of the French. The French Consulate and a few more buildings were erected out of the walls of the medina, triggering further urban development. A new colonial town was built after the decontamination and filling of a lagoon located between the east side of the Medina, Bab El Bahr ("Sea Door"), and Tunis Lake.

In 1942, Tunis was occupied by the Germans, and taken back by the British in 1943. In 1955, Habib Bourguiba returned from his exile in France and arrived in La Goulette, setting in motion Tunisian independence.

Tunisia gained its independence from France on March 20, 1956. The Constitution recognized Tunis, which had 550,000 inhabitants at the time, as the capital. French and European populations soon left the New Town (Carthage). Symbols of colonization disappeared from the urban landscape as early as 1956. Avenue de la Marine is renamed after Habib Bourguiba, and an equestrian statue of the new Tunisian President replaced the statue of the French Ministry. At that time, the town was facing problems related to the ghettoization of the medina. The new nation also had to deal with the growing shantytowns (gourbivilles) that were cropping up due to a rural exodus.

Since then, Tunisia has undergone rapid modernization efforts, resulting in high population growth: it now spreads to the north, and its population has reached well over the two million mark. Like the New Town of the past, today's Tunis, with its bustling business districts and flourishing cultural centers, makes it a city ready to step to the forefront of the global stage.

Contrary to many Tunisian cities, the economic and political capital city of Tunis doesn't live on tourism. However this is a city open to the world and more specifically to the other side of the Mediterranean Sea, which has a whole range of hotels for business travelers. Tourists will also find fitting accommodations, but there are very few boutique hotels. One should also keep in mind that most of the time the number of rating stars placarded in Tunisian hotels doesn't suit exactly the international standards of comfort.

Medina

During the Ottoman times, the caravanserais (named fondouks in Maghreb) of the medina served as inns for the foreign traders who gathered there by crafts or countries. As for the important guests, they stayed at the Palace of the Government, on the Place du Gouvernement. But with the extension of the city beyond the walls of the medina, the latter has lost its inn-keeping function. There are few accommodations in the medina. A resplendent boutique-hotel opened recently, the Hôtel Dar El Medina. There is also a beautiful Auberge de Jeunesse. The low-budgets will also find first-price accommodations without many comforts at the entrance of the medina in the vicinity of Bab El Bahr, such as the Hôtel Marhaba located on the Place de la Victoire.

New Town

Various categories of hotels can be found in the city-center, but there are no boutique-hotels. A first category refers to hotels of average standing devoted to business travelers but that can also fit the holidaymakers. Among them, the most famous and one of the most expensive is the Hôtel Carlton. There is also the Golf Royal Hotel or the Hôtel Naplouse along with some hotels settled near the Parc du Belvédère such as the very good Les Ambassadeurs or the Hôtel Belvédère Fourati. A second hotel category deals with cheap hotels that can fit the tourists given their interesting locations such as the Hôtel Salammbô, the Grand Hôtel de France or the Hôtel Maison Dorée. The four and five stars hotels in Tunis have known their heyday in the 1980s and some of them struggle to keep a certain level of excellence and modernization. However, some up-to-date establishements with modern ammenities include Hôtel Africa Meridien, the Mercure El Mechtel, or the Sheraton Tunis Hotel & Towers. As for the Hôtel Abou Nawas Tunis, it is one of the last ones belonging to the Tunisian hotel chain Abou Nawas.

Les Berges du Lac

Business travelers can perfectly consider staying at the Berges du Lac, the new business district located between the Tunis Lake and the airport, which is only five minutes away by taxi. This district doesn't have any touristy appeal, but it is growing as a leisure and shopping center: the area around the amusement park Dah Dah Happy Land Entertainment Park is devoted to the entertainment of the whole family, while the district is progressively equipped with bowling alleys (Golden Bowling), discotheques, restaurants and coffee houses, where alcohol is however still prohibited in this district. Some standing hotels have consequently settled here, such as the Hôtel Les Berges du Lac Concorde which offers excellent services.


Carthage, Sidi bou Saïd & La Marsa

The few accommodation facilities of these three touristy destinations are not systematically adapted to the business traveler's needs, but they are perfectly suited to tourists.

There are very few hotels in Carthage, as the site benefits from protections concerning its status as a part of the UNESCO Word Heritage. However one of the rare boutique-hotel of Tunis can be found there, the modern Hôtel Villa Didon located on the Colline de Byrsa (Byrsa Hill).

It is also kind of a privilege to stay in the picturesque white-and-blue village of Sidi Bou Saïd! Indeed you will have to make a reservation a very long time in advance if you want to find a room at the charming Hôtel Sidi Bou Farès or at the well-known boutique-hotel Hôtel Dar Saïd.

In summertime, the villas of La Marsa are all occupied either by their owners or by holiday's tenants, but the hotels are scarce. However, there is a welcoming address: the Hôtel Plaza Corniche. As for people with low-budgets, they can try at the Pension Predl.

Gammarth

The new generation of luxury hotels is to be found 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Tunis. Indeed, the Mediterranean forest and the long sandy beach of Gammarth have been colonized by luxury resorts. This seaside location doesn't make it a place only for tourists because most of the hotels are perfectly equipped to welcome business travelers. Except for some places such as the two-star hotel La Tour Blanche, most of the hotels are five star. Some of them are among the bests in Tunis, such as the excellent Hôtel The Residence Tunis with its famous thalassotherapy center Les Thermes Marins de Carthage, or the Renaissance Tunis Hotel. However, before choosing a hotel in Gammarth one should take into consideration the relative isolation of the area. The amount of amenities provided by the resorts aims at compensating for it: private beaches like at the Hôtel Abou Nawas Le Palace or at the Corinthia Khamsa Hotel, an array of restaurants and bars, swimming pools and spas, and leisure facilities such as a Bowling like in the case of the Golden Tulip Carthage Tunis.