You could be forgiven for missing Sousse off the itinerary whilst visiting Tunisia. After all it is Tunisia's second largest City, but unlike Tunis the Capital, Sousse has a reputation of being a lot more industrialised.
During my recent visit to the Country I stayed in a Holiday Resort called Port El Kantaoui, which is a purpose built Resort just 12 Kilometres from Sousse.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
My first glimpse of Sousse was from the transfer Coach from the Airport at Monastir en route to Port El Kantaoui. Sousse seemed like a bustling, lively, place with plenty of traffic and People, but it did look rather run down and not the sort of place where one would spend a Holiday.
THE LOCATION
The City is located on the Coastline but sprawls inland for several Kilometres and the Coast is only a relatively short stretch of around 3 Kilometres. This is however the Mediterranean Sea and the same Sandy Beach that is found at Port El Kantaoui. It has a population of approximately 450,000
People.
Sousse lies 140 Kilometres South of the Country's Capital City Tunis, about 2 hours by Road and the places are connected by a Motorway.
THE BACKGROUND
The history of Sousse is both long and colourful. The City was founded in the 8th century BC by the Phoenicians who named it Hadrumetum , and it was quickly established as the most important trading post on the North African Coastline. The Pheonicians held onto the City for over 600 years before it eventually fell to the Romans.
The Romans changed the name slightly to Hadrumentum. Following the demise of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, the City underwent a turbulent time and initially it fell to the Vandals. The Byzantines crushed the Vandals and in turn the Arabs ousted the Byzantines.
The Arabs renamed the City Susa and made it the Capital of their Aghlabid Dynasty. During this time they fought off invasions from Italy, Sicily, France and Spain. It was however after French Colonialism during the latter part of the 19th century that the greatest changes to the City were made. These included the modernisation of the Port, and the construction of the modern infrastructure.
THINGS TO SEE
There is no doubt that Sousse is a very old place and beyond the hustle and bustle of the modern City it is steeped in history. Thankfully despite its turbulent past the majority of the old part of the Town has been preserved and the Wall around the Medina, and much of what lies inside, dates back to the 5th century AD and beyond.
Just inside the Walls of the Medina stands the Great Mosque, which dominates this part of the City. This Great Mosque, which was completed in the year 851AD, stands like a Fortress as a symbol of the various Arab Dynasties that ruled the City, but sadly in line with all Mosques in Tunisia it is out of bounds to non-Muslims who can only visit its outer Grounds. The Grounds are open daily (except Fridays) between 8AM and 1PM.
The Medina itself is perhaps the most famous of all of the Tourist attractions in Sousse . The Medina covers an area of 2 square Kilometres of narrow Streets enclosed within the great Walls. These Streets are home to the City's Market Stalls, Shops, and Bazaars. Since this is the place where the locals buy their daily goods including Meats and Spices it is the place where Tourists can haggle for the biggest Bargains.
In reality I found my visit to the Medina Bazaar a very uncomfortable one. The Streets get narrower and narrower and the Crowds get busier, pushing and shoving and pulling. We had been told to be on our guard against the pickpockets that work in these narrow Streets, and not to carry Cameras with us, so already we were a little nervous, and the claustrophobia of the Streets just only added to our uneasiness.
The vendors inside the Medina are like Vultures trying to get your attention by pulling and tugging at your Clothes and there were also small Kids trying to pull the Trainers off my feet. In the heat of the Afternoon I just wanted to get out of here as quickly as I could, but the problem was we were trapped inside a Maze.
My worst memory of the Medina Bazaar however was of all of the Beggars who ranged from tiny Children with their hands outstretched to the elderly with missing limbs and Begging Bowls.
During the past few years Sousse has tried to exploit the Tourism which many of the adjoining areas of the City are enjoying and along the Seafront, by the Marina, and close to the Port there is a lot of Construction work taking place.
The majority of these new Buildings are Hotels and Apartment blocks, and these in turn have led to a myriad of Cafe's and Bars springing up in this same area.
For those of you wanting to indulge in some Shopping without all of the bedlam of the Medina Bazaar then I can recommend the Tej Marhaba Shopping Mall. This is a modern, indoor, purpose built Shopping Centre which is on two floors separated by escalators. This Shopping Centre is fully air conditioned throughout and even has its own English style Pub inside called the Rose & Crown.
THE NIGHTLIFE
After a couple of nights in our own Resort of Port El Kantaoui we decided to venture out to the Bars of Sousse. The 12 Kilometre journey cost us around 6 Dinars (£2.50) and here we found that there was a larger collection of Bars.
The Bars in Sousse open much later than those in our Resort did and there was also a much wider variety. For those of you not wanting to feel too isolated from home then Sousse also has another English Bar, in addition to the Rose & Crown, called rather originally the "English Bar." There is also an Irish Bar too, but this is at the other end of the City. These Bars open until 1am during the Week and 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.
There are also a few late Disco Bars like the "Three Dolphins" and "Grease" which open a little later but if you are looking for a Night-club then there is only one. This Club is called "Living" and opens from Midnight through to 5am. It is a huge place and a real sign of the changing times and liberal attitudes of the local Arabic people who frequent this place and form the majority of its clientele. Entry is free and the venue comprises of four different Rooms on two levels. Be warned however because here the Drinks are very expensive (especially by Tunisian standards). You can expect to pay 10 Dinars for a Pint of Beer (£4.10). This compares with around 3 Dinars in the Places mentioned above.
As a much cheaper alternative we found some small back street Arabic Cafe's, well off the beaten track where a Pint of beer was just 1 Dinar (41p)!
CONCLUSION
I found Sousse to be a very interesting place and I would certainly recommend a visit there if you are in the area. It is however very much a working City, and there are many parts of the Town which are a little bit run down. There is also a fair bit of building work taking place at the moment and several of the main Roads are also dug up and diversions seem to be in place everywhere.
I think that the area around the Beach will probably work quite well as a Tourist Resort and I spoke to someone during my Holiday that was staying there. She said that their Hotel was superb but that there was not a lot around it.
The Beach at Sousse is very clean and the sand is very soft and fine so obviously the area has a lot of potential.
I have heard mixed things about tunisia, but this sounds decent. Nice review. Dan.
chocoholic 03.08.2006 13:43
An excellent review, must admit I also would be uncomfortable with beggars being there. I hate to be picky but you may want to check your use of capital letters in the review! :o)
Amazingwoo 02.08.2006 11:35
I loved the Medina marketplace and didn't find it at all scary, maybe the traders have changed attitudes in the past 2 yrs. Any spirit that has to be imported will be £££ - we paid £15 for a double whiskey (Top Tip - take as many small bottles of whiskey as you can, you can use them to 'buy' goods in the market). Boukka - their fig spirit - is incredibly cheap and apparently very nice.
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![Global Treasures Sousse Tunisia [DVD] [NTSC]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/83339623.jpg "Global Treasures Sousse Tunisia [DVD] [NTSC]")
Aug 1st, 2006
very helpful by (100%):
