Monday, November 24/2008

It's rained in the night and there's enough mist to obscure the usual clear line between light blue sky and dark blue sea. By the time we finish breakfast it's burned off and the balcony floor is dry. Quite a windy day, though warm enough in sheltered spots.

Two minarets are visible from our window and from the nearer we can hear the call to prayer five times a day. Monastir has not always been Moslem of course. It was originally a Phoenician trading centre and in Roman times was Julius Caesar's headquarters when he defeated Pompey who was based at nearby Sousse, after which Monastir became the Roman town of Ruspina.