Sunday, November 30/2008

Market day in Sousse, so after breafast we take a louage (shared taxi). Holds 7 plus driver, though rather packed. One dinar 30 each to Sousse (about $1.15 CAD, 62p UK for a 24 km trip). Close to a km walk when we get there, from the bus/louage station to the medina.

This medina is much older and bigger than "ours" in Monastir. It's about a km across diagonally but a labyrinth of passages enclosed in ancient walls except for the northern entrance where the wall was blown away by the Allies in 1943. The medina includes 24 mosques and several hotels, but mostly it's shops and stalls selling everything, like a Middle Eastern souq: the obvious leather goods, jewellery, tiles, pottery and kaftans; food of all sorts from fast food to sweets to huge open sacks of spices to whole fish and live hens; ordinary clothing, socks, underwear, etc. as well as general necessities - plasticware, batteries, watch straps, etc. It's crowded in places and in the prts with more tourist goods (including towels featuring various English football teams), there's fair pressure to buy. A man approaches, determined to sell us some Viagra. Very cheap, he insists, but gives up when I say "pas necessaire." Through the crowds an occasional cart or even car makes its way, unbelievably, and more than once two or three sheep on a lead.

We take some time to look at the port - a working port with some pirate style tourist day boats as well - and the southern end of the beach, with beautiful fine sand.

Come back by train - even cheaper than the loge and from a handier location by the port. As we're waiting for the train J discovers that the leather bag he has been carrying has been slashed by a sharp knife, presumably in the crowded medina lanes: It's wrecked the zipper of the front pocket and cut the lining through to the second section. Nothing missing - actually there was nothing in the front section except plastic cutlery for picnicking, but it leaves an unpleasant feeling.