A few years back I was lucky enough to spend a whole month in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. During that month, I enjoyed swimming in the beaches of Sidi Bou Said much as I could. And, in several occasions, I visited also the ruins of Carthage. But there was one thing I did almost daily: visit the Medina of Tunis.
What’s a Medina?
Being clear, the medina is the old quarter of any city in the MENA (Middle East and Northern Africa). If you have seen any Indiana Jones movie, the place where “the bad ones” always try to find the “good ones”, or get lost. It’s the heart of the city, the really old city, and where the town started to grow.
Even though there are many more Medinas all throughout the Mediterranean, not all of them have the privilege of being considered a World Heritage by the UNESCO. And that’s why visit the Medina of Tunis is a must when you go to Tunisia
The Medina of Tunis is a crazy mix of narrow and labyrinthine streets shaping the core of the city. The city of Tunis, initially shaped as the Medina, was founded by the end of the 7th century and for many years was one of the most important cities in the World. Over the years, when the Arabic dominance started to recede, the city started to slowly decay. Today, about half of the zone is considered to be in bad conditions or almost in ruins.
If you decide to visit the Medina of Tunis, or the labyrinth that now is, consider that of the initial 700 monuments initially found, there are a few less than 100 well conserved. Between these, today still stand there are still several mosques, a couple of huge doors, some squares and a few souqs.
A souq?
One souq is a typical Arabic market. Originally, they were markets of fruit, meat, spices and other foods. Today, tourism has turned them into tourist traps and in most of the stands they are selling trinkets for tourists and other bad jewelry. The one from Cairo is quite famous, but Tunis’ has some as equally impressive. When you visit the Medina of Tunis, just by walking around the old market you will find a few souqs here and there.
Visit the Medina of Tunis
The month I spent there, I was staying at a student home at the outskirts of the city. It was barely at a couple of euros by taxi (after change) of one of the entrances of the Medina. Right by that arc, when the sun started to hide, small fountains were turned on and water was ejected from the ground up. It was beautiful to see all the children playing between them while the air started to freshen and the sun set.
Right behind the arc marking the entrance, there was one of souqs. They were selling clothes, touristy stuff, camel bags and similar stuff. The tangled streets were crowded with both natives and foreigners and people screaming at each other. There was one small shop that I specially remember.
The guy there was named Abdhul and he was selling dishes, knives and swords. In one of my first visits to the Tunis Medina, I saw this little ornamented dagger that I knew my father would love. He wanted to sell it to me for fifty euros.
The art of haggling
If you have ever visited one of this markets you must know that the most important part of any transaction is the haggling. It doesn’t matter what’s the price of anything you want to buy, if you are not able to get it for half the price… then there’s no fun on buying it.
I was going to the souq about three-four times a week to renegotiate the price. On my third week I had already managed to get the price down to fifteen euros. But hey, my goal was set on ten. I think I could have gotten it during my last week for the amount I was willing to pay… if he wouldn’t have sell it. I had a lot of fun with the haggling but well, I guess you can learn that at some point you just need to pay whatever price you reach.
The other face of the Medina of Tunis
In one of my weekly visits to the Medina of Tunis, I just decided to keep on walking through one of those original narrow streets. I was intrigued about where it would lead me. After a while, I left behind the small tourist shops and I found myself absolutely alone. There was a gym somewhere in the middle of the Medina, and that was about it all. No shops, no one. So, I kept on walking.
About five minutes later I was in the middle of the most authentic market I’ve ever seen. The first thing I saw was the head of a goat on top of a table. Then a mountain of ice with some prawns on top. Then, several hooves next to a balance.
I am quite sure I was the only tourist in several meters around and I felt like if I was witnessing the real Tunis for the first time. And I loved it.
Even though I visited other places I really enjoyed during my month in Tunisia, such as Carthague or Bizerte, I still remember fondly the hours I spent wandering through the streets of Tunisia and if I close my eyes, I still see myself in one of my many visits to the Medina of Tunis.
Have you ever been in a Souq before? And, did I convinced you to visit the Medina of Tunis next time you arrive to this great country? Let me know on the comment section!
