10 things you might not know about Tunisia

1. Tunisia is in North Africa, about an hour-long flight from Rome, Italy. (see the map on my first blog entry) Tunisia is slightly larger than Florida.


2. The movie “Star Wars” was filmed in Tunisia. The desert is the home of Luke Skywalker. Also parts of “The English Patient” were filmed in Tunisia.


3. Arabic is the official language of Tunisia, although most people speak French as well. All of the street signs are written in Arabic and French. A small minority of people speak Berber, the language of the indigenous people. Most youth and businesspeople also know English.


4. There are palm trees. They are beautiful.


5. Most Tunisians pride themselves on their history as proponents of gender equality, and Tunisia is often referenced as a model Muslim-majority country in terms of female empowerment. Ever since winning independence from the French in 1956, President Bourguiba updated the “Personal Status Code,” which improved the legal status of women by requiring wives to give formal consent before marriage, outlawing polygyny, increasing female legal capacity in the realm of contracts, and making divorce subject to judicial review. Large scale access to family planning was supported by the government in the 1960s and abortion in Tunisia was legalized 1973, the same year as Roe v. Wade. As a result, Tunisia legally secured gender equity before more well-known European countries.


6. Camel rides are very popular attractions in the desert, particularly for tourist. It’s definitely on my to do list – ill report back later with pictures.


7. I made a huge eco-footprint traveling here. The impact of the fuel emissions for my roundtrip flight to Tunisia, like most international flights, produced 2.5 tons of CO2 – about the same impact as the yearly output of the average European car. For eco-friendly travelers, check out climatecare.org or carbonneutral.com to offset your travel ☺


8. Tunisia is an amazing crossroads of French and Arabic culture. In the morning, you can walk down the street, buy a fresh baguette and hear the call to prayer from the local mosque. The long white sandy beaches off Mediterranean coast make it a very popular destination for French vacationers.


9. Censorship is fairly prominent, especially during the current reign of Ben Ali, President since 1987. In particular, the small but notable fundamentalist Islamist party is illegal and cannot publish criticisms of the state. Most Tunisians newspapers are controlled by the state, although access to the Internet has greatly increased information exchange. My guidebook said that facebook would be blocked. It isn’t.


10. Tunisians love food spicy. Harissa is a hot red sauce made of peppers that seems to be mixed in to every dish. For example, today at lunch at my internship I was given a sandwich with tuna, and lots of harissa.