Last night we checked into a hostel, a first in many years for both of us. The simple room was relatively cheap and we both wanted some time to relax so we decided to spend another night. With a cycle-free day in front of us, we whiled away most of the afternoon exploring the fancy (by North African standards) resort town of Sousse.
Posh resorts flank the shoreline:
Just behind them are typical, run-down Tunisian streets filled with battered buildings in various stages of disrepair:
The highlight of our walk was the incredibly photogenic medina; we could basically point our camera in any direction and get a good photo. Here we go!
There are so many adorable strays running around in Tunisia! We really can't help ourselves. Here are even more:
The Eid al-Adha, or "Fesitval of Sacrifice" will be taking place in a few days. Eid al-Adha is a Muslim holiday celebrated to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God. In short, Muslims the world over sacrifice (and consume) their highest quality animal on this day. In Tunisia, as best we can tell, the animal of choice is a sheep.
We're not sure if the families we've seen practically everywhere tending to their animals do so year-round, or if they are only preparing for the coming festival. Here is a brother and sister we spotted in the medina today with a typical specimen of the sheep were seeing everywhere. They were eager to pose for a photo:
Today turned out to be good for people watching. Both of these women quickly agreed to be photographed. We don't always have the nerve to ask but we're getting better. The clothing here is so colorful!
In almost every market we pass there is at least one stand with a huge and colorful array of spices for sale in canvas or burlap bags. I've lost count of how many failed photos of them we've deleted. Finally, Tara got a few that do the myriad of spices justice!
As the sun started its too-early 5pm drop into the horizon we finished our walk, passing by the docks and fish markets on our way home.
Tomorrow we head for another hostel in Mahdia where we hope to secure internet access so we can Skype with our families for Thanksgiving.