A lovely place to visit is Karbous - a small town by the sea on the opposite side to the coast of Sidi Bou Sa∩d which you can see. At Karbous there are just two hotels and a few restaurants. It's next to the sea on a tiny coastal narrow road and is where Tunisians go in the spring for picnics and camping - lots of green.
Another reason they go is for the hot spring which flows from the mountain and ends at the sea. To get to it you have to climb down some steps and you can see the stream. It's thought to hold special powers and the ill and terminally ill travel to the springs from all over Tunisia to bathe in it or just wash their hands or feet. It's sensational to see hot stream from the water running into the cold sea. And the view of Sidi Bou Sa∩d is wonderful. It's about 30 minutes by car from Tunis and is at the moment completely untouristed.
Kerry Sheehan, UK (Nov 98)
The Sahara Festival in Douz was an interesting experience; camel and horse racing, displays of horsemanship and camel fighting (which consisted mainly of the commentator shouting; "It's started and the loser is running away!"). There was also what was billed as a traditional marriage. They also laid on a lot of "tamtam" drumming and accompanying dances, and they had invited a group of Tuaregs from Libya - a very enigmatic group.
At one point they seemed to re-enact a cavalry charge - straight at the audience, guns firing. The festival is the same each day, with only a change in the set piece towards the end. It's worth turning up early to get a good seat, if not, you can walk around the outside of the racetrack until you are out of sight of the national guardsmen (whose main role seemed to be obscuring everyone's view) and then walk into the central arena from the desert side. If you wear a lot of cameras they might think (as we got away with) that you are a photographer from National Geographic. The festival is free to enter and ran from 2.00pm to just after 4.00pm.
David Petrie, England (Sept 98)
TUNISIA