Tunis - Touching Africa - May 29

Hi, Jesse here! We just finished our visit to Carthage, located in Tunisia. While there, we saw an incredible Roman bath. At the instant that I am writing this blog report, I am passing an ancient Roman amphitheater. This shore excursion is absolutely fantastic! Following these ancient ruins, we will be visiting a small village. I plan to have lots of fun after the excursions, including hangout time in the teen club and maybe a late night movie. Talk to you later.

Me again. The village was absolutely beautiful! All of the houses and shops were white with blue shutters and doors. At the moment, I am on the bus headed back for the ship. This trip means that I have visited three continents, four to go. This has been an amazing day! (Jesse)



Wow. Okay so I'm sitting on the bus going through Tunis and the ruins of ancient Carthage (my first time on this continent), and it's all incredible. The ruins left here are primarily Roman, from the time when they defeated and rebuilt the city during the third Punic war in the second century A.D. Thus far we've seen the bath house, aqueducts, cisterns and an amphitheater, all of which have been stunning. We just now drove through the resting place of the American soldiers who sacrificed their lives here during WWII (3,000 graves and another 4,000 never identified), it was a beautiful yet sobering experience.

Just got back to the bus after wandering around a small section of the city called Sidi Bou Said, a lovely town in which all the buildings are painted white, and the windows, doors and trim are all blue. While there we also learned about the architecture and style of well-to-do houses of the past century. We toured the home and walked the shops of this village. (Jacob)

Visiting Tunisia, I have a much better sense for the reality of oppression among the Islamic world. This is a liberal Muslim nation where the west (at least our money) is welcome/sought after and women are allowed to hold many positions. However, the reality of a state that is 99% Muslim with only token references to pockets of Jews and Catholics (mostly representing foreign governments) seemed forced and was clearly made to create some sense of ease among our group of visitors.

The history of Tunis/Carthage was breathtaking and the visit intense. All in all, an excellent experience.