As you may recall from my previous post, the word “eid” is Arabic for feast. Indeed this is a month of feasts. We have already celebrated Eid Al Ad’ha, as referenced above and this is Thanksgiving weekend, the quintessential American “eid.” This weekend also marks the turn of the year in the Islamic calendar, so Friday was a holiday here.
Thanksgiving’s arrival entitles me to a four-day weekend, one of the benefits of working for an American NGO. It is a timely break, as I am coming out of a week-long intensive with my air traffic controllers in Djerba and about to go into a two-month intensive test prep session with a group of military cadets. As if that weren’t enough, we also received funding for a yearlong project with economically disadvantaged young people and are starting almost immediately with them.
Just in time, we have finally put all the hints and clues together and finally located the liquor store! Well, okay, it wasn’t such a mystery, but on our last attempt the place was closed, so we didn’t see it.
The Magasin Generale has a pretty good selection of Tunisian wines and a rather poor selection of beer. The quality booze that is available is astronomically priced. Therefore, we stuck with the wine.
We selected a cross section of wines by price. They were 3.600TD, 4.750TD, 6.250TD, 7.750TD and 11.600TD respectively from left to right. (1 dinar = $.68) They are all reds, as is our preference generally.
We enjoyed the Haut Mornag at 4.750TD with our grilled lamb feast for Thanksgiving. While the cork was dry and the wine had a bit of bite, it was an acceptable table wine. I have had older, mellower vintages of the same wine.
For those of you who read my previous post about our Gratitude Garland, we have indeed continued to add four links per day. Now, the thing measures in over of 9 meters. (9.84251 yd)
We have a lot to be grateful for!
As I said earlier, I have just returned from doing another weeks intensive refresher with a group of air traffic controllers who must maintain a tested level of English to continue working. Last time I was a bit more of a sightseer. This trip, my hotel was much further from the sights, but a much better accommodation in every way. Since I was located on the beach this time, that’s where I did my strolling and the bulk of my photo taking.
Here’s a view from my balcony.
This greeted me on returning to the room after teaching. The housekeeping staff seemed to have a thing about this decorative motif.
The place was home to several cats.
Pretty swanky pool area, no?
There’s a golf course next door and this beauty was just behind the 6th green.
It’s really post-season, so there wasn’t much activity, but there were groups of Northern Europeans coming for the remains of the fine weather.
This adorable young lady was helping Grandpa fish.
Did I mention cats? This kitten wanted to share my lunch.
Enterprising entrepreneurs offer a range of services to the tourists, including horseback riding.
This guy insisted I needed my picture taken with his horse.
The photo cost me 3TD, down from his original bid of 10TD. They all think travelers are rich. Hey! I get paid in dinars, not euros!!
With temperatures in the mid-twenties Celsius (around 75 degrees F), some were certainly stocking up on vitamin D. I was in a jacket, having spent the summer in Greece. I’m well-acclimated at this point.
Camel rides are also available, or you could have your photo taken for a fee.
It was a lovely sunset.
I thought it was a spider at first, but then realized it was running sideways.
While the trip had its pleasures, it was still a week away from home and Paula!
I’m glad to be home!
Awww <3 I really enjoyed this post! But the wines in Tunisia..especially the Haute Mornag..brrrr! It s too bitter for me
You captured some pretty awesome pics! 
The Haut Mornag is mellower in the older vintages. This one was just okay for me. We’ll see how the more expensive wines are.