Sadly, we were leaving our fabulous hotel and the Mediterranean to journey back to the mainland as we return to the north coast. Today was short on sight seeing and long on driving. First we visited the Museum of Patrimoine which had numerous rooms of staged mannequins illustrating various parts of traditional Tunisian life, including wedding ceremonies, cultural clothing, music instruments, and household implements to demonstrate how island isolation has preserved customs lost elsewhere. The intricate arts of weaving, calligraphy, and metalwork demonstrate how Djerba's artisans adapted Mediterranean, African, and Middle Eastern influences. We visited Guellala village where we had a short tour of one of North Africa's oldest pottery traditions. Here, families have worked clay for over a thousand years, their techniques passed down through generations of master craftsmen. The kilns, some medieval in origin, still fire vessels whose forms replicate ancient Phoenician and Roman prototypes. After having a nice lunch at a local restaurant we departed the island of Djerba in the early afternoon for Sfax, the second most important city in Tunisia. It was a long four hour drive. When we got through the city traffic we got off the bus and had a short walking tour of the area. This working city processes olives, almonds, and phosphates while maintaining one of North Africa's finest preserved medinas. This one is not touristy in any way and is a fish, meat and vegetable market. We walked through filthy old narrow winding paths inhaling the stale smells of the fish and meat. We emerged out the other side and walked to our new hotel, where George and Isham were waiting with our bus, luggage and rooms keys. This is a tired old hotel and a big comedown from yesterday. Brett and I hung out in the room for an hour before going down for the buffet dinner. After eating with Tom and Chuck we retired to the room where he read while I typed and got caught up.
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