Submerged in a Medina

Just about every self-respecting Tunisian city has a long and restless history. And therefore a medina, a fortified old city. Though the medina’s thick walls and fancy gates were built as much to impress as to keep away invaders, this country has certainly seen its share of the latter: Phoenician, Romans, Vandals, Muslim Arab armies from Egypt, radical Fatimids from Algeria, Moroccan Almohads, the Turkish Ottoman empire - and finally the French. I’m nearly surprised Finland never had a go at it, but we were probably too busy hunting squirrels and learning to ski around the time most of these invasions were taking place.

The traditional plan of a medina goes according to strict Islamic principles. At the epicentre of the medina there stands the great mosque. And radiating outwards from the mosque, the souqs - the shopping malls of history. The souqs were arranged so that vendors of more valued (and better smelling) items such as candles and perfume, books and leather goods, had stalls closest to the mosque. Then came textiles and clothes stalls, followed by furnishing, domestic goods and utensils. Butchers’ stalls and heavy duty work stations such as ironmongers were located furthest from the mosque.

So armed with this information, let’s plunge into the medina of Sfax, the second largest city in Tunisia, and try to find the mosque! I mean how hard can it be? 

I choose Sfax’s medina, since it’s one of the best preserved ones in Tunisia - and in fact in Northern Africa. The English Patient (lovely book, horrid film) though austensibly set in Egypt, was in fact filmed in Sfax’s medina, because the old medinas of Egypt had all been modernized to historical oblivion.

Right, we’re at the main gate now. Clothes mostly, a couple of cobblers - still firmly on track.

Ah, jewel shops. Promising,. I should think that means that the mosque is getting closer! Oooh, look what pretty baubles... (detour into shop, then firmly back on track and heading for the mosque). 

The job of navigating a medina is not made easier by the fact that the roads have a tendency to curve and branch and act rather unpredictably. 

Hmmm. Pots and pans, household items and cloth. Should they be closer to the mosque than jewellers?

 Oh dear, vegetables. I must have taken a wrong turning somewhere.

Well, there’s no shortage of customers at least.

Yup, just popped out of a side gate and ended up in a rather pretty covered souq - but clearly no longer in the medina proper. 

And the butchers are here. Further proof, should it be needed, that we aren’t close to the mosque. 

So back in through the next medina gate and give it another go shall we?

This is interesting. I seem to have ended up in a residential area now. 

It’s getting on lunch time and people are picking up fresh loaves from the baker’s cart. No wonder! It’s the best bread I’ve had in Tunisia. 

This residential area is rather fun. The layout of a medina is adapted to the hot climate, so it has very narrow streets to keep out the sun’s heat in the daytime and draw in cool air in the night. And these streets really are narrow. 

This gives one a kind of submerged feeling when wandering around a medina even at noon.

The people here in Sfax are clearly not very used to camera toting tourists - at least not in this residential area. I’ve now been approached by numerous locals requesting I take a picture of them and their buddies

or their workshop

or fruit stall

or them eating their lunch (though in that instance a rather hysterically barking carnivore made entry seem unwise)

or them painting window bars

... and even rather touchingly a request to take a picture of the window bars they just painted. You can’t say I don’t deliver! 

I don’t have the heart to say no to any of these requests. And indeed why should I? Just getting a brief look from the camera’s matchbox sized display at the taken photo seems to be enough for them. They politely thank me and seem pleased as punch.

I’m getting distracted now from my hunt for the mosque. I must try to paddle back from the residential area to the souq. 

Right! Here we go again. Pots and pans. Moving up to clothing. Aaand bullseye! This must be the wall of the great mosque. 

A side door is open and a workman sees me with my camera and beckons me to come and take a look. This is unusual, since non-Muslims are not allowed into mosques in Tunisia - at least not further than the courtyard. It seems the Sfax great mosque is under renovation - so it’s not in use right now and therefore I could get this exclusive glimpse of the inside of the prayer room. Pretty, pretty, pretty.

Having reached my goal, I now deserve a nice cup of mint tea with almonds and a rather delicious almond pastry at this handy cafe next to the mosque. 

They are using the rooftop as part of the establishment, allowing me to rise up from the perpetual twilight of the submerged streets into sunlight and heat. And a birds-eye view of the much sought after grand mosque and its ancient minaret (around 988 AD if memory serves me), 

Another day well spent. And the best part is, in Sfax - unlike just about anywhere else - I managed a whole day in a medina without once having a tradesman hassle me to buy his goods. Seulement 5 dinar - ce n’est pas cher! And indeed goods are very cheap here. Only my bag isn’t big enough and I’m not celebrating Black Friday.