Halal Travel Guide: Tunis Medina Food, Guesthouses & Markets, Part 2
Reposted from the web
Summary: This is the second part of a walk through the Medina of Tunis, covering historic guesthouses, food, shopping, and street life. The English version preserves the original names, places, food details, and photographs.
The old city has many street food stalls, and there is a huge variety of snacks inside.
Shopping
You can find shops selling traditional Tunisian robes (Djellaba) in the area south of the Great Mosque of Ez-Zitouna. These hand-embroidered robes are popular in the Maghreb regions of Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco, and both men and women wear them. Djellaba robes come in cotton for summer and wool for winter, with the wool versions usually made from sheep raised in the mountains.
The owner of one shop welcomed us warmly and even let me try one on. They make robes for various national leaders, so the quality is very high, with each piece costing over a thousand.
There are also shops in the old city selling traditional caps (Chechia). The Chechia cap comes from the Turkish fez. In 1829, Ottoman Sultan Mahmud issued a decree requiring all officials to wear the fez. It became a symbol of the Ottoman Empire and spread to the Husainid dynasty of Tunisia, which was nominally part of the empire. Tunisian Chechia caps are smaller than the fez.
The hat market (Souk El Chaouachine) in the Medina of Tunis still has the last remaining handmade Chechia craftsmen, but unfortunately, I could not find them when I visited. If any fellow Muslims (dost) visit Tunis, you can try to look for them.
The streets of the old city are filled with shops selling copperware, perfumes, spices, and old books, just as you would imagine an ancient Arab city.
Hand-painted doorways in the old city streets are becoming increasingly rare.
Day and night in the old city market. There are many street tea houses here where people drink tea and chat until late at night.
Strolling around
Street views of the Medina of Tunis.
Summary: This is the second part of a walk through the Medina of Tunis, covering historic guesthouses, food, shopping, and street life. The English version preserves the original names, places, food details, and photographs.
The old city has many street food stalls, and there is a huge variety of snacks inside.
Shopping
You can find shops selling traditional Tunisian robes (Djellaba) in the area south of the Great Mosque of Ez-Zitouna. These hand-embroidered robes are popular in the Maghreb regions of Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco, and both men and women wear them. Djellaba robes come in cotton for summer and wool for winter, with the wool versions usually made from sheep raised in the mountains.
The owner of one shop welcomed us warmly and even let me try one on. They make robes for various national leaders, so the quality is very high, with each piece costing over a thousand.
There are also shops in the old city selling traditional caps (Chechia). The Chechia cap comes from the Turkish fez. In 1829, Ottoman Sultan Mahmud issued a decree requiring all officials to wear the fez. It became a symbol of the Ottoman Empire and spread to the Husainid dynasty of Tunisia, which was nominally part of the empire. Tunisian Chechia caps are smaller than the fez.
The hat market (Souk El Chaouachine) in the Medina of Tunis still has the last remaining handmade Chechia craftsmen, but unfortunately, I could not find them when I visited. If any fellow Muslims (dost) visit Tunis, you can try to look for them.
The streets of the old city are filled with shops selling copperware, perfumes, spices, and old books, just as you would imagine an ancient Arab city.
Hand-painted doorways in the old city streets are becoming increasingly rare.
Day and night in the old city market. There are many street tea houses here where people drink tea and chat until late at night.
Strolling around
Street views of the Medina of Tunis.
