| After our visit to the mountain oases, we rejoined the main road at Gafsa. From Gafsa, we drove north to Kairouan. Along the way we saw some camels sitting so contently in the back of a pickup truck. Unbeknownst to the camels, they were on their way to the slaughter house as camel meat was a Tunisian delicacy. In Kairouan, we stopped briefly to view the Great Mosque. As it was closed at the time, we viewed the mosque from above. Most of what stood today was built by the Aghlabids in the 9th century. The medina at Kairouan, due to the presence of the Great Mosque, was considered the 4th holiest site in Islam and North Africa�s holiest Islamic site. Around Kairouan�s medina were some attractive, ornate doors at the entrance to some of the Tunisian dwellings; the more elaborate and grand the door, the more wealthy was the owner. We arrived back in Monastir at 6 pm after a long day on the road, 300 miles in all, of which 125 miles were along the mountainous roads in southern Tunisia. Over the next couple of weeks we enjoyed re-watching all six of the Star Wars episodes. It was fun to see in the films the places where we had been on our trip. |
