 | Sfax Flights and Airline Tips | Tips 1 - 10 of 10 |  |
Sfax is a major city, so louages leave all day long for all over the country. For an idea of price, I took a louage from Le Kef to Sfax, which took 4 hours and cost 12TD. South to Gabes, a journey taking 2 hours, cost 6TD. Mahdia was around two hours away to the north, but I haven't a clue how much that cost as it was many years ago!
Sfax's louage station is unusual in that you are required to buy a ticket from an office before climbing aboard. I suppose this is a good system, as you can be sure you will not be overcharged. It also means that if you are travelling at night and there are not enough passengers to fill a louage, you will still travel and won't have to contribute for the empty seats. Leave a Comment Theme: Bus |
"Why don't you take the train?" suggested the man at reception. Yes, I thought, why don't I take the train? I had yet to experience a Tunisian train, and was assured it was more comfortable than louages. The advantages were that I would know when exactly I would leave, and roughly when I would arrive, and I would be able to see a few sights on the way (El Jem, Soussa, etc...). All started off well, with a ticket containing a seat number handed to me with little fuss...1pm, I was told, so I went off back to Sfax medina for a last coffee at Cafe Diwan.
I thought I'd be early, just in case it was similar to a Sudanese train, where there are no seats and everybody fights for a bit of floor space. But surely this couldn't be like that, in Tunisia? "Oh no", said the little man at reception, "our trains are excellent, no sitting on floor, haha, oh no".
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I boarded the train an hour before departure. Every seat contained one and a half bodies, my reserved seat counted for nothing, and most of the floor space had already been bagged. I managed to park my bum in the doorway between a group of students, and we looked on fascinated as yet more passengers threw themselves in the door and exclaimed "no seats!" and still pushed their way through anyway.
It was punctual though, trundling out of Sfax a little after 1. We might have passed the amphitheatre of El Jem, we might have afforded amazing views over the coast near Soussa, but I couldn't tell you....my view was of the toilet door and somebody's backside. The situation was not helped by the arrival of a refreshments trolley too big for the already overcrowded aisle, and just when you got semi comfortable, one of the seated passengers would come in and make us all stand up because he wanted to smoke a cigarette. Finally got a seat after Soussa, but many others were not so lucky. Was this a special day? or are all trains like that here?
Still...it got me to Tunis in 4 hours, so i can't really complain...much. Leave a Comment Theme: Train |
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Ferries to Sidi Yousef (Kerkennah) leave from the port, just a five minute walk from the centre of town. Make your way to the waterfront with its cafes, continue up the road, past a more traditional smoke-filled cafe, cross the railway line and the ferry terminal is in front of you.
There seem to be quite a few crossings every day, at least 10 all year round. The journey takes just over an hour and is one of the best travel bargains around, costing a meagre 0.65TD (April 2007: GB£1 = 2.5TD)
The frequency of the crossings and the ease of getting around the Kerkennah Islands means that you can make a day trip to the islands if you get up early enough. Shared taxis meet the ferry in Sidi Yousef and serve all the main villages...you could try to rent a bike for a day from one of the hotels in Sidi Frej or Remla, or just spend the day walking.
No need to book tickets in either direction...just turn up, buy it and board. Cars can also cross, although tickets will obviously cost a bit more and you may need to reserve in advance as the boats aren't huge.
Anyway, the ferry is an enjoyable experience, whether in good weather, when the upper deck has a party atmosphere about it, or in bad weather, when nither the islands or the mainland are visible and you feel like you're going on a voyage to some remote outpost.
Look out for Sfax's huge phosphate "mountain" south of the city, and closer to Kerkennah, the shallow water fishing traps which begin to appear about 15 minutes from Sidi Yousef. Leave a Comment Theme: Ship/Boat |
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You must visit the medina while you are in Sfax. It's a crazy, bustling marketplace in an old area of the city which is surrounded by walls. There are no cars inside, just pedestrian traffic. There are Medina's in most of the large Tunisian cities, but Sfax's seemed the most inviting of the ones I visited.
This Medina was also the place where parts of "The English Patient" were filmed Leave a Comment |
A map is useless here, as the streets really do form a maze. Pick a backstreet, then another, and another, and soon you'll be lost, no idea which way is north and which is south. You won't be lost for very long, as eventually you'll hit the walls, or will emerge on one of the many busy shopping streets, but not until you've discovered a souq full of blacksmiths, a shop selling chocolate waffles, a mosque or three, and have done your best to try and find the narrowest street in the medina.
There are a few sights worth searching for, like Dar Jelloulli for example, a traditional house which is now a museum. On my first visit, I never found it, but this time I came across it very easily, only to find it was closed for renovations! The fun part was searching for it though. Leave a Comment |
If you are at all interested in architecture and building techniques this museum is a must. And if you're not I'd recommend it anyway, since situated as it is in the old kasbah it offers the opportunity to actually walk the ramparts of the medina, giving stunning views. Well worth 2TD (+1 for a camera)
The exhibits are very well presented and informatively labelled, many in English as well as French & Arabic, and the staff are helpful. Directions: The kasbah forms the south-eastern corner of the medina walls. Entering throug the gate in the walls, the entrance to the museum is on your right. |
The Great Mosque of Sfax is not difficult to find: it is in the middle of the medina, not quite on the main thoroughfare leadind up from Bab al Diwan: and unusually it announces itself on the outside, with the remarkable series of decorated niches on the eastern wall. What is harder is getting a good view of the equally remarkable minaret, a riot of kufic script in honey-coloured stone. From the surrounding alleys it is fleetingly glmpsed through the awnings and cables. A better view - and a chance to take a photo without getting in anybody's way - can be had by climbing to the terrace of the cafe in the street running east from the mosque's northeastern corner (look for the black and white painted horseshoe arch. Does a good arabic coffee as well.) |
Another first-rate museum. The name is a bit of a misnomer, since most of the exhibits here reflect the life of a member of the ruling elite: shoes inlaid with mother-of-pearl and so on. The displays are nevetheless interesting enough; but the real attraction (as with many museums in Tunisia) is the building itself, in this case the eighteenth-century bey's house. Typically, from the outside it reveals nothing (apart from a rather large door): inside its a beautiful example of islamic domestic architecture, which has been well restored - from close to it's obvious what is original and what is restoration work: step back and you have the impression of what it looked like when built.
As usual, a quiet and harmoniously proportioned space created by building rooms off a central courtyard, tranquil and private and with beautiful tiles and woodwork. Directions: ..errm, sort of in the south-est end of the medina. I had a (fair) map but really found it just by circling around. |
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I'd wanted to visit Dar Jellouli on both my previous trips. The first time, I cound't find it as I was busy being lost in another part of the old city, and when i did finally find it, it was closed. Last year (2006), I found it easily enough, but it was closed for renovation. So this Dar Jellouli museum, cited in my guidebook as being a highlight of any visit to Sfax, took on a mythical quality in my mind....I expected it to be the most amazing piece of architecture I'd ever see, filled with exotic and fascinating objects, the likes of which would never be seen again elsewhere.
Well, after traipsing round more than my fair share of Tunisian museums and finding them all remarkably similar, I am afraid to say that Dar Jellouli did disappoint on the exhibit side of things. All the familiar faces were there, the same shop dummies wrapped up in traditional costume in various poses showing a typical way of life...the same old pots and pans used for cooking...the same old horse saddles and gun holders and wedding gowns. The Arabic calligraphy room is more exciting, although the captions don't really give away much, so for someone new to Arabic calligraphy, it probably won't titillate. What really made the museum in Tozeur special was the enthusiastic guide's explanations...but here, you're on your own.
The building itself, though, is beautiful, well worth the entry price. Archways, tiles, balconies...don't judge this place from the drab exterior...inside, it really is quite special. Leave a Comment Address: Old city, SfaxDirections: Stumbling upon it by accident was my preferred method, although if you enter the old city via Borj en-Nar, go straight on, turning left at the end and you'll see the sign on the wall. |
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The best place to begin exploring Sfax is Bab Diwan. This is the main entrance to the old city, with three huge gateways leading to the narrow alleyways just inside. Outside is a square of sorts, with a few trees and seats, a popular place to sit at night. Opposite, in the new town, is a short pedestrian street with one of the best patisseries in all Tunisia!
Entering Bab Diwan, the best way start is to try to work your way over to the other side of the medina. A long, narrow and extremely crowded street will take you there...turn right inside Bab Diwan, but before going through a tunnel to cheap hotels, turn left up the narrow alleyway which is rue Mongo Slim. This will take you through the souqs, past a couple of old mosques and zaoias, and dump you at Bab Jebli. Alternatively, take the equally narrow street straight on from Bab Diwan, rue de la Grande Mosquee, which, as its name suggests, takes you through more souqs to the Great Mosque of Sfax.
If it is too hot to explore much, or you are too thirsty, turn left inside Bab Diwan, and follow the walls for maybe 100 metres, until you come to Cafe Diwan, set into the old city walls. (see Restaurant tip...) Leave a Comment Address: Bab Diwan, Sfax |
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on April 28, 2006
on June 18, 2004
on January 6, 2007
