Beaches and balneological resorts of this coastal city attract plenty of Russian tourists. We know very much about it. First of all, Sousse as well as Tunis (capital) and Sfax relate to the three largest and major cities of the country. Besides, it enjoys a very nice setting – a big seaport, capital of the eastern Tunisia commendable for its olive plantations. A wide territory of 250 000 hectares offers 57 million fructifying olive-trees. Tunisian olives are beyond our admiration – they’ll make you long for more. We eat greedily heaps of them every blessed day, regretting much that we will have soon neither dates, nor olives with couscous...
The city is seen at first sight to flourish. Crowd of people in wide and steep streets. Around you - hotels, restaurants, shops. Boats and yachts along the coast. The look is quite modern, industrial and rational. We can scarcely believe that the city counts more than 3000 years.
Quick Tips:
Scientists stress, that Sousse is older than the renowned Carthage.
Like Carthage, the Phoenicians founded it. The years of existence brought Sousse under frequent enemy control before it changed both "owners" and the name many times. The Phoenicians called it HADRUMETUM. After the fall of Carthage the "free city" became a Roman colony keeping its initial name. Later conquered by the Vandals (that was only short-lived) and called HUNERIKOPOLIS. Byzantium took control over the city naming it JUSTINIANOPOLIS for the third time. But it was just a start. Byzantium gave place to Arabs. The 12th century saw a Norman occupation followed by a Spanish invasion four centuries later. The Frenchmen (how can we do without them?) occupied Sousse in the 18th century. This major port viewing its strategic location was repeatedly bombed during the Second World War. However the city continues to exist, getting on well nowadays. When Justinianopolis had turned into Sousse remained unclear to us, but this name fits it.
Best Way To Get Around:
Bear in mind a maze of covered stalls "souk" – a multi-coloured
open-air market that caters regularly to the needs of local residents in the old town. Here we familiarized with a subtle art to haggle over the price, purchasing keepsakes. The main is to have a lot of time at your disposal. Are you willing to do all quickly? Move forward to the shopping center. The price is fixed there, dollars are accepted, choose something, wrap it up, pay, and go off. If you undertake "shopping" in a serious way, screw yourself in narrow curved lanes of the endless market. Picturesque characters are coming across you at every step. Unlike the majority of the Arab and African countries, you aren’t being grasped by your sleeve to a shop. No, you are invited in a fine-looking and polite manner not insisting on it specially. If you entered, you would set your heart on something by all means.