Just Back From…Tunis

My most recent trip to Tunisia was born on my living room couch in Milan during the Salone del Mobile, when my friend Nicolas Bellavance Lecompte arrived at the very end of a dinner party with a wonderful Tunisian-born woman named Lamia Bousnina. 

Nicolas, an architect and co-founder of Nomad design fair, told me that he was curating an exhibit in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, to launch Lamia’s brand-new eponymous gallery for collectible design and contemporary art the following month. Both of them graciously invited me to attend. 

Prior to this conversation, I had never even considered visiting and knew next to nothing about it except that Azzedine Alaia was born there (and, as fate would have it, the recently deceased fashion designer’s former home was just down the street from my hotel, Villa Bleue, a tiny, charming tile-covered cozy thing in Sidi Bou Said). The last time I’d even thought of the region was during my demanding Ancient History class in 7th grade, when we learned about the seafaring Phoenicians and the tragic fall of Carthage to the savage Romans. I was fascinated to discover eye-popping remnants of that exact Before-Christ life inside the must-see Bardo Museum in Tunis, which houses the largest collection of ancient Roman mosaics in the world. It is sensational; a must-see if you visit Tunisia.

Though Lamia’s two galleries (the other is called Musk and Amber) and several hotels (like the beautiful Dar Al Jald and Palais Bayram) were super sophisticated, Tunis—the giant capital city of the country—is not slick or manicured. Much of it swirls in a kind of dusty sprawl and chaos that reminded me of Egypt in its mood—and, funny enough, my home town of Los Angeles (just for the distances needed to travel by car between locations like Sidi Bou Said, where I stayed/loved and the city center).  

But its tiny-shop-and-cafe-crammed maze-y medina is intoxicatingly delicious, its youthful population bright-eyed and spicy, its sometimes-crumbling buildings richly covered in color and its energetic quotient buzzy and buoyant. Above all, it feels deeply true and authentic to itself. These are the kinds of cultures and cities I am most interested in visiting now.

If you go, you’ll want some guidance. We were so lucky to have this trip organized by Lamia, who hosted us at her home and sent us to treasured time-capsule sites like the Carthage and Bardo museums, the Carthage city ruins, Punic Port and Antonius Baths. She also recommended the following spots: Au Bon Vieux Temps, Sidi Bou Said, Dar Said, Dar Alaia, Dar El Jeld, The Residence, The Reine Didon Cathedral, and Chez Slah.

She also sent all of us home with packages of local harissa paste and freshly canned tuna (P.S., you can get the legit canned harissa at the supermarket for less than a euro). Organize yourself with an adept local driver (one friend on the trip told me they hired a taxi to stay with them all day at a very affordable rate). And this can be especially helpful at the airport, where they can escort you through the chaos.  

Be sure to try the fried egg brik, a local specialty. I loved ours at the beachfront Neptune restaurant. If you need some healthy food, go to the charming Cafe Bleue in sidi Bou Said (amazing salads, hibiscus teas and gluten-free baked goods). In the Medina, Lamia hosted a great lunch at Foundouk El Attarine. And as a bodywork junkie, I’m happy to report the best news: great hammams are popping out of every hotel basement, and even a tiny one like in my hotel will deliver. Go fully naked and just surrender to the exposure. You’ll be scrubbed forcefully and hosed down, then massaged with a no-nonsense toughness that will remind you why foreign cultures are always worth tracking down. Enjoy!