Tunisia Day 3 and 4

Waking up from Discotheque was funny to see a few dozen tired Jesuit school students make there way onto coach buses. We were a little behind schedule.

We went to the World War II cemetery where over 2700 soldiers are buried, representing only 39% of the soldiers that fell in North Africa in the war. The trip was very meaningful because we were joined by Jim, a former west point instructor and World War II scholar. The Tunisian who runs the cemetery led us around and showed us examples of the fallen soldiers stories, including a medal of honor recipient and brothers who died protecting each other. The experience was extremely moving, and taught me a lot about WWII I didn't know before.

Next we went to the Byrsa Hill, the spiritual center of the Cartheginian Empire, and the Sanctuary of the Tophet, as well as the Punic Ports, which were the military and economic heart of the Cartheginian empire. The ruins there were beautiful as we're the views to the water surrounding the port. We had an amazing Tunisian lunch,and made our way to the Bardo Museum.

The Bardo Museum once served as the palace of the Husseinite Beys, who were the rulers of Tunisia from 1705-1957. Currently it houses the most renowned collection of mosaics from the Roman Empire. We ended the day after a bus ride on Tunisia's southeastern coast in Sousse.The hotel we stayed in was very nice, except for the odd shape that reminded us all of a creepy maze. There were motion activated lights in the long and twists hallways that didn't always light up. The common areas were an assault on the senses but were a really great time. We got some Tunisian wine which was really good, and some more sheesha before getting ready for our 6:45 wake up call.

Day 4

Woke up to one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen off of the balcony at the hotel. I only took a couple of pictures because Icouldn't stop staring at it. Then we went to El Jem, the 6th largest amphitheater from the Roman Empire. It was very well preserved, moreso than the Colosseum (the largest) and we were able to get up to the top and climb around more than in the Colosseum.

We then went to another museum nearby where we saw more mosaics that were really beautiful and we realized how much the Romans were obsessed with mosaics of the four seasons. We continued south from Tunis and watched as the scenery changed to more sandy and desert like although we were not yet there. We stopped for many a photo opp and the bus driver Ramsey continued to impress. Stopped at a spice market and bought some mint tea, obviously. Then we went to a bar where some scene in Star Wars was filmed. We ended our night at the hotel that was really interesting, we called it the cave hotel because each bed was in its own little cave like hole.

Then I went to bed, excited to go camel riding and camping in the Sahara the next day. Oh what little did I know what was about to happen.