Food
& Drink
The Tunisian food is generally well prepared and appetizing.
Tunisian dishes are cooked with olive oil, spiced with aniseed,
coriander, caraway, cumin, cinnamon or saffron and flavoured with
orange blossom, mint or rose water.
Restaurants
catering for tourists tend to serve rather ordinary dishes and 'international'
cuisine, and visitors are recommended to try smaller restaurants.
Prices can vary and higher prices do not essentially mean better
meals. Tunis and the main cities also have Italian, French and international
restaurants. Self-service can occasionally be found however table
service is much more common. Moorish cafes, with their traditional
decor, serve very good Turkish coffee.
Although Tunisia is an Islamic country, alcohol is not forbidden.
Tunisia produces an excellent range of table wines, sparkling wines,
beers, aperitifs and local liqueurs.
Tunisian specialities:
• Dorado (bream)
•
Couscous
• Tajine (a fish dish)
• Brik or brik
à l'oeuf (egg and a tasty filling fried in an envelope of
pastry).
National tunisian drinks:
• Mint tea with pine nuts.
• Boukha (wine, from figs)
• Thibarine (wine)
Tipping
10% for all services.
Nightlife
The theatre season in Tunisia lasts from October to June when local
and foreign (mainly French) companies put on concerts and productions.
International groups appear at the Tunis Theatre
and in the towns of Sousse and Hammamet. There
are many cinemas in the bigger cities.
There are nightclubs in the major tourist resorts,
the beach hotels, and in the big city hotels. Belly dancing
is a widespread cabaret feature and lively local bands often play
good traditional music.
Casinos
are also available in Hammamet, Tunis, Yasmine,
Sousse and Djerba.
Shopping
Special purchases include copperware, articles
sculpted in olive wood; leather goods,
clothing - including kaftans, jelabas, burnuses,
pottery and ceramics, dolls
in traditional dress, beautiful embroidery, fine
silverware and enamelled jewellery.
Carpets are the most valuable of Tunisia's products. The
2 major types are woven and knotted (pile). The quality of all carpets
is firmly controlled by the National Handicrafts Office,
so be sure to check the ONA seal before buying any carpets.
Shopping hours:
Monday to Saturday from 7.30 am to 1.30 pm and 3.00 pm to 7.00 pm
(in the summer).
Monday to Saturday 9.00 am to 12.00 pm and 3.00 pm to 7.00 pm (in
the winter).
Weekly markets
A source of good purchases are the markets which
are set up on particular days in the Tunisian towns and villages.
The products of the region are displayed and include handicrafts,
farm produce and 2nd-hand goods.
There are ONA workshops throughout
Tunisia where visitors can buy items at fixed prices. ONA stores
make a reduction of 10% on the price of goods purchased in foreign
currency. No duty is payable on articles up to £900 in value
which are shipped to European Union countries, only if supplemented
by an EUR1 form. Visitors who make a purchase of more than TD5,
anywhere in Tunisia, should ask for a sales slip and keep all the
sales slips, along with bank receipts for any currency exchanged,
for any customs inspections. |
