Tunisia Day 5

We lost the bid to Sweden. =(

People aren't as disappointed as i expected, but still everyone believed we stood a pretty good chance. Nevertheless the Singaporeans put up a good fight and came in 2nd among the 4 countries, despite only starting canvassing in february this year. Sweden started 2 years ago and they had the whole European bloc behind them, so well.

Saw a mosaic museum and roman ruins (very much ruined and gone) and the barest of remnants of an aquaduct system running 120+km (!!) from springs in the mountains to carthage. Quite amazing considering how the water flowed only through force of gravity, so they had to engineer the whole system based on that.

Today made it pointedly clear how Tunisian culture isn't stereotypically "African" at all but a mishmash of Roman, Byzantine Catholic, Arab Muslim and indigenious Barber (yes Barber, they're like desert people) cultures. Saw lotsa mosaic and statue depictions of roman gods and goddesses and the muses and suchnot. Got quite excited about it, thanks to all those classic Greek texts. There was a mosaic of Orpheus charming wild animals with his lyre, and one of Virgil flanked by 2 muses while he was writing his Aenid. Also one of Poseidon in his chariot pulled by 4 sea horses. I quite enjoy museums now.

Spent more time being made to trawl shops (that's why i hate tour groups) and wondering why the exact same goods can be sold all over Tunisia, and how there must be some hidden pact among them to sell things at $45 and then go down to $5 about 10 steps later after you walk away. Didn't find anything worth buying, but the Americans somehow seem to buy something everywhere, it's people like them that fuel the desire for tour guides to stop at touristy shops. I thus have not spent any money at all buying anything from shops that isn't water or camera pass money ($1 to take photos per day per city). Which i guess makes this the third consecutive vacation which i haven't spent any (significant) money in shops. hmmm. There just wasn't anything worthwhile to buy, the Tunisian Dinar being stronger than the S$ and all.