This comes to you from Sfax, Tunisia, 270km south of the capital Tunis. It's a coastal port town, quite industrial, and not very touristy. The walled medina (old city) is fantastic - full of market stalls selling food and everyday items - not tourist tack and souvenirs like, for example, the old souq in Damascus or Istanbul's Grand Bazaar.
The language here is mostly a mix of Arabic and Tunisian Arabic (I can't tell the difference) but is interspersed with French words - especially in business conversations. Unlike countries like Syria the numerals used are often western, not the Eastern Arabic numbers (٠.١.٢.٣.٤.٥.٦.٧.٨.٩).
French influence is here in the food as well - instead of the flat bread of Syria, Jordan and Lebanon the long French baguettes are everywhere. There are French style cafés everywhere, plus a lot of Italian restaurants and pizzerias. The coffee is good, and strong. The speciality in Sfax, however, is the fish - there's a big fishing industry and it's fresh and normally served whole and grilled. Sea bass (loup) seems to be common. But look up loup in your French dictionary and it comes up with wolf. Fillet of wolf? I hope not...
The architecture here seems to switch between French and north-African arabic styles. The new city centres are unmistakably French:
Photos are here and I'll update as I go.
