My First Time in Tunisia! my first impressions, trying street food, exploring tunis

Auto-captioned from the film, lightly cleaned. Elena's words, not edited prose.

So, my sister and I have this dream of circling the entire Mediterranean and we've made it to four countries so far. This trip so far has been full of many new friends, incredible views, and definitely some of the best food I've ever had. And what's cool is we've quite literally witnessed cultures and ethnicities and religions shift as we've moved from the west towards the east, from Spain to Lebanon. So, while some of the differences have definitely felt stark, to say the least, it's also really beautiful to see how interconnected these countries and communities are linked by these overlapping histories and common experiences in the present, as well.

So, today we're actually headed back west, but this time towards North Africa, not Europe. We really wanted to see what's on the southern shore of the Mediterranean, so we are in Tunis, Tunisia. The city is in the heart of North Africa, which is a region that remains pretty under the radar, honestly, when it comes to travel content. It's a pretty tiny country of only 12 million people, but it's home to kind of everything, from a stunning coastline all the way to the Sahara Desert. Even if you know nothing about this country, you've actually probably seen it before cuz it's a major filming location, like Star Wars and Indiana Jones and other major movies.

So, this week we're diving more into learning about Tunisia and also meeting Olfa, who is this badass gender expert, social entrepreneur, and she's the founder of La Fabrique, which is an inclusive arts collective for women and non-binary folks and other minorities in Tunisia and beyond. Hello, hello. How we doing? I'm in the North African country of Tunisia. I actually technically came to Tunisia once when I was like 3 years old, but I don't remember it, so let's we're not going to count it. I'm very excited to go explore a little bit of Tunis and yeah, let's go check it out.

Hello. Finally. So, our first stop was at a typical Tunisian lunch spot in this beachside suburb of La Goulette here in Tunis, and we had about as fresh a meal as you could get. We were also introduced to some flavors that were brand new to us that we came to know very well over the next week. The main one being harissa, which is this like smoky, tangy paste made from hot chili peppers that seems to be in just about every dish. So, Tunisia was originally inhabited by an indigenous people group known as the Amazigh or the Berbers, but we're going to start around the 9th century with this little history lesson.

Back when the coastline was settled by Phoenicians. And if you watched the Lebanon video, yes, I'm talking about the same Phoenicians that we talked about in that video. Somehow they made it all the way from Lebanon in whatever kind of boats they had literally 3,000 years ago to the tip of North Africa bringing their culture and knowledge along with them. So, Tunisia's deep connection with the greater Middle Eastern area goes way, way back. Later, like most of the surrounding areas, Tunisia came under Roman, then Byzantine, then Muslim and Ottoman conquest.

In 1881, the French actually occupied Tunisia, super similar to what happened in Lebanon. So, just like what we experienced in Beirut, the French language and culture are definitely still interwoven into Tunisia today. Let's fast forward to 1957, and yay, Tunisia finally gains independence, but an authoritarian regime came to power, which unfortunately over time became infamous for corruption and oppression of any opposition. Let's fast forward a bit further to 2011, which is the arrival of the Arab Spring, which actually took place at the very beginning in Tunis when the people overthrew their president and drafted a new constitution.

But, we will come back to that more a little bit later. So, today Tunisians still face a lot of ongoing challenges, particularly unemployment, security issues, and a political crisis of sorts. However, amidst all the political and economic tension, Tunis has still really emerged as this booming creative scene. Artists who were once really monitored by the previous government now create more freely, and it's so evident to see throughout the city. Today, we're headed to the main souk in Tunis. We're excited to see some of that creativity in action. Today, we're finally exploring the Medina.

So, we've got Sage. Hey, bonjour. I always feel so cool walking in a souk marketplace. It feels like I'm like in the Medina. It's so intense. Like So, in the heart of Tunis is this incredible souk, which is like a marketplace of sorts. It's basically countless winding narrow streets filled with all different types of goods, which can date as far back as the 1200s. Different streets are known for selling different things from spices to leather goods to textiles. We naturally spent most of our time in the sections that sell jewelry, which is my favorite.

Yay. Can we see that one? Okay, so where is this one from? This is from Jerba, and this is about the bird. And here we can you see the fish. All this is handmade work. This is Saharan. Okay, and you said it was ebony? Ebony and silver. Aw, it's beautiful. We'll take this one and then one of these. You choose many different place. Multiple places in Tunisia. And different technique in same time. My goal in the souk was to find silver cuffs. It's a bookmark. good thing it's inspired from a key for a key.

This is the cross of desert because in the desert we have 22 tribe. Every tribe they have a special cross. How does it How does it fit in the book? Easy done. Oh, so you go to the front of the book. Oh, that's really cool. And it's a kind of small gift for you. I going to say it nice if you do. Wow, what are you doing? It was so cute. And remember to this. Aw, thank you so much. Many called Alibaba and many called the soldier of the people. They was like the president Yeah.

of money of Nice to meet you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Two or three dollars. It's like three dollars. Do we know what this is? No, but it's so good. It's so good. no clue what I'm about to eat. Literally zero idea. Oh, wow. What is that? We just keep ordering Well, we'll figure it It's a little historical cultural walk. in the Arab Spring in this same like square where this that was a major place in the Arab Spring. So the square that we're talking about right now is actually the birthplace of this international movement known as the Arab Spring, which honestly has shifted the course of modern history, which is crazy.

So just over 10 years ago, Tunisians frustration with this corrupt government and economic crisis really came to a head with protests that broke out all over the country and actually ended up in the removal of the president Ben Ali at the time and a new constitution was formed. So this revolution was honestly the spark that ignited the Arab Spring, the massive wave of uprisings throughout the Middle East. Today's ongoing conflicts in Yemen, and Syria, and Libya, and the refugee crisis that have come from that can really be traced back to here in Tunisia.

So, while Tunisia has often been celebrated as like the success story of the Arab Spring, reality is honestly so much more complicated. The country definitely did take big steps towards democracy, but many Tunisians feel like the revolution didn't meet its goal because, you know, corruption is still common and the economy is kind of in shambles. But, it certainly hasn't been like an easier straight-forward path since then in 2011, but like it's amazing just to to be here and see the the significance of this whole area. Then, leaving that night to end her day, we ended up joining Olfa and her friends at a very trendy spot that honestly felt like I was back in Manhattan, and it was quite the contrast from our afternoon in the souks.

I feel like really revealed the wide spectrum of experiences you can find in Tunis. I consider myself as a feminist and a social entrepreneur to think about, you know, innovative and creative approaches to disturb that's the patriarchal system. It's a picture right here. Do you feel like you're seeing a shift or does it still feel like it's a man's world here? It's still a man's world. I mean, it's frightening, really. Women and girls are self-censoring themselves because they fear violence, discrimination. What gives me confidence is the new generation. So, what is this room?

Or where are we actually? We are in the studio. We are at a public uh our studio where we host the MENA our network for women and digital art and also in DJ Academy for girls. So, we are trying to give the tools for DJs but also for hip-hop, for dancer, for podcasters and create a network of, you know, uh of solidarity but also for collaboration. Uh the MENA region has the lowest employment rate for women, has the lowest also access to opportunities for youth. How do you feel like it's changed the last 10 years?

Like are you feel like you're seeing good progress? No. Oh, no. So frustrating. It is frustrating for me. I arrived to the point that I had to somehow do a shift in my life. So, in 2020 I decided to quit quit my job Wow. and to fully commit to to the creative world to disturb like the status quo. So, we to also to share this experience with other countries. Created the Femina Network. Now, we have a chapter in Morocco and we're planning to expand. It was so special to see how Olfa's doing really unique work to find these practical and out-of-the-box solutions to gender inequality.

And clearly, Tunisia's home to gender norms which are very similar to those we've seen in, you know, Turkey and Lebanon where young women often feel like their self-expression is stifled by conservative traditions and unstable governments. But our journey so far has really made me appreciate the complexity of their stories. The people we've gotten to know refuse to settle for the status quo and they continue to break down barriers through creating art and building these types of inclusive communities. We're going to try some local street food. Okay, Olfa, what do we have?

Um it's called fricassée. It's a kind of sandwich. There you go. Oh, there's almond seeds. Yum. That was really good. So good. It's like a donut. So, this is only vegetarian. Only grilled. Everywhere no saute, no cooking, nothing. Only grilled. I show you one how we do it. Yeah? It's like a breakfast burrito kind of. You're welcome to Marrakesh. Come anytime. We have you all. It's so good, right? I said and it's a tomato sauce with eggs. Is it spicy? How hot? Every day? So hot. All right, Sage. What do you think?

Hot? It's hot. So good. But I love it. This is it, man. Bye, Mason. We tried so much good food thanks to Ulfa, our tour guide. Hey vlog. Little sweaty, little tired, but the one, the only Damon Dominique happens to be in Tunis completely coincidentally at the same time, which is quite random that we're both in this northern part of Africa together. So, we're going to meet up with him, get some coffee, explore La Marsa. It's right by the water, so let's go check it out. All right, we're checking out La Marsa.

Checking out the little coastline, courtesy of my Airbnb. Mhm. Sage, can you find it? Um, yes. La Marsa. La Marsa is an exclusive beachside suburb. There is no reason to come here other than to visit the beach. Well, there it is, everybody. It's beautiful. Wow, high-quality content. All right, let's go check it out. Hello from our next little moment exploring Tunisia a bit more. Uh, we're now in the little picturesque seaside town called Sidi Bou Said. It's primarily known for these like whitewashed walls and the blue. It feels like you're in like Santorini or Mykonos, but with way less tourists and also a lot less expensive, which is great.

What's interesting about this part, too, is that we're almost at the most northern tip of North Africa and it kind of overlooks the archaeological site of Carthage. So, it's just a very interesting area. We are excited to explore. View. That's when I was about 2 1/2 years old. This photo was taken in front of this store. Just attempted to recreate it. I grew a little bit. So we had to take up Olfa's last minute offer to go out on the town and see the nightlife of Tunis and it actually turned out that one of the girls from Olfa's network was DJing at a super trendy spot right on the beach.

And it was honestly so shocking to see everyone there in like mini skirts and skinny jeans and somehow we ended up at a gay bar even though homosexuality is illegal in Tunisia. I I don't know how this adds up but I will say that Tunisians definitely know how to have a good time. So we totally fell in love with this first stop here in North Africa. It has these really unique influences from Europe and the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa but at the end of the day Tunisia's really its own.

I've never tasted food like what I tried here or heard music quite like this or seen the architecture and these doors like the streets you can find here in Tunis. Tunisians have gone through their fair share of obstacles in the last few years just like honestly a lot of the other countries we visited. It made it that much more inspiring to meet with somebody like Olfa who's really breaking barriers and using her own creativity and artistic skills to uplift other women which was so inspiring to see.