As part of our bus tour we went on a very scenic tour of the countryside in Tunisia, the landscape was lovely and we passed many storks nesting , I did try and get photos of them but I just couldn't time it right as we sped passed them on the bus. The government there have made special platforms on poles running beside the electric wires to stop them actually using the electricity poles to nest on.
One of our stops was at a traditional, beautiful berber village which was mainly painted in blue and white. The bus parked in the main car park which was lined with market stalls, these were also coloured blue and white.
This is the Main Street of the village which was lined with shops and houses. Some of the houses were open to the public, the tour guide took us in one and it was amazing, beautifully adorned with many intricate tiles.
Going through the front entrance you enter into a small courtyard which leads into other rooms. One of the sections of the house was for prayer. The picture below shows the area where the family would wash their feet before going to prayer. On the left hand side at the back you can see stairs which lead up to the prayer room.
This is the prayer room which as you can see is covered in lots of tiles which make up a bigger picture. The ceramic hand above the window is called the hand of Hammas, or Fatima's hand, this is supposed to bring good luck to the family and ward off evil spirits.
This is the steps leading to the prayer room which are just as ornate as the rooms.
The house we were in was obviously of a high standard and must have belonged to a wealthy, influential family. It is now a museum with access to all rooms which are set up with traditional furniture, artefacts and dummies wearing authentic clothes. There was access to the roof which is flat and showed lovely views across the area. On leaving the house we had free time to wander around the village.
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