The Medina's UNESCO labyrinth — brik, harissa, lablabi chickpea stew, and the site of ancient Carthage
Tunis is the capital of Tunisia and the gateway to one of the best-preserved Islamic medinas in North Africa — a UNESCO World Heritage labyrinth of 9th-century souks, mosques, palaces, and hammams organized around the Great Mosque of the Zaytouna (founded 732 CE, with columns salvaged from Roman Carthage, 17km away). Tunisian food is built around harissa (the smoky red chili paste made with dried Baklouti peppers, present in nearly every dish), and the street food hierarchy goes: brik (a crispy warka pastry enclosing a whole egg, tuna, and parsley — the leak-or-don't-leak-it-down-your-wrist t…
Tunis sits 17km from ancient Carthage — founded by the Phoenicians around 814 BCE, the dominant western Mediterranean power for four centuries until Rome destroyed it in 146 BCE. The current city was established by Arab forces in 698 CE, became the Hafsid Sultanate's brilliant capital in the 13th century, and served as the western terminus of trans-Saharan and Mediterranean trade routes. Ottoman control from 1574 was followed by the French Protectorate from 1881. Tunisia became the catalyst of the Arab Spring in December 2010 — the self-immolation of street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi in the prov…