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NEWS & SPOTLIGHT

Tunisia: NEWS & SPOTLIGHT

Spotlight: Tunisia’s Roman Mosaics

Mosaics are now acclaimed as one of the most accomplished expressions of ancient Mediterranean art, and in Tunisia one can fine one of the world’s most varied collections of the art form. The country’s archaeological sites and museums document more than ten centuries of mosaic production and are magnificent to behold. Indeed, a private tour focused entirely on the glories of Tunisia’s Roman mosaics could easily suggest itself.

During Roman rule, thousands of mosaic pavements were fashioned to adorn townhouses, country estates, and baths. Magnificent images were created from small polychrome stones that were patiently cut to size. Both geometric and figurative mosaics were immensely popular in Roman Tunisia with subjects ranging from the country’s natural environment - the land, the sea, plants and animals. Tunisia’s Roman mosaics also reveal much about the structure of provincial society – its beliefs culture, practices and customs, leisure activities, and living environment. Mosaics are an invaluable visual historical resource on the way of life in ancient Tunisia that is removed from the official Imperial ideology.

The finest collection of Tunisia’s Roman mosaics is that held in Tunis’s magnificent Bardo Museum. Outside the capital, there are fine regional museum collections at El Djem, Sousse (currently closed) and Nabeul. It is still possible to see mosaics in their original locations at sites including: Bulla Regia, Dougga, Utica, El Djem, Thuburbo Majus, and Carthage. Corinthian’s privately guided Historic Tunisia tour visits many of the highlights of Tunisia’s Roman mosaics and all of the country’s cultural World Heritage Site. We would be delighted to assist you in planning your private Tunisia luxury holiday.

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Spotlight: Star Wars Tours in Tunisia

The hugely popular Star Wars films were famously set in “a galaxy far, far away”, but the reality is somewhat closer to home, and any Star Wars fan touring southern Tunisia will find the stunning deserts, ‘unearthly’ architecture, as well as many of the place names strangely familiar. The reason for this surprising familiarity is that director George Lucas used locations in southern Tunisia for every Star Wars film, except Episode V (The Empire Strikes Back).

The complete set of Mos Espa, located in the desert to the south of Tozeur, is one of the most impressive Star Wars locations in Tunisia. Featured in “The Phantom Menace”, here you can see the gates of Mos Espa; the Pod-racing area; and the town streets including Watto’s shop and Sebulba’s Cafe. A few hundred metres away are the fossilised dunes where Qui-Gonn Jinn and Darth Maul duelled, and beyond that is the giant rock of Ong Jemel where Darth Maul released the Sith Probes on Tatooine to search for Queen Amidala. Northeast of Tozeur is Sidi Bouhel, a placed dubbed “Star Wars Canyon” by Lucas, where Luke Skywalker meets Ben Kenobi in Episode IV. To the East, on the great salt pans of the Chott el Djerid, is the igloo-like house that is the Lars homestead. The interior of the house was filmed near Matmata in a troglodytic house that is now the very basic Sidi Driss Hotel. Further south, at the magnificent fortified ghorfas (Berber granaries) of Ksar Hedadda, Ksar Ouled Soltane and Medenine, Lucas filmed the slave quarters in Episode 1 and the exterior of Anakin Skywalker’s home. The regional capital of Tatouine didn’t feature in the Star Wars films but lent its name to Luke Skywalker’s home planet. Another site on the map of Star Wars tours in Tunisia is Obi Wan Kenobi’s house on the island of Djerba.

Southern Tunisia an extraordinary place to discover offering both soft adventure, dramatic senery, and the opportunity to relax on a Djerba beach. Weaving a Star Wars tour theme into the holiday will add an extra dimension of interest that may particularly appeal to the imagination of the younger traveller. Corinthian’s Tunisia: Oases & Sahara tour visits many of southern Tunisia’s Star Wars sites. We would be delighted to assist you in planning your private Tunisia luxury holiday.

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Your Financial Protection: The air holiday packages offered by Corinthian Travel are ATOL protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL T7335. Where flights are not included your holiday is protected through our membership of the Travel Trust Association. We hold TTA membership number U6485. Please see Financial Protection or our booking Terms & Conditions for further information.