A handful of Tunisian men walk down Avenue Habib Bourguiba after a full day of protesting on Independence Day
We landed in the capital as thousands of Tunisians wearing and carrying their red and white flags swarmed on Avenue Habib Bourguiba to celebrate their independence from France on March 20, 1956. At one point a man shouted at policemen sitting in a bus as others carried him off. After I took a photo of this unfolding, two men in uniform followed me down the street and insisted that I delete the image.
Although I wanted to be the cool and fierce journalist who refused, there was no one around to back me up and I don’t speak French. So, delete. Besides, I’m not on a political mission, even though sometimes it is hard to separate environmental and political issues. Take a peak of a few images we snapped of downtown Tunis last night and stay tuned for more news.
The Municipal Theater on Avenue Habib Bourguiba is one of the few in the world with an art nouveau facade. It opened November 20, 1902 and was partially demolished in 1909 before it was converted and enlarged to be opened again on January 4, 1911. A total renovation of the theatre was completed in 2001 for its centenary (thanks, wikipedia).
The Tunis Metro comprises a network of approximately 32 kilometers with 47 stations. Public transportation is a very important issue for me, in particular, as I made a commitment to never owning a car again in order to keep my carbon footprint down. Looks like I won’t have trouble getting around Tunisia as even at night, the metro seemed to run very regularly.
Chilly nights don’t keep Tunisians away from the ice cream man, apparently. We love this shot of an ice cream vendor on Avenue Habib Bourguiba… he didn’t seem at all phased that I was clicking away while he served his clients.
Two men in a cavernous building filled with sand and construction materials. The Jasmine revolution was sparked as a result of joblessness and corruption. Are renovation projects like this a sign that the country is moving forward?
Ok, now we’re just showing off, but notice the glowing building in the distance? That is the obelisk clock tower in downtown Tunis, the site of numerous demonstrations during the revolution and the site of the Place 14 Janvier 2011 – the day that former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country and a (relatively) new Tunisia was born.
all images by Tafline Laylin
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Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
Tafline you lucky thing! well done!