This year Tunisia was chosen, for a two week visit. Firstly, Tunisia is probably the most secular of the Muslim countries, secondly because of the freebies being offered to travellers on Emirates out of Dubai on their new route Dubai/Tunis/Tripoli/Dubai. The freebies for us were four free nights at the Sheraton, Tunis.We used Singapore Airlines to Dubai, and then Emirates to and from Tunis. For three of the four flight legs the 'planes were captained by Australians, beacons of safety in an unfamiliar environment (there is no need for non-Australian readers to speak or think enviously about this). All of our hotel bookings, in Dubai and even for the hotel in Sousse, were done on the Internet before we left Singapore.
We stopped in Dubai for only one night on the outward journey. This was the night of 24th. December, a night of celebration because of the large number of Christian expats. in the country. We stayed at the Airport Meridien, and became quickly aware of the cost of living in Dubai. We enquired if bookings had to be made for the celebratory dinner provided by the hotel that night. In response, we were offered one of the few remaining seats, at AUD330 (equivalent) per head with champagne, or AUD180 (eq) per head without. We declined, and found that the Hotel also had an Irish Pub, which that night was featuring a traditional English meal at AUD75 (eq) per head We went there, and enjoyed a great meal, which surprisingly, included one dish with ham (from a pig!). Kim was able to renew his acquaintance with Kilkenny beer.
The journey from Dubai to Tunis is seven hours, and we found that Emirates was reasonably good servicewise. They use Airbus 330s on this route, and thus there were no beds. Although we travelled on Christmas Day, obviously there was no traditional Christmas lunch. It can be difficult for Australians to arrive at Tunis. Visas are required, and these are obtained on arrival at an office before Customs/Immigration. Unfortunately, the Tunisian dinar is not convertible, and hence 
cannot be bought outside the country. Visas must be paid for in dinars. So, after completing an application for a Visa at the office, frequently being elbowed aside by the flock of other people also wanting a Visa, I left my passport and the application at the office and, feeling a bit naked without documents, went looking for dinars.I had to thread my way through milling crowds at both Immigration and Customs, looking for a Bank. Being Friday, all the Banks except one were shut, and it took me some time to find the open one (in the greeting area). It was then a major effort to reverse this journey outwards through Cu
stoms and Immigration. I was relieved to eventually find my Passport (and Visa inside) with the officer attending, whose face I had forgotten. Kim, carrying a passport from a fellow Muslim country, didn't require a Visa. The overwhelming first impression of this airport were the clouds of cigarette smoke wafting everywhere.The taxi driver to the hotel overcharged us (as expected) , but we negotiated his fare down to only four times what it should have been (We paid AUD 15 (eq)). The Sheraton is a very old hotel, and was the Hilton when I was in Tunis 30 years ago. It was comfortable enough, and even had a small Father Christmas discreetly placed in the foyer..
Tunisia is an ancient land, first settled in the 11th. century BC by the Phoenicians (from Tyre, in what is now Lebanon). Successively it was occupied by the Romans, then briefly by the Vandals, then Byzantines and a series of Muslim dynasties, then the Ottoman Turks, 
then it fell under the French. Independence was achieved in 1956, when Habib Bourguiba became the leader of the country. He is known as the father of modern Tunisia. Despite declaring himself President for Life, in 1987 he was overthrown by his then Interior Minister, Zine Al-Abidin ben Ali, who is still President. There is no doubt that secularism came through Bourguiba. It is said that he viewed fundamentalist Islam as primitive and inimical to modern development, most particularly apparent in the standard of education and by the manner 
in which women were treated. Accordingly, he closed religious schools and expropriated their funds, and then banned the wearing of the veil (burq'ah). As a consequence, the standard of education is good and technical people are being produced. Women are fully emancipated, and wear figure hugging jeans and other modern clothes. Older women sometimes wear the scarf.
Tunisia is not a rich country. It has small amounts of oil, but tourism and remittances from its citizens working offshore are the main sources of the country's foreign income.Tunis has little of tourist interest. The Phoenician ruins at Carthage (now a suburb of Tunis), dating from the 8th. Century BC, are too scattered and too insignificant, for them to be fully appreciated. This is in contrast to, for example, Ephesus in Turkey. There is a major Museum in Tunis - the Bardo, which has exhibits from
all stages of the history of the country. Beyond this, there is a Medina (old City), which has a warren of lanes lined with shops selling everything. We found that the quality of the goods on offer was not high, and we made few purchases. Some of the suburbs of the city are beautifully situated along the shores of the Mediterranean, with large houses painted white with blue trimmings in the Mediterranean style.
We hired a car to drive to Sousse, which is three hours south of Tunis, along the coast road which leads to the Libyan border. We were given a brand new Ford Focus. Although brand new, this vehicle was ungainly in appearance, because it had old and well used wheels and tyres, which seemed to have come from another car of a different type. Despite this, it went well. Driving in Tunisia is not difficult, though it is a left hand drive country. Tunisian drivers, like those in, for example, Malaysia, tend to overtake other cars when they come to them, rather than when it is safe to do so. Consequently, it became important to look at the quality of the shoulder when topping hills, or approaching blind corners. 
We saw a few vehicles where their drivers had misjudged the ability of shoulders to bear the weight of their vehicles, which had thus toppled off the shoulder into fields below (many of the roads are on earth embankments). On two lane highways, occasionally there would be vehicles, mostly from farms, which travelled on the wrong side of the road for reasons not readily apparent. However, these vehicles travelled slowly, and could be negotiated easily, with a cheerful wave.
Sousse sits on the Mediterranean, and quite a way before it is reached by road, wall-to-wall hotels appear along the beach. These hotels cater for charter tourists, and are mostly closed in winter. However, when we were there some were open, and, with the daily maximum temperature being around 16 degrees, there were hardy souls bathing. Sousse caters well for tourists, but has only tourist class hotels. However, it had a variety of good restaurants, where prices were the equivalent of those in Singapore. The one locally made Tunisian beer (in bottles of only 240 mls) smells of formaldehyde, and I found that I could take this beer or leave it. Lowenbrau from Germany is its largest rival, and is a nice drop.
Aside from being a tourist centre, Sousse is a starting point for visits to a number of important ruins. These mostly date from Roman times, and include the second largest Colosseum in existence (at El Djemm), with a capacity of 30,000 compared with the capacity of 43,000 at Rome's Colosseum, large sea forts (at Monastir and Mahdia). The nearby town of Kairouan is the carpet centre of Tunisia, but we found nothing in this respect of interest.
Via Tunis, we returned to Dubai, stopping at Tripoli. The 'plane filled with passengers at Tripoli, with groups of Japanese tourists, amongst others, boarding. I was surprised at this, as I hadn't realised that Libya was open to tourists. Also, looking at the quality of the Libyan Arab Airlines 'planes on the tarmac, I was not surprised that the Emirates flight was full ! Then on to Dubai, where amongst other things, Kim wanted to ski in the immense man
made ski field within the Mall of the Emirates. Dubai is the second richest of the seven Emirates which comprise the UAE. Being settled since ancient times, Dubai had British influence (as part of the Trucial States), and since the mid nineteenth century, has been ruled by the Al_Maktoum dynasty. Presumably before the discovery of oil in 1966, Dubai was an exporter of dates and fish, with some minor entrepot activities. Since 1966, at the behest 
of then ruler (Sheikh Rasheed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, the father of modern Dubai), the city state has modernised at an amazing rate. Despite this, it is much more Islamic than Tunisia, with many of the local women wearing the burq'ah. Although these are invariably black, they can be embroidered in bright colours, and it is pleasant to look on them.The population is somewhere between 1 million and 2 million, and comprises 80% foreigners, ranging from street sweepers, domestics, shop assistants and taxidrivers (Indians, Bangladeshis and Filipinos predominate) to high powered financial people (Dubai has an "International Financial Centre"). Phenomenal wealth exudes. There are more cranes on the skyline than in any country I have recently been to, and include those on top of a partially built combined hotel/condominium of 200 storeys (being built at the rate of one floor every
four days), and in another estate with 40 condominium buildings of 25 floors each. It appears that with the purchase of a condo. unit residency is acquired by the buyer, and this appears to appeal to well heeled Europeans who bask in the climate, particularly in winter (summers are hot, with the daily maximum temperature in the high 40s C). Shopping malls abound, with at least two of them being immense, lar
ger than any here in Singapore. The quality of goods in the shops is world class, and no doubt a delight to (well off) shoppers Despite being in a desert, Dubai is "green", securing 97% of the large amount of water it needs by desalination. Dubai's vision for the future is also amazing. The number of hotels is to be increased dramatically (there are presently 45 5-star hotels out of 278 in all). The largest airport in the world is also to be built. Presently the most flamboyant building is the Burj Al-Arab Hotel, a seven star hotel with 202 suites (these are said to be priced around AUD2,500 (eq) per night and come with gold plated taps and butlers -maybe also gold plated !. Guests are taken from the airport to the hotel 
by helicopter or Roller). In all, this city state does virtually the same things as Singapore does, perhaps with less substance, but perhaps with more glamour. A place well worth visiting, and probably also a good place to live in. The supermarkets had everything that one might want - including goat's milk and goat meat and even some non-halal meat too. Medical and similar facilities are readily available in numbers. However, to live comfortably, money would be required..An uneventful flight to Singapore, except that the flight, which had originated in Moscow, included a large number of Russians. Some of their women were statuesque, to say the least, and some were boldly dressed and not couth, even where we were sitting (written like a true snob !).
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