Bulla Regia

The sproutings of Spring bulbs reminds me of the irises scattered around the site at Bulla Regia Most of the site is below ground, useful given the squally rains showers we had while we were there. Ian went on the extensive tour including the fantastic mosaics I've already posted.


I concentrated on trying find a sheltered spot to sketch from - the rain obliterated the ones I did of the bathhouse
There were compensations in watching the changing skyscapes and spectacular rainbows.

After giving up the painting as a bad job and going for a coffee, the skies cleared (or so I thought) and I did a quick painting from the car park. The rain reappeared before I could stuff my sketchbook in the pocket of my kagoule but I rather like the speckled effect. Of all the paintings I did in Tunisia it's the one that instantly conjures up the spirit of time and place.

Dougga

Sorting through my Tunisian Door photos and sketches for inspiration for my next quilt, I realised I'd fallen behind in posting images about some of the sites we went to in Tunisia ( I wasn't totally obsessed with doors - just a bit) .
Dougga, the last Roman site we visited on our tour was probably the most impressive. Apart from the size of the site and the number of relatively intact buildings which gave a real sense of a city ( and the fact it was sunny!), the real star was the setting, in a wonderful landscape of distant mountains and olive groves. While Ian went on the guided tour of the site, on the tour leaders recommendation, I headed for the Temple of Saturn which had panoramic views of the surrounding countryside and did a bit of 'colouring in' , trying to capture the ever-moving shadows.

Inspired by Die Tunisreise

Ordering another leather sketchbook from the diary shop to fill with watercolour paper, I was looking again at my sketches from Tunisia. I was heavily influenced in the 2 images of Kairouan backstreets above by looking through 'Die Tunisreise' kindly lent by Margaret before my trip. ( I've since sourced my own copy!) . This features the work of artists Paul Klee, August Macke and Louis Moilliet on their painting trip to Tunisia in 1914, a milestone in modern painting. I've long been a fan of Paul Klee, what was new to me in this book were all the drawings and photographs of locations and awareness of the work of Louis Moilliet.

Of the 3 artists, it is the work of August Macke (above) which seems to best capture the spirit of Tunisia - many of the locations don't seem to have changed that much, just different clothes and the addition of satellite dishes!

Mosaics: Bulla Regia

What is so special about the mosaics at Bulla Regia is that instead of being on a wall in a museum, they are still on the floor, in situ. This large bear was in the theatre. As it was raining there was no need to sprinkle water on to bring the colours to life!

Threequarters of the site is underground and these are where the most spectacular mosaics are found: like this portrait in the House of fishing

And Venus and Cupid riding dolphins in the House of Amphitrite. Stunning!

Mosaics: El Djem Archeological Museum

The colosseum at El Djem is spectacular but also not to be missed is the archeological museum on the outskirts of the town. The mosaics are extremely fine - superior to those even at the Bardo and they also had a very interesting reconstruction of a Roman villa. Among my favourites mosaics was this fragment of pears (or gourds?) - I could happily have taken it home

There was a whole room of peacock mosaics, many with brightly coloured shiny glass in the 'eyes'

The tesserae used were very small and the makers skilled in graduation of colour. Ian's favourite was one of a boar being brought down by 2 lions ( detail) above ) the blood was very realistic . I admired less gory examples!

Mosaics: Bardo Museum

The Bardo Museum in Tunis is rightly acclaimed for its impressive collection of Roman mosaics. Probably the most famous is the one depicting Odyseuss and the sirens (there was even a copy of it at Tunis Airport!) The story goes that Circe warns Odysseus about the dangers he will face at sea including the Sirens. In the adventure of the Argonauts, Jason and his men faced the danger of the Sirens with the help of the singing of Orpheus. Odysseus has no Orpheus to drown out the lovely voices, so he orders his men to stuff their ears with wax and tie him to a mast so he can't escape, but can still hear them singing. What I loved about many of the mosaics was their domesticity - depictions of houses , gardens, foods and pets( or is that food?!) abound

Among the purely decorative , there were lots of peacocks and feathers (more of those in another post)

On a corridor floo r , I was rather taken with this abstract wavy pattern.

Troglodyte Dwellings

You can't go to Tunisia and not hear about Star Wars! We gave the 4wd trip to the film sets a miss but enjoyed a Celtia beer at the Sidi Driss Hotel in Matmata which was used as the location of Luke Skywalkers home!

We had a tour of a traditional Berber troglodyte pit dwelling (offered tea and bread) . I tried to ask about the embroidery on this lady's sleeve (it looked similar to a piece I bought in Yazd) but apart from establishing it was old and pretty didn't get very far.

We spent the night in our very own cave at Hotel Marhala and despite the beds being slabs of stone with a mattress on top had the best nights sleep of the trip

Tozeur Brickwork

Having printed off some Tunisian photos for Ian to show to his Dad (I'm at home with chest infection - on the antibiotics now), time to upload some more images here. In the Ouled el Hadef quarter in Tozeur, the houses are constructed of yellowish handmade bricks, protruding in ornate geometrical designs in relief - the shapes and motifs repeated on local carpets and shawls.
First used in Syria and Iraq during the 8th Century , the only other place it is practised today is Iran(we saw some in Yazd ). The pattern-making bricks create small patches of shade , generating convection currents that cool the surface. Practical as well as picturesque!

Tunisian Shop Advertising

Sorting through my photos, I'll be sharing the mosaics etc soon but these slightly off-beat painted advertisements caught my eye. Above , Berber Crafts in Tamezret (doesn't look like its been open in a long time...

Dates in Tozeur

Poultry in Le Kef

Bicycles in Le Kef