NAME: Siagu (Roman).
LOCATION : South of the Cap Bon peninsula, 10
km south-west of Nabeul,
64km south of Tunis
by motorway, 85 km north of Sousse
by motorway. Railway station: routes to Tunis and
Sousse.
DIALING CODE: 02.
LEISURE: Pool, tennis courts, beaches, water
skiing, golf,
horse riding, thalassotherapy
FESTIVALS: International festival (July-August
at the International Cultural Centre, av. des
Nations-Unies)
SOUVENIRS: Carpets, perfumes, pottery,
embroidery.
For visitors and Tunisians alike
Hammamet is another word for vacations and its ritual of sun
bathing on spotless beaches, the gasp of cool water on
bronzed skin, dinner on the patio of a beachfront hotel ,
midnight swims, discos and watching the sun rise in the
mirror of the sea.
Hammamet, the "Tunisian Saint Tropez", is
all this and more. Its a way of life, taking the time to
relax , meet old friends and make new ones.It's fishermen in
brightly painted boats setting out at dawn, the medina
surrounded by its ramparts and crowned by an ancient fort
overlooking the sea, fashionable boutiques where resplendent
traditional tunics and caftans rival the shimmering sun.
The Gulf of Hammamet shelters miles of fine sandy beaches,
sparkling seas and modern hotels dedicated to the comfort a
well being of their guests. A variety of sea sports,
folklore, exhibitions, festivals and amusements are provided
for an memorable vacation.
Hammamet is
so much a tourist resort, that you can for long hours get a
feeling that Tunisia has disappeared, and all that is left
are zealous shop keepers. German, French, Swedish are spoken
at all sides of you. Silly European men walk around the
streets in just shorts and sandals. Whole families eat ice
cream at the same time and the same speed. Female tour guides
in orange dresses talks without a stop while they are
followed by a crowd of camera-ornamented tourists, while she
pretends to be a specialist on Tunisia and the culture. And
then suddenly a Tunisian Casanova changes the image, but just
slightly, where he walks towards you with his hand around the
waist of a ten years older Finnish woman confused by all the
sudden attention she gets
Most of the
year, there seems to be more Europeans here than in
Marseilles. This makes many travellers stay away from
Hammamet, especially if they know a bit of the distinct charm
that the city had just a few decades ago. But Hammamet is a
well-adjusted port to Tunisia for many people. Many tourists
go for comfort and fun, and then Hammamet is the best choice
of Tunisia. And if anyone would like to go on excursions,
Hammamet is close to many things: Tunis, Kairouan,
and many small towns out on the Cap Bon. And the city itself
is far from dull or tacky, and I have no problem
understanding why many tourists return to Hammemet on a
second or third holiday.
Frank Lloyd
Wright did once say that the villa of Georges Sebastian (now
the possession of the Tunisian government) was the most
beautiful house he knew. This villa, a functionalist mixture
of styles, is quite visible in the center of Hammamet, and is
open for interested visitors, most of the year.
The house is
made up of simple forms and structures, but comfort has
obviously always the first priority.
Hammamet has
one of the finer medinas in Tunisia. It's tiny, but well
kept, and it is apparent from the streets and the facades of
the houses, that it is not the lower classes living here.
The walls of the
houses are white, sometimes with a touch of blue. Doors are
often highly decorated, windows have intricate ironworks in
pastel blue. Right in the middle, there is a mosque, small
and nice. One corner is made up of an old kasbah, the
opposite corner overlooks the graveyard and the sea.
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