Sunday Church Feature
Cathedral of St. Louis, Tunis/Carthage, Tunisia


"In the late 19th century, Hussein II Bey authorised the French consul-general to build a cathedral on the site of ancient Carthage, and to take all the land necessary for the project. The consul charged his son Jules, with this duty and having closely examined possible sites, he concluded that the chapel ought to be built on Byrsa Hill, in the centre of the Punic acropolis, where the temple of Aesculapius was once located.


"King Louis-Philippe approved the project. The architect chosen conceived a building of modest proportions that contained a mix of Gothic and Byzantine styles. In any case, he succeeded in giving it the look of a rich marabout similar to the royal chapel at Dreux. A cross, the only one standing at that time in Tunisia, topped the building. Descendants of crusaders' families, and companions of the sovereign, helped finance the construction.

"Built between 1884 and 1890, under the French protectorate, the cathedral acquired primacy for all of Africa when the title of primate of Africa was restored for the benefit of Cardinal Lavigerie, titular of the Archdioceses of Algiers and Carthage. The building was consecrated with great pomp in the presence of numerous dignitaries." Link 2

The cathedral of Saint Louis, which crowns the hill is now a cultural center. It is near the   national museum of Carthage which holds an impressive collection of Punic statues, steles and urns .  If you walk down to the bottom of the wide staircase on the other side of the parking lot in front of the cathedral parts of the walls of Carthage are exposed: you can touch this part of history that is 2000 years old.

Photo: Copy of Carthage post card taken in April 2010 by SW.
Link 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Louis_Cathedral,_Carthage
Link 2:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/curreyuk/3474429010/

Saturday Travel Feature
Narrow Streets of Tunis, Tunisia

"Tunisia ...officially the Tunisian Republic... is the northernmost country in Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its size is almost 165,000 km², with an estimated population of just over 10.3 million. Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-east.



"Tunisia is the smallest of the nations situated along the Atlas mountain range. The south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert, with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1,300 km of coastline. Both played a prominent role in ancient times, first with the famous Phoenician city of Carthage, then as the Africa Province which was known as the "bread basket" of the Roman Empire. Later, Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD, Byzantines in the 6th century, and Arabs in the 8th century. Under the Ottoman Empire, Tunisia was known as "Regency of Tunis". It passed under French protectorate in 1881. After obtaining independence in 1956, the country took the official name of the "Kingdom of Tunisia" at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty. With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic in July 25, 1957, the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president and led the modernization of the country." Link 1.

The narrow streets of old Tunis are lined with residences featuring gaily painted doors and wrought iron balconies. (See photo detail below.) The arches with signs in Arabic, as in the photo above, lead to even narrower streets lined on both sides with stores. Owners hawk their wares beckoning shoppers to come in and bargain. The bargaining can reduce the price of purchase as much as 80%.

Photos: Taken in Tunis, Tunisia in April 2010 by SW.
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunisia