between paradises

odysseus had to tie his men down in the ship to get them to leave djerba, the land of lotus eaters. no one was drugged or tied down on our trip; we were just sad.

this kid tried about 40 times to sell us chewing gum.

the drive back to tunis took almost a full day. the landscape changed drastically from the desert, and we felt like we were driving in tuscany or greece.

a gas station.

on the drive back to tunis we passed thru kairouan, the one of the holiest city in islam.

something about finding a cup that had been stolen from mecca and someone picking it up and then suddenly in the middle of the desert a well sprung up.

the great mosque was closed when we got there, so we circled its outer wall and talked with some of the merchants.

a view of the mosque courtyard from a keyhole in a very old door.

a view of the mosque from a nearby roof. the shopowners offered us a free view, and then offered us lots of rugs on our way out.

the columns used to build the mosque came from temples left behind by the romans.

no two columns are the same

the entire city is walled, and this is one of the entrances.

turns out the cairo street scenes from raiders of the lost ark were filmed here.

this is a hospital for all you public health people

driving to tunis.