We spent the last few days making our way back, stopping along the east coast in Mahdia, and then heading inland to see El Jem and the city of Kairouan. El Jem is an ancient Roman coliseum smack dab in the middle of town – something we didn’t expect. We assumed the location would be more remote and resemble an archaeological site. Needless to say, we were a little disappointed. The site was surrounded by souvenir shops and littered with large tour groups vying for their Gladiator moment (I might be singing a different tune if Russell Crow had been on hand). Let’s just say it’s worth seeing if you’re passing through town, but I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way.
I was really looking forward to our next stop in Kairouan, because the grand mosque there is considered to be the fourth holiest site in all of Islam. As we rolled into town, we were struggling to navigate the chaotic streets when a man pulled alongside us on a motorbike yelling “Mosque” (pronouncing it “Mos-KAY’”, as if to ask if that’s where we were headed. Rich responded, “Yes, we want to go to the mosque,” and the gentleman motioned for us to follow him. Thinking it was a done deal, we proceeded, but he continued to yell “Mos-KAY?” at least ten times. Rich kept replying, “Yes. Yes, we want to go to the mosque.” He just didn’t want to take yes for an answer.
In the end, our night and shining armor was actually touting for a shop in the medina, and wanted to make a quick buck by posing as a concerned citizen. His plan crumbled when two cops appeared, forcing him to pull a rather quick disappearing act. The cops were nice enough to point us in the right direction after warning us to keep our distance from him. I’m guessing our leader has regular run-ins with the law.
The grand mosque was anything but grand. I try not to set expectations, but after all I read about this site, I was expecting to see and feel something. What we found was nothing more than an old building, cracking at the seams, with weathered prayer mats strewn about. You would anticipate them to take pride in this structure, especially because it’s the oldest mosque in North Africa, and believed to house a well that’s connected to Mecca (Now, that’s probably just a myth, but still). A site like this should be appreciated, and this is coming from someone who doesn’t agree with principles of Islam – at all.
On our way out, Mr. Mos-KAY appeared out of the woodwork once more. He wasn’t about to let us leave without paying for his GPS service. He was less than pleased when we only handed him a few dinar, but in our eyes, it seemed fitting. Having our fill, we hoped in the car and headed for Tunis. On our way out of the medina, we inquired about the correct road to take, but the carpet salesman wanted nothing to do with that. Instead, he wanted to play twenty questions with us. We quickly put the car in reverse and Rich yelled something about being in a “terrible rush.” We literally laughed for days over that one. Terrible rush. Who even says that?
