Last weekend, we went down to Southern Tunisia to tour around Djerba and the Tatouine areas with our friends Danny and Aimee and their kids Teyo and Nya. I had some reservations about going because Ben Guerdane, the main border town with Libya, is pretty close, and most of the refugees from Libya have been going in and out of Djerba airport. Derek was pretty insistent on going though, and all in all, we had a good trip without any incident and are glad we went!
We stayed at a pretty little B&B type place away from the tourist zone, which ended up being perfect, as we could put the kids to bed and then have dinner in the courtyard within earshot of them. It also turned out that there weren't any other guests while we were there, making it perfect!
Djerba is known for a fairly large population of Tunisian Jews who some books say first came to the Island of Jerba in 566 BC following the fall of Jerusalem. In any event, they've been there for quite some time. Danny had been put in contact with a member of the community down there who ended up taking us to the Jewish school and Synagogue on the Island.
Here are Derek and Eliot at the school.
Last weekend, we went down to Southern Tunisia to tour around Djerba and the Tatouine areas with our friends Danny and Aimee and their kids Teyo and Nya. I had some reservations about going because Ben Guerdane, the main border town with Libya, is pretty close, and most of the refugees from Libya have been going in and out of Djerba airport. Derek was pretty insistent on going though, and all in all, we had a good trip without any incident and are glad we went!
We stayed at a pretty little B&B type place away from the tourist zone, which ended up being perfect, as we could put the kids to bed and then have dinner in the courtyard within earshot of them. It also turned out that there weren't any other guests while we were there, making it perfect!
Djerba is known for a fairly large population of Tunisian Jews who some books say first came to the Island of Jerba in 566 BC following the fall of Jerusalem. In any event, they've been there for quite some time. Danny had been put in contact with a member of the community down there who ended up taking us to the Jewish school and Synagogue on the Island.
Here are Derek and Eliot at the school.
The entrance to the largest and oldest Jewish Synagogue in Tunis, El Ghriba, meaning "The Miracle." Some say the Government mainly puts up with the Jews here because they bring in tourism. Every May there is a large pilgrimage out to Djerba by North African Jews.
Inside the Synagogue
Lunch of overpriced fish!
pooped Eliot
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