VERY INTERESTING: TUNISIA

 Hello ladies and gents this is the Viking telling you that today we are talking about 

Fun Facts About Tunisia You Didn’t Know

Tunisia is known by many people as the country that started the Arab Spring or its ancient Roman ruins, but there’s so much more to the country than that. The beautiful Tunisian coast attracts a lot of tourists, in addition to its beautiful buildings and museums. Beyond that, Tunisia is traditionally ahead of other countries in terms of women’s rights, although there is still progress to be made. There are many things that make Tunisia special, and this list is just a few of those facts.

1. Kebili, Tunisia has remnants from the Stone Age.

In Kebili, people have found animal bones and tools from the Stone Age. They believe that the artifacts are from around 200,000 years ago. The bones found at the site suggest that Tunisia’s wildlife at the time looked much different than it does today, with much more biodiversity in the past. Part of this is because Tunisia’s landscape used to be green and much more wet, meaning it was more conducive to many different species of animals. This is no longer the case today.

2. Kairouan, Tunisia is the fourth most important city in Islam after Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem.

Kairouan is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded in 670 CE, making it the oldest Muslim-Arab base in the Maghreb. It was the capital city of Ifriqiya (the name for all of North Africa), but the capital was moved to Tunis. After that, though, Kairouan remained an important center for Islam in North Africa. In the city, there is the Great Mosque of Kairouan and the Mosque of the Three Doors, both remarkable in their own right.

3. Many parts of the Star Wars movies have been filmed in Tunisia.

With the exception of “Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back”, the other Star Wars films used parts of Tunisia for filming. The movies had scenes filmed in Djerba, Matmata, Tataouine, Medenine, and more parts of Tunisia. You can visit the film locations, but you will have to rent a car.

4. The Bardo National Museum is the second largest museum in Africa.

Second only to the Grand Egyptian Museum, the Bardo National Museum is the largest museum in Africa. It is located in Tunis, Tunisia’s capital and follows the history of Tunisia through the millennia. The museum has quite a few archaeological artifacts, such as the Stone Age tools found in Kebili, which are from 200,000 years ago. It is also in the former palace of Tunisia’s rulers.

5. The Great Mosque of Kairouan is thought to be the oldest mosque in the Maghreb.

The Great Mosque of Kairouan (also known as the Uqba Mosque) was built in 670 CE, but has been rebuilt multiple times since then. One of those times was in the 9th century, when Prince Ziyadat Allah II, an Aghlabid governor, demolished the mosque and rebuilt it on the same site. However, it is still considered the oldest because of Kairouan’s significance. Technically, because it has been rebuilt, you could consider the Al-Zaytuna Mosque in Tunis to be the oldest (built in 698 CE).

and as always have a chilled day from the viking