Where is Tunisia?
Tunisia, or the Republic of Tunisia as it is officially known, is a country in the north of Africa. It is located southwest of the Italian island of Sicily and south of Sardinia.
It has a 1300 km coastline so is ideal for those looking for a beach holiday and around 40% of the country is covered by the Sahara.
Language
The main language of Tunisia is Arabic but French is equally spoken. During my trip to Hammamet most of the locals we encountered spoke English and German as well as Arabic and French. Speaking French will come in handy if you go off the beaten track but for us in the resorts of Hammamet and Hammamet Yasmine it wasn’t necessary as pretty much everyone could speak a enough English to get by. Most menus and signs outside of the hotels were in English, French & German but inside the hotel everything was in English and German.
Religion
The official state religion of Tunisia is Islam and the president is required to be Muslim but apart from that they are pretty tolerant of other religions and wearing the Hijab (headscarf) has been banned. We saw a few mosques dotted around but Hammamet and Hammamet Yasmine were much less obviously Muslim areas in the UK, East London as an example. Not everywhere sold alcohol but most places catering to tourists did with a selection of wines and beers on offer.
Currency
The dinar is the currency of Tunisia and is abbreviated to DT when prices are listed. It is a closed currency meaning you cannot take their money out of the country so you will have to get your Tunisian money when you arrive in Tunisia and change it up before you leave. ATMs were readily available and our hotel, the Sol Azur, provded a free money changing service. Remember to keep your recipts as you will need them to change money back into your local currency!
Population
The population of Tunisia was estimated to be around 10 million in 2008.