|
Written by Gillian
|
Tunisians are always ready to party! Their way of life, centred on the family and religious holidays, offers many excuses for celebrating throughout the calendar year. Visitors are always welcome to watch, dance and join in.
Around Hammamet there are a number of specific festivals to look out for. On July 12th, the Yasmine Hammamet Festival takes place. The following 10 days see the start of the International Festival of Hammamet. This amazing event features a full program of talented musicians and dancers celebrating their culture. There is also a surprising amount of jazz music and sounds to suit all tastes from well-known African artists and performers. If jazz is your thing, there are several Jazz festivals during the summer months in Tunisia. Check out the north-west coastal town of Tabarka during July. There is a large gathering of jazz enthusiasts who enjoy the concerts, seminars and workshops which are all part of the Tabarka Festival. If classical music is more to your taste, the International Festival of Symphonic Music takes place from mid-July to mid-August in the Colosseum at El Jem, Mahdia.
Two festivals which keep alive the riding skills, dance and culture of the desert dwellers are the Sahara Douz Festival and the Oasis Festival at Tozeur. If you get chance to visit either of these festivals during November, the memory will stay with you forever. Colourful performers and troupes perform daring acts on horseback, displaying balancing acts and breathtaking skills to a wildly enthusiastic audience. Set in an almost biblical town of mud huts and dust, on the edge of the Sahara, these festivals are an important part of keeping alive the ancient traditions of the desert people.
Other cultural events in Tunisia include the Thoroughbred Horse Festival in Meknassy, or Sidi Bouzid. The Carthage-Byrsa Exhibition and festival is another great show of traditional dance, music and horse riding skills in the late summer. If you get chance to attend one of the traditional Tunisian festivals, even for a day, do so. It is a chance-of-a-lifetime to see how others live in this fascinating world of ours. |
