I was tired after a day in the desert.

I wanted a shower, some food and a good nights sleep. I had high hopes of somewhere beautiful to spend the next two nights. Making a Booking.com reservation had proved slightly dodgy in Alexandria, as the hotels usually put forward their best images on the website, and the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. I think they also write their own reviews.

I had booked at the Zad El Mostafer Guest House in Tunis. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I hoped like heck the place was as gorgeous as the photos. My mad four-wheel driver took me at break-neck speed to Tunis from our lake-side lunch and I was surprised at how relaxed I was at donkeys, tuk-tuks and children whizzing by mere millimeters from the wing-mirrors. Arriving in Tunis, we ambled down a crowded narrow lane lined with quaint stone houses and signs for horse-riding and pottery lessons.

Hidden in the back with a spray-painted sign on the fence, was my accommodation. I gathered my backpack, said my Shukran’s and Ma’aslama’s to Hamed, dodged a massive hole in the road and a pile of horse-poo, and wandered into the yard like the stinky weirdo that I was, in search of reception.

A stunning courtyard, resplendent with bright bougainvillea and grass (actual grass!), greeted me along with the usual cigarette-smoking gang of fifteen males that seemed to accompany any form of tourism. One to do the booking and the other 14 to offer suggestions; input; stares; puffs of smoke and goodness knows what else. I was getting used to being the centre of attention, but it still didn’t sit totally happily upon my shoulders.

I was taken to my delightful bougainvillea-framed room, and soaked in my glorious surroundings. At last - a Booking.com that was accurate! I exhaled and could not get the grin off my face. I was going to spend two nights somewhere beautiful.

The small village of Tunis (‘izbat Tunis) is located in the oasis of Fayoum , on the way to Wadi Al-Rayan. Located on a hill facing the large salt water lake, Lake Quaron, the village commands a stunning view of the edge of the desert on the other side of the lake; the lake itself also being home to a variety of over 100 birds, including Flamingoes. It is one of the most beautiful places in Egypt. It was a landscape of contrasts and a village of bright colour and creatives.

Flamingo’s litter the northern edge of Lake Quaron

Until recently, the village of Tunis

was an unknown farming and fishing community on the southern shore of Lake Qaroun.

Though it looked like thousands of average Egyptian Villages, Tunis has its own colourful and unique charm; very small, extremely beautiful and surprisingly peaceful. It was the 1980s when a Swiss potter – Evelyn Porret – visited Fayoum with her Egyptian friends. She visited Tunis and fell in love with it, deciding to make it her home, building a house and pottery studio/workshop there. At the beginning, the village children would come – out of curiosity - to see what Evelyn was doing. Some of them appeared very interested in her work, which encouraged her to help them unearth their talents. Most children had no education, so the opportunity to learn pottery also gave them an opportunity to earn an income. The more people that learnt to create pottery, the greater chance they had at a life that was different to previous generations AND it did not involve having to go to Cairo. Consequently, Evelyn established a pottery school.

Some of the stunning pottery I purchased in Tunis.

Gradually, the ordinary village turned into a reputable center of a modern pottery and an open air museum of both eco and traditional rural buildings, which attracted investors and entrepreneurs who began to provide the village with different facilities to meet the increasing tourism demands on the place. The most important of such facilities are some eco-lodges which house stunning organic gardens and facilities for yoga, horse-riding centers, many guesthouses, cafes, in addition to guiding services for bird-watching and Safari into the deserts. Evelyn lived in Tunis for over 30 years and passed away in 2021, leaving a remarkable legacy which is the village’s drawcard today. I could see the attraction. I felt an instant at home feeling, amongst creatives, nature, the lake, the architecture, the attention to detail, the colour, the vibrancy - it all came together with a wonderful synergy fit for any design book gracing a coffee table.

It was simply divine. .

I decided on my second day in Tunis, that I wanted nothing more than to wander its streets and discover what gems I could in the narrow labyrinthic alleyways. I stopped for a coffee at a street cart, and was charged premium prices for Illy coffee and badly steamed milk that had been in the sun for hours. I sat with the men as they chatted and we all watched the world go by for a while, together, just like that. When I stood up to leave the cart owner insisted on a photo with he and I together. I photographed him then promised I would put it on my instagram page. He was thrilled.

#BestcoffeeinTunis.

You’d be silly, not to ask for the Illy - since that’s all there is ….

Farmers wandered by with their animals; heavily laden carts hauled by donkeys click-clacked down the street; young lads on motorbikes; kids on bikes; women in the Niqab; some German tourists and even some Australians, all wandered by while I sat and watched. The minute details of the daily ‘mundane’, became fascinating studies of colour and texture.

Everywhere was a photo - everywhere.

Towards the end of the main street I saw a sign “Saj Leather’, so naturally (missing my @littleleafcreative days), I wanted to see what this was all about. It was this turn to the right - Yemeen - that brought me to the lovely bright leather store of Ahmed, a lovely Egyptian man who has spent 22 years living in Italy learning how to create beautiful items out of leather. His simply designed and crafted bags, hung around the store and he carefully described the qualities of each bag to me.

Of course I had to buy one, and then I told him about my own business back in New Zealand and I showed him my photos. He called me “his sister in leather” and we discussed opportunities to somehow work together in the future. Ahmed had an infectious energy and pure passion for what he was doing.

I briefly entertained the idea of life in Tunis …

Tunis is rich with opportunities for visitors to the area. It offers:

Pottery lessons (of course)
Horse riding
Wind surfing
Bird watching
Yoga
Safari tours
Eco lodge stays
Astro photography

My short stay in this utterly stunning region, had opened my eyes to an appreciation of how different things were outside the hustle and bustle of Cairo. To be in a town so embedded in its creative history, was also refreshing and alluring. I knew I would be back - next time for longer.

B l o g

I was tired after a day in the desert.

Until recently, the village of Tunis

It was simply divine. .

Everywhere was a photo - everywhere.

Directory