‘Go on, try one,” says the man behind a mountain of Arabic sweets. He hands me a piece of makroudh, a honey-dipped semolina and date delicacy. It is still warm from deep frying and deliciously soft and sticky. I’m standing on an intersection between two cobbled medina streets in Tunis, capital of Tunisia, and Biles Elwadi, the sweet seller, is showing me how this national favourite is made. He rolls a sausage of the date and nut mixture into the semolina and cuts it into bite-size chunks to fry.
It’s my final day in Tunisia and, as Biles packages 10 dinars’ (£2.55) worth for me to take home, I realise I don’t want to leave just yet.
I’d journeyed to Tunisia flight-free, on a new rail and ferry itinerary from London devised by overland travel expert Byway. Having previously travelled overland to Marrakesh in Morocco in seven days and Tirana in Albania in five, I was intrigued by the idea of getting to Tunisia in only two.
It was a foggy Monday morning when I boarded the 10.31am Eurostar to Paris at London St Pancras. By 11am on Wednesday, I’m sashaying down the walkway at Tunis’s La Goulette port in sweltering heat.
Rapid trains had whizzed me through France to Marseille, with a slideshow of fin de siècle Parisian architecture, tree-lined fields, conifer woodlands and onwards to rocky outcrops topped by Provençal castles.
When I arrive, Marseille-Saint-Charles is bathed in dreamy orange light, and my base, the boutique Hotel Alex, is conveniently right opposite the station. That evening I wander the Vieux Port with its lively bars and restaurants, a place of migration and transit that underpins the gritty allure of this city.
The next afternoon I’m one of about 30 foot passengers boarding the ferry to Tunis at the shiny new port building (most drive their cars on). The visceral feeling of slow travel is so much more acute on a boat. This is no cruise ship, despite the variety of lounges, cafes and a very empty “nightclub”. I join fellow passengers for a three-course dinner in the main dining room (there’s also an à la carte restaurant and self-service cafe) and then retreat to my cabin. The gentle hum of the ship’s engine provides a suitable soundtrack to eight hours of blissful dream-filled sleep.
Twenty-four hours later we arrive – and it takes just 10 minutes to get from the boat, through passport…
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