Probably every person had to hear about Tunisia. True, it cannot be noted that this country is often mentioned in the news and programs. Therefore, not all people will be able to say exactly where it is located. We will try to fill this gap by giving a description of the country of Tunisia and its most important features, from location to local national cuisine. Many people will surely be interested in this.
Geographic location
Let's start our plan-description of the country of Tunisia with its location. This country is located in the very north of Africa, right on the Mediterranean coast. In terms of area, it is significantly inferior to neighboring states, being the smallest in North Africa.
From the east and north it is washed by the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, in the west it borders with Algeria, and in the southeast with Libya.
If you open a grade 7 geography textbook, in the description of the country of Tunisia you can read that the capital is called exactly the same as the state itself - Tunisia.
A large part of the territory - about one third - is covered by the Atlas Mountains. Rest of the areapredominantly savannas.
Due to its favorable location, a subtropical Mediterranean climate prevails here. Only in the south and southwest, away from the sea, can one observe a tropical desert climate. Therefore, there is no cold here. In January, the average temperature ranges from +10 to +21 degrees Celsius - when moving from north to south. July is quite hot - the temperature ranges from +26 to +33 degrees. However, the heat does not torment the locals too much - a refreshing breeze from the sea makes it easy to survive even the hottest summer days.
Precipitation varies greatly - in the south, no more than 100 mm falls in a whole year, and in some regions precipitation does not fall for many years. But in the mountainous regions there is quite a lot of precipitation - up to 1,500 mm.
History of the country
Composing a brief description of the country of Tunisia, one cannot but briefly mention its history.
The first evidence of the presence of people here dates back to about 200 millennium BC. Primitive sites discovered at Cape Bon.
From 1100 to 600 BC, the Phoenicians founded quite a few cities here - Bizerte, Utica, Sousse and, of course, Carthage. It was the latter that became the main center of trade and attacks on the Roman Empire. As a result of the Punic Wars, it was destroyed. Today, this place is the city of Carthage, where the Museum of the History of Carthage is located.
After the fall of Carthage, these placesbecame the Roman province of Africa. For more than 750 years, the area became the center of agriculture in North Africa - prosperous, rich lands attracted many farmers, as well as traders.
Subsequently, these territories changed hands many times. They were controlled by the Arabs, then by the Ottomans, and only in the early 1960s did the state become democratic.
Economy
First of all, it is worth noting that the state currency of Tunisia is the Tunisian dinar - a rather valuable monetary unit. Today, its exchange rate against the Russian ruble is 1:21.
For a long time, the basis of the economy was the oil trade. However, gradually the sale of energy resources began to fade into the background, and today it makes up only a small share in the country's budget.
Agriculture confidently took the first place. Preferring to preserve valuable and non-renewable energy sources, the authorities began to sponsor farmers. Today, Tunisia is the fourth largest exporter of olives and olive oil.
Tourism comes second, followed by the textile industry.
The minimum wage is set by the state - 270 dinars (or 130 US dollars). Not much, but thanks to the mild climate and low prices, such earnings allow workers to identify themselves as middle class.
Population
According to the results of the 2014 census, the population of Tunisia was almost 11 million people. They are predominantly Muslims (about 98 percentpopulation), but there are also a small number of Europeans. And on the island of Djerba, which is also the territory of Tunisia, there is a large colony of Jews. There are even about 3 thousand Russians - mostly descendants of the first wave of White emigration, forced to flee the country after the October Revolution.
Despite the fact that the majority of the population is Muslim, the average birth rate is relatively low - only 1.7 children per woman. That is, the population of Tunisia is gradually decreasing, not increasing. The indicator is the lowest among all the Arab countries of the world.
Tunisia tourism
As noted above, tourism is one of the main sources of income in this country. No wonder - the mild climate, low prices and the proximity of the sea make it a great place to spend your holidays. So it will be useful to give a description of the country Tunisia for tourists.
Of course, there are pretty clean beaches and gorgeous bays of the Mediterranean Sea. True, hotels cannot boast of modern buildings and well-groomed areas. But still, hundreds of thousands of tourists (mostly female) come here every year.
Such a bias towards the beautiful half of humanity is not accidental. They are attracted by thalassotherapy. The range of services is quite extensive. Here you can order algae wrap, pressure therapy, jet massage, aqua aerobics, stone therapy, hammam and many other procedures. And it has great results. Just weeks stay here with three to four dailyprocedures are enough to get rid of rheumatism, arthritis, arthrosis, improve skin condition and blood circulation.
But still, experienced guides recommend women not to leave the hotel territory alone. However, for decently dressed men, this rule is also very relevant - crime in the country is quite high and it is quite possible to kill a tourist because of a wallet and a smartphone.
Ethnic cuisine
Most of the national dishes of Tunisia, in fact, adopted from the European nations, but flavored with lots of spices. Serving is paid little attention, but the portions are very decent - one serving of salad, soup and hot is enough to eat a hearty meal together.
It's nice that you can eat very tasty both in an expensive restaurant and in a simple eatery. The risk of poisoning or simply buying stale food is extremely low. The fact is that the products here are very cheap. Therefore, most cafe and restaurant owners would rather throw away stale ingredients than scare away potential loyal customers with poor quality cuisine.
Conclusion
This concludes our article about the amazing country of Tunisia. A variety of people will be interested in visiting here - lovers of good service, history or unusual cuisine. So, you will definitely not regret such a trip.
