Almost all Tunisians are Muslims, and Sunnis of the Maliki persuasion. The Ibadite sect operates on the island of Djerba. After the country gained independence, the number of Christians and Jews significantly decreased.
Transport in Tunisia
Bus service. With the help of a bus, you can get to almost any corner of the country – you just need to find out the timetable and stop of the bus following the desired route.
TGM is a tram-type transport, so named after the first letters of the main destinations that can be reached with its help (Tunis – la Goullet – la Marsa). You can also use this mode of transport to travel to Salammbo, Carthage and Sidi Bou Said. Travel time from Tunisia to La Marsa is about 35 minutes.
Taxis are cheap and plentiful. But yellow taxis only work in the city. If you need to go further, you will have to use the so-called “big taxi” or an ordinary intercity bus. Tourists most often prefer to rent a car. A car can be rented by persons who have reached the age of 21 and have a driver’s license that was issued at least 1 year ago. But it must be borne in mind that there is no discipline on the Tunisian roads, which creates great difficulties when driving. Not cheap and rent (about 90 dinars per day).
Plant and Animal World in Tunisia
On the Mediterranean coast, you can still find islands of rather lush subtropical vegetation. Often it is maintained artificially, especially in parks, gardens and hotels. Here grow cork and holm oaks, wild olive, strawberry tree, conifers (for example, Aleppo pine, thuja); there are acacias, poplars and maples, ash, heather, laurel, wild roses.
In the low-lying regions of the central part of the country and in the Sahel, herbaceous-shrub vegetation of a semi-desert type predominates – wormwood and alpha grass, characteristic of this area. It covers hundreds of thousands of hectares. This tall grass is harvested as a raw material for the paper industry, using alpha fiber to produce high quality paper. From the flexible stems of the alpha, the peasants weave mats. Rare trees are scattered among the alpha thickets – Alep pine, oak, Phoenician juniper. Sometimes you can find a gum tree. In general, this semi-desert place looks dull.
However, the main part of the country’s olive plantations, which occupy tens of thousands of hectares, is concentrated in the Sahel; tobacco, flax, and cotton grow.
To the south of the Tunisian shots, near water sources and artesian wells, there are numerous oases with groves of date palms, orchards of fruit trees, almonds, and pomegranates. A very common plant in Tunisia are cacti. From the desert, they migrated to cities, where they are used as a decorative element in parks. In agricultural areas, gardens and orchards are fenced with cacti to protect against livestock.
The semi-desert regions of Tunisia were once the main place for capturing exotic animals for the spectacular events of ancient Rome. Currently, only small predators are found here: lynx, wild cats, cheetahs, jackals, striped hyenas, foxes. From the south, a small desert fox, the fennec fox, also penetrates here. In this part of the country, there are especially many small rodents: jerboas, mice.
The birds of Tunisia are diverse. In addition to species of various small birds (mainly passerines) common with Southern Europe, there are many specific North African species (blue starling, sugar lark, sand chickens). Birds of prey (eagles, kites) are found in mountainous and lowland areas. There are a lot of waterfowl in Tunisia (these are migratory geese and ducks, and swans, egrets, cormorants and even flamingos, who like to gather in the rainy season on the lakes)
.There are many reptiles everywhere, especially in desert and semi-desert regions. These are various lizards, monitor lizards, snakes – sand boas, ephs, horned vipers “lefs”, cobras Many different insects Often almost the entire territory of the country is subjected to large raids of locusts arriving from the south.
The main commercial fish in the Mediterranean off the coast of Tunisia are sardine, herring, anchovies, mackerel, tuna. The Gulf of Gabes has a long tradition of fishing for shrimp and sea sponge.
Minerals in Tunisia
Tunisia is one of the leading countries in the production of phosphorites, which are mined mainly in the central regions of the country, primarily in the Gafsa region. In insignificant quantities, the country has established the production of iron, lead and zinc ores, as well as rock salt.
Political State in Tunisia
According to politicsezine, the state structure is a republic. The head of state is the president, who is elected for 5 years. He is also the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces, appoints the composition of the government and the prime minister. Legislative power in Tunisia belongs to the unicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-Umma). It is elected at the same time as the President for a term of five years by popular suffrage. The provinces are governed by governors appointed by the president. Administratively, Tunisia consists of 23 provinces (governors). Tunisia is a member of the UN, the League of Arab States. Polygamy is prohibited in the country, men and women have equal legal rights.
Population in Tunisia
In 2003, 9.92 million people lived in Tunisia. Ethnic composition of the population: Arabs, Berbers, French, Italians, Germans.
Language:
The official and most widely spoken language is Arabic. There are still small groups of the Berber-speaking population that live on the island of Djerba and in the Matmata region. French is widely used in business life.
In the tourist centers of Tunisia, German and English will always be understood.
