12th and 13th August 2012 After five days iin Sousse, we took a train to Mahdia, a two hour trip. A lively group of young men got on at Monastir and tried to talk to us in Arabic. There seemed to be a problem with their tickets as the conductor came back and confronted them. They paid him some money and the problem was solved. We stayed in the Hotel El Medina, a nice family-run place. No air-con, but they gave us two fans. Our room looked over an attractive courtyard, where breakfast was served. We had WiFi, but it was not strong enough to upload any of our videos to YouTube, which explains why it's taking so long to catch up. In the evening there was a big Ramadan carnival in a nearby park. There were lots of activities for children such as pony and camel rides and musical entertainment for the adults. Children stay up well past midnight during Ramadan. Next day was a trip to El Jem, which we will put up as a separate video. In the evening we went to a concert in the borj (fort). It was supposed to start at 10:30 but it was nearly 11 pm by the time it got under way. A much smaller audience than for Lotfi Bouchnak in Sousse, but they were very enthusiastic. By the time it finished at 1 am they were singing and clapping, continuing to do so as they left the theatre and walked towards the medina. The group that performed was Ouled El Manajem, noted for their revolutionary songs of freedom.

• published: 24 Aug 2012
• views: 16682