The resort of Skanes, with its beautiful and seemingly endless
sandy beach, is a suburb of the Tunisian Mediterranean port town of
Monastir, particularly popular with British holidaymakers. Monastir
has happily given itself up totally as a tourist Mecca, centred on
a modern marina and a revamped Medina crammed with souvenir shops
and restaurants. Even its ancient Ribat (fort) has been rebuilt and
glamorised by being used as the setting for several movies like
Monty Python's
Life of Brian, as well as
Raiders of the Lost Arkand a TV series about Jesus of
Nazareth. The modern gilt on Monastir may be a little false, but
underneath this historic city retains its ancient air of having
been Tunisia's holiest place, and an important strategic stronghold
that was even once used as a base by Julius Caesar. Just a few
miles from the centre of Monastir lies the extravagant stretch of
grand hotels that have been built along the coast in the area known
as Skanes. These magnificent architectural delights are set in
acres of lush gardens, most of them encompassing their own patch of
well-maintained sandy beach. The Skanes hotels are well connected
to Monastir and other nearby resort towns, like Sousse, by a
tourist road train and a plethora of cheap taxis. Monastir also has
the advantage of having its own international airport. Parasols
mushroom on the beaches in between watersports equipment stands and
local vendors parading with a variety of wares, particularly
pottery.
