Tunisia officially the Republic of Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a part of the Maghreb region of North Africa and is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east covering 163 610 km with a population of 11 million
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DAY 1 – TUNIS
Tunis, the capital, is a bustling city at the crossroad of modern and traditional living, The best place to visit is its medina, a UNESCO world heritage site. Medinas, meaning city in Arabic, were built by Arabs during their conquest of Africa. The medinas were fortified and always included a Ribat and/or a Kasbah (forts), and the souk (market
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DAY 2 – CARTHAGE AND SIDI BOU SAID
Start your second day visiting Carthage, Hannibal’s ancient capital. From Tunis, you can take the train or a cab, it takes around 20 minutes to get there. You can do everything on foot, or you can hire a cab or rent bicycles.
Carthage used to be a vast empire that defeated Rome for a long time. At some point, it controlled most of the Mediterranean basin. During the 4th century BC, the Empire reached its pinnacle until 149 BC when Rome attacked and defeated Carthage.
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DAYS 3 AND 4 – ROAD TRIP IN CAP BON
On your third day, rent a car in Tunis and head for the Cap Bon, a popular beach destination among locals. Even in winter, it’s worth visiting, the cap offers spectacular scenery and breathtaking landscapes.
Make your first stop in Korbous, famous for its many hot springs full of healing properties. The most popular is the Aïn-Atrous hot spring. You can also trek along the old Soliman road, near the cliffs.
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DAY 5 – SOUSSE AND EL JEM
The next morning, head for Sousse, Tunisia’s third-largest city. Its medina is a UNESCO world heritage site.
Sousse was founded in the 9th century BC by Phoenicians seamen. The medina was added by the Arabs during the 9th century. While there, you should visit the Great Mosque, the ribat, the Archaeology Museum, and the Dar Essid.
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DAY 6 – KAIROUAN
Kairouan is Tunisia’s religious capital. It’s also an important place of pilgrimage for Muslims. Nicknamed the 300 Mosques city, Kairouan was founded in the 7th century when Islam started expanding in North Africa.
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DAY 7 – ROMAN RUINS
On the next morning, start your day visiting Dougga (or Thugga), an ancient Roman city, and a UNESCO world heritage site. It’s one of the most beautiful Roman-African sites left. It has been incredibly well preserved and is surrounded by nature, left untouched for centuries. Allied with Rome during the Carthage War, it’s one of the few cities that didn’t get destroyed. Contrary to most sites, it was never really abandoned, people continued to live there until the 20th century when archaeologists kicked them out.
Next head to Bulla Regia another important Roman city Although smaller than Dougga the site is as impressive Look around for forgotten mosaics throw some water on them to revive the colors An interesting key feature of Bulla Regia and what made it famous is the subterranean houses To protect themselves from the heat in summer and the cold in winter Romans built their homes underground Most of them are still intact and can be visited
The Arab Republic of Egypt is a transcontinental nation on the northeast of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula The Republic lies between the Mediterranean Sea to the north the Gaza Strip and Israel in the northeast the Red Sea to the East Sudan to the south and Libya to the west The majority of the population live in arable land found in the banks of the Nile River 90 of the Populace is Muslim and 99 6 are ethnic Egyptian The republic is a unitary country with one of the longest centralised traditions Local level organisation in Egypt dates back to the end of the 18th century Currently Law 43 1979 is still the legal basis of the local administration system The Egyptian administration is organised on the basis of a strong hierarchical vertical structure Significantly in 2005 President Mubarak endorsed the Political Manifesto Decentralisation for Democracy 1 Local administration is organised in 3 subnational levels including five territorial units 1 governorates 2 regions 3 districts 4 cities 5 villages Since the 2011 Arab Spring there has been a revolution and a subsequent coup d tat The following does not account for the de facto situation which may change and does not account for interference from Islamic State elements in the north east of the country In January 2014 however the new Constitution was approved with a 98 majority in favour 2011 Arab Spring and Post Mubarak era Following a two week long popular revolt between 25 January and 11 February 2011 the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces took over the State suspended the Constitution and announced the establishment of a constitutional committee to prepare a report to review certain articles of the Constitution A referendum on 19 March 2011 approved the draft Constitution proposed by the Committee On 30 March 2011 a Constitutional Declaration was issued following which a hundred member Constituent Assembly was to be established within six months in order to draft a new Constitution The process however took almost a year because stakeholders could not agree on its composition 2012 the parliamentary and presidential elections held in January and May respectively saw the emergence of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood s Freedom and Justice Party as the dominant political force Once installed the new Parliament had the responsibility to prepare a more permanent Constitution for Egypt In October 2012 the Assembly announced that it had completed the first Constitutional Draft A public awareness campaign followed to inform the public about the Constitution The Assembly finalised the drafting process on 29 November 2012 The 2012 Constitution contained a specific chapter on local administration which divided the State into five local administrative units that have legal personality Article 183 namely governorates provinces cities districts and villages A pivotal reference to decentralisation was made in the same article according to which the system of local administration was to be organised by law in a way that supports decentralisation that empowers administrative units in providing local services and facilities that reinvigorates them and improves their administration 2 The Constitutional Declaration of 8 July 2013 suspended the 2012 Constitution 3 and was replaced in turn by the new Constitution which took effect on 18 January 2014 4 after having been approved in a national referendum by 98 1 of voters with a turnout of 38 6 The new constitution introduces a simplification in the organisational structure of local administration in Egypt reducing the number of local administrative units from five to three including governorates cities and villages Article 175 5 At the same time the 2014 Constitution goes much further than previous constitutions in promoting decentralisation stating that the State is to ensure administrative financial and economic decentralisation Article 176 and to ensure the fulfilment of the needs of local units in terms of scientific technical administrative and financial assistance and the equitable distribution of facilities services and resources and shall bring development levels in these units to a common standard and achieve social justice between these units Article 177 The 2014 Constitution grants local units the right to independent financial budgets Article 178 with funds derived from a combination of local taxes and resources allocated to them by the State Every local council is to develop its own budget and final accounts Article 182 Local councils are to be elected by direct and secret ballot for a term of four years Article 180 with a quarter of the seats allocated to young people under 35 years of age and one quarter to women candidates Half the seats on local councils are to be occupied by workers and farmers and an appropriate representation of Christians and people with disabilities is to be ensured In terms of their remit local councils are to follow up on the implementation of the development plan monitor activities and exercise oversight over the executive authorities using tools such as submitting proposals and questions briefing motions interpellations etc Local councils may withdraw confidence from the heads of local units Article 180 The Constitution states explicitly that Local councils resolutions that are issued within their respective mandates shall be final They shall not be subject to interference by the executive authority Article 181
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