La Tournelle

It's Idul Fitri - or, as the Tunisians call it, 'aid al fitr'. This is the feast to mark the end of Ramadan and if you were wondering why this blog has been inactive for the past month - well, there wasn't much action possible, with most of the cafés and restaurants closed during this month of fasting as Muslims are supposed to refrain from eating and drinking between dawn and sunset. Some cafés and restaurants remained open throughout Ramadan. They covered their windows with paper and visiting them reminded me of visiting a place serving alcohol during the Prohibition in the United States during the twenties - or at least what I imagine that must have been like. It  had a clandestine feeling, with the windows blacked out and the sense of conspiracy among the non-fasters. Tunisians tend to be pretty relaxed when it comes to religion - many feel that whatever you do is between you and your God and if you don't feel like fasting than that is your choice. People may decide not to fast for pragmatic reasons (working long hours, for instance) and there seems to be little anxiety about this. Having said that, early onwards in the month of Ramadan several cafés that remained open were raided by policemen - but later these policemen themselves were fired because there is no law that says cafés are not allowed to stay open during Ramadan. The whole thing is - like many legal things in Tunisia - very muddled because nobody knows what the exact regulations are. This may seems strange to a Western European, who in case of legal questions will just look up the relevant laws or regulations, but it is something that is regularly the case in Tunisia: people are completely in the dark about what exactly is allowed and what not and nobody seems able to simply look up the answer. In the end, the rule of law is quite weak in this country. In any case, as these cafés kept their doors and windows close, they were not suitable to visit with Rihanna Gaga, with all the people smoking there (which was, in fact, a problem during the winter too). So we spent most of our days going to the beach and swimming in the sea, occasionally interspersed with visits to a nearby park with a pond with geese and ducks.

It is exactly that park - park Sidi Bou Said - that we are going to today as well. The duck pond is actually in the middle of the sprawling terraces of café La Tournelle at the border of this large park. During our Ramadan visits these terraces were completely deserted - or not really: what happened was that the ducks and geese had taken over the chairs and tables, lounging among them like fat pashas, much to the amusement of Rihanna Gaga. Today, however, the humans had returned and the birds were driven back to their pond. We'd taken some bread. Like every child, Rihanna Gaga loves feeding ducks. So much so that when the bread is finished, she'll throw little stones at them, hoping they will be fooled and keep gathering in front of her.

We sit down and Rihanna Gaga starts throwing crumbs of bread in the water. Before long, ducks have noticed and swim towards her, only to be chased away by the agressive geese. Meanwhile, I wait and wait. And wait. The waiter takes his time. Several times he passes me, but ignores me and when I finally manage to get his attention, he fires a bunch of possible choices at me rather than giving me the menu. I opt for what he calles the classic breakfast, which turns out to be a café au lait, some miniscule toasts, a small round bread - a traditional Tunisian type of bread made with aniseed seeds - a saucer containing some jam, butter and cheese and a bowl with olive oil and three large olives. When it is brought to our table, I order an additional banana juice for Rihanna Gaga.

The little one is in a very good mood. I know I have used this phrase a lot on this blog, but nowadays it actually means something as she is two years old now and has the kind of strong mood swings that are to be expected from a toddler her age. Today, however, she is singing cheerfully and talking endlessly - she cannot really speak yet, but she babbles a lot, with recognisable words thrown in the mix, giving the impression that she is actually talking about something that makes sense, at least to herself. She walks around busily, picking up small stones, looking at the ducks, putting her sunglasses on - and off, and on, and off, and on...

When the breakfast is brought, she sits on my lap and enthusiastically samples what's on offer. She enjoys dipping the toast and bread in the bowl with olive oil (seriously staining her own and my clothes while doing so), something she learned from her mother. Tunisian olive oil is, indeed, delicious and she mostly uses the bread as cutlery, sucking the olive oil from it rather than eating bread and oil together.

The moment is endlessly peaceful. The child sitting on my lap, families celebrating Idul Fitri around us and creating a quiet murmur of chatter and laughter that mingles with the sound of splashing water of a large fountain in the middle of the pond and the wind rustling through the trees of the park. The terraces are surrounded by greenery - mostly palm trees, pine tree and well kept bushes with colourful flowers. There is a cool breeze that makes the midday heat bearable

I know this is not the scene that most people would connect to Tunisia these days. Only three weeks ago, there was of course that terrible terrorist attack in Sousse. Following not long after the April attack on the Bardo Museum, also directed towards tourists, we of course had to reconsider our presence int his country. So far, we don't feel threatened. We live in a quiet place and are not part of the larger groups of foreigners that seem to be the most likely target for terrorists in this country. For now, we're staying. The opportunities and quality of life here remain beyond what we could currently hope for in the Netherlands. I have been offered a contract by a university and this will be the first time in years that I will have what seems to be a sustainable job.

Breakfast is finished. Rihanna Gaga starts waving at the ducks - her way of saying it's time to move on. We are going to take the long way home, passing through the villages of Sidi Bou Said and Sidi Drif and walking through the lush parks and suburbs along the coast before going back to La Marsa for Rihanna Gaga's afternoon nap.