Tunisia

We began our journey in the city of Tunis, where was saw the enormous Bardo Museum, which showcases the largest collection of Roman mosaics on the planet. From there we headed south to Matmata, known for its' amazing troglodyte homes carved from within desert craters. Below is a photo of Ellen in our subterranean hotel. From there, we visited the hilltop fortresses around Tatouine, containing the otherworldly structures constructed by ancient Berbers to store grain. We pushed on to Tozeur in the western part of the country, where we explored the expansive Chott El Jerid dessert and surrounding palm-laden oases. After the dessert, we returned to Tunis and took day trips to the seaside village of Sidi Bou Said, and the incredible Roman ruins of Dougga, which proved one of the most amazing sights we've ever encountered. In short, Tunisia is far more than we expected. Rich with history, friendly people and amazing dessert landscapes - we really enjoyed ourselves here.

Caution: geek speak ahead... As a childhood fan of the Star Wars films, I'll admit that my initial interest in Tunisia was founded in the fact that many scenes from the movies were filmed here. Embarking on my nerd pilgrimage, we visited a number of these locations, including two sights used for the boyhood home of Luke Skywalker (pictured below), the Creature Cantina and others. Fortunately, we found that most of these sights were chosen for good reason, and proved to be amazing experiences irrespective of their cinematic past. My wife, having walked the better part of 6 kilometers in the dessert sun carrying a 40lb backpack to see Obi-Wan Kenobi's house (last photo), is truly the woman for me.