Festivals, guesthouses breathe life back into old Tunis

Children's cries echo through the alleyways as they hunt for hidden treasure -- part of growing efforts to bring life back to the Old City of Tunis.

While parts of the ninth-century medina are packed with tourists during the day, it is largely deserted at night and at the weekend.
Writer Hatem Bourial said the medina, one of the first cities built after the Muslim conquests of North Africa and home to the renowned Zitouna mosque, has a deep "emotional charge".
"It's the haven of the first madrassas (Koranic schools), and the Zitouna is one of the most famous and oldest mosque-universities in the world," he said.

But, he added, "people traditionally don't go in the medina at night, as every souk closes its doors."
The medina was founded in the ninth century, but its real expansion began in the 13th century, when Tunis became the capital of the Hafsid dynasty's kingdom, stretching along the Mediterranean coast to Tripoli in what is now Libya.
The kingdom survived an attempt by King Louis IX to capture it, with the French monarch dying of dysentery in the process.
Under the Hafsids, Tunis was one of the biggest cities in the Islamic world, and their legacy has remained in the form of narrow, crowded souks that contributed to the medina being awarded UNESCO heritage status in 1979.

The district also has some two dozen small souks devoted to specific artisans such as tanners, perfume sellers and shoemakers.
"The medina is the lung of Tunisia, and it's where Tunis began," said Salma Garbi, a 38-year-old architect who was taking part in a guided walk.
While visitors mostly stick to its two main arteries, "new cultural events are popping up and breathing life into the medina", she said.
Garbi welcomed the...