Day 6: Gabès Area, Mahdia, and 21st Birthday

The next morning we stopped by the beautiful little market of Gabès for a few hours. We indulged ourselves in many straw basket and I was finally able to bargain using those magic words “But, today is my birthday!”


We spent a little more time around Gabès meeting with some professors from the area that had once spent some time at Oregon State and visited the neighborhood of Chenini-Gabès.

After this we headed to a rug cooperative. The cooperative produces yarn that it then it gives to women to weave into rugs. Once we learned that the small rugs were only thirty dinars a piece it became a free for all. Some students came away with three or four rugs. I only bought one, but I intend on stopping by their offices in Tunis to buy a second.



We then headed north. Our hotel in Gabès had been less than fantastic. I killed three cockroaches but several others managed to get away. We were extremely happy to find that our last night of the trip would be spent in a huge glitzy five-star beach hotel. There was a spa, a game room, a bowling alley, various restaurants and cafés, a huge pool with an island, a small golf course, morning yoga classes, and two bars, amongst other amenities. It took about thirty minutes to actually reach our hotel room. The buffet was excellent. I was most pleased however that the hotel had a bar. I was a little concerned that my 21st birthday would come and go without even a sip of alcohol. My friends and I spent a few hours critiquing music videos that were playing on a jumbo screen and drinking fruity drinks. It was pretty low-key but ultimately a fantastic birthday.