Since we arrived to the airport in Monastir, his thoughtful smile was accompanying us during whole journey. He was everywhere. It was time of approaching election. All the billboards were showing the only proper choice: Ben Ali. Of course, he won. As always since 1987 :-)
He became a president after coup d'état, after inter alia 4 years political practiceas ambassador of Poland.
Although TunisianRepublic is a democratic country only on paper, many citizens truly support their president. They live in strange tourism-friendly mix of socialism and capitalism, rather poor but relatively safe.
Women and vogue
Surprise, surprise! No yashmaghs, no even mandatory higabs. Previous (and the first) president, Habib Bourguiba married to French and educated in Europe, laicised the country and forbade many of traditional Muslim habits. Girls can freely go everywhere without man’s company. Here you can see an official spot about Tunisian women:
Please compare this spot to any article or video about women's right in Poland and to the picture on the left :-)
We have seen women having bath in the sea few times - they were always completely dressed and accompanied by their men.
In big towns girls wear trendy clothes and are very stylish. They can’t show their shoulders nor knees, so they wear fit jeans under short skirts or tunics and if they have dresses with straps, they have tight t-shirts beneath. They differ from often not very young Europeans showing their bodies without care of aesthetic. It doesn’t mean that you can’t meet traditional outfit in Tunisia. Older women, especially in smaller cities on the south wear kind of long dresses which cover almost whole silhouette. These dresses are usually made of one color shiny fabric and higabs are matching or they are made of the same cloth. We saw few very old ladies trying to hide their faces somehow (sometimes they kept cloth with their teeth!) as yashmags are officially forbidden.
Berbers
They are indigenous nomadic or semi-nomadic people of Tunisia (and other countries of Northern Africa), which is hard to believe – they look so European! They survived numerous conquests of this part of continent and absorbed elements of successive cultures and religions, but they preserved their individuality. On the contrary to Arabs, Berbers’ tribes in Tunisia arematriarchal. They live in inaccessible deserted places. Their traditional houses (not many are left, but some still function) are hollowed out in sandstone and decorated with symbols which should deter evil forces. Hagib Bourgiba offered them modern new houses, as he couldn’t stand that some Tunisians still live in the caves;-) It raised Berbers’ aggression, but after many years of consequent politics most of the old houses play role of the allotment gardens.
These are just my short notes about some chosen threads, so feel free to ask if there’s anything that may be interesting for you. Perhaps you have comparison with other Muslim countries and you could share your insights. I’m waiting impatiently for your comments :-)
Football is this kind of sport that I love to watch and play. Football bring's in me great positive emotions and a lot of happiness. Playing let me forget about every day problems or worries, every thing becomes less important and the only things that are left are ball and two goals. That's why I want to do a presentation about football.
At the begining the first part was suppose to be about the history of football but who would like to read about it. That's why I decided that this part will be about the funny moments in football. It's obvious that instead of reading a whole page about that 2000 years ago in chinese, japanese, greece and roman's culture there were games involving scoring a goal either by kicking or throwing a ball and that later on came associations like PZPN it's better to laugh a little while watching some youtube's movies.
But coming back to subject of Polish football we really have a funny football. Why? Polish football representation in eleminations to World Cup in RPA is on 5th position in group being better only then amature representation of San Marino which played 10 games has 0 points, 1 goal scored and 47 goals lost. There isn't even one Polish club that plays in Chempions League or European League which is another failure of our football. Our Orange Ekstraklasa is one of the weakest leagues in Europe. But we shouldn't be suprise becouse the only thing we hear all the time is corruptions and sold games but the only thing left is to cry or laugh.
Why do you think that polish football team has so many problems while in other sports polish team's have better achievements like men's and women's volleyball team's and men's handball team??
Tunisia is a very popular direction to go nowadays. It’s cheap, hot, safe and there is plenty offers available. However, when we were planning our holiday this year we didn’t consider this country seriously. Why? We wanted to see some interesting places, feel its atmosphere and have something more to remember than just lying on the beach. It definitely didn’t correspond with common image of Tunisia
When we asked our friend, who has been to Tunisia four times already, what he was doing there, he said he was spending time in his hotel using all its facilities. Another colleague said: ‘Tunisia? Oh, it’s like going to swimming pool for whole week.’ It turned out that beach and swimming pool are the biggest adventures of many people visiting this country. No, that wasn’t something that could encourage us to go there :-)
Actually, I couldn’t believe that there is nothing to see in country inhabited by Phoenicians, occupied by Romans and finally invaded by Arabs. I made some research on the internet and found few places which seemed to be worth of visiting. Our journey showed that in fact there is plenty of them, but most of people just don’t even try to check it.
What else may discourage travelers? Arabic countries are known for low standards of hygiene. As we are not very rich people, we decided to risk and choose 2 stars hotel. Therefore I was prepared to find lizards in the bathroom, ants on the floor and learned how to not let cockroaches get into my bad. Fortunately, we had no insects in our room. Nevertheless, there is some true in bad fame of Maghreb countries – beach is clean only if it belongs to hotel and streets are simply cluttered in many places. Though, Tunisia is getting cleaner and cleaner every year thanks to government’s efforts: there are educating campaigns and awards for clean cities or districts. This terrible statue on the left is an example of this kind of award. Now try to imagine it in antique part of town ;-)
There is one more reason that might scare tourist away. Europeans as well as Americans don’t trust Muslims. Arabs are associated with 11.09 and kidnapping. Perhaps that keeps some people closed in their hotels. In fact, level of crime in countries of Northern Africa is relatively low. The natives are terrified by police known for its efficiency and cruelty. If you have any problems, “police” is usually a magic word to calm down your native opponent. In Tunisia tourists (as clients) are always right.
Below more friendly face of Tunisian police:
If you have ever been to Tunisia, I’m looking forward to read about your impressions. Otherwise – do you have similar image of this country as I did before? What’s your idea of perfect holiday?
Recommend a film/book/play/show you have seen/read recently. Give a link to it. Even if you have seen something and you have not too good opinion of it, present it here please:)
By the way, there is a very interesting presentation on blog2:)
As you probably noticed I'm a bicycle freak. Today I would like present to you a project (event) which is for all cyclists. It is possible that some of you already heard about it.
It is Critical Mass!
Critical Mass is a bicycling event typically held on the last Friday of every month in over 300 cities around the world.While the ride was originally founded in 1992 in San Francisco with the idea of drawing attention to how unfriendly the city was to cyclists, the leaderless structure of Critical Mass makes it impossible to assign it any one specific goal. In fact, the purpose of Critical Mass is not formalized beyond the direct action of meeting at a set location and time and traveling as a group through city or town streets on bikes.
Critical Mass rides vary greatly in many respects, including frequency and number of participants. For example, many small cities have monthly Critical Mass rides with fewer than twenty riders which offer safety in numbers to cyclists in those locales, while on the opposite extreme, in what have been the largest events using the name Critical Mass, cyclists in Budapest, Hungary hold only two rides each year on April 22 (Earth Day) and September 22 (International Car Free Day). The 'Budapest style' attracts tens of thousands of riders. The April 20, 2008 Budapest ride participation was estimated at 80,000 riders.
Critical Mass rides have generated considerable controversy and public opposition.Critics claim that Critical Mass is a deliberate attempt to obstruct traffic and disrupt normal city functions, asserting that individuals taking part refuse to obey traffic laws. Altercations with police and motorists have occurred. Although uncommon, protesters are sometimes present at Critical Mass events to oppose the group's methods.
In Warsaw, the first Mass was held probably 8 May 1998 and since then took place from time to time. Until memorable June 2002, when the mass appeared more cyclists than usual. Police launched a poorly organized campaign catching cyclists. Through this event a Critical Mass began to speak in the media. Since that time the mass takes place regularly and always gathers a number of cyclists.
Video of Critical Mass in 2002:
Since July 2004 has been a new habit of organizing the Night Critical Mass that perfectly combine the advantages of the ordinary masses and riding a bicycle at night - now meet on the second Saturday of each month.
In a previous post I wrote about alleycat, rules and history. Now I would like to talk about bikes that are involved in racing.
There are so many types of bikes as there are participants. Every ride on what they like and what is comfortable to them. But most popular are fixed-gear bikes.
A fixed-gear bicycle (or fixed wheel bicycle) is a bicycle that has no freewheel, meaning it cannot coast — the pedals are always in motion when the bicycle is moving.
Fixed-gear bikes are especially popular among bicycle couriers. Why is this so?
Fixed-gear bike is considerably lighter than a multi-speed bike of comparable quality. This bike is as simple as possible. This is actually the frame and two wheels. Fixed-gear bike is less unreliable than normal bicycle. Low weight and reliability are the most important aspects of the bicycle for bicycle couriers.
It takes a bit of practice to become comfortable on a fixed gear. Most cyclists, trying it for the first time, will automatically try to coast once the bike gets up to a certain speed. The bike will not allow this, and it is disconcerting. It takes a couple of weeks of regular riding to unlearn the impulse to coast, and become at ease on a fixed gear. It is worth going through this learning experience, however, because once you do so, you will discover a new joy in cycling. When you ride a fixed gear, you feel a closer communion with your bike and with the road. There is a purity and simplicity to the fixed-gear bicycle that can be quite seductive. Somehow, once you get past the unfamiliarity, it is just more fun than riding a bike with gears and a freewheel!
No brakes, No problem !
Some fixed-gear riders think brakes are not strictly necessary, and brakeless fixed riding has an almost cult status in some places, based on the perception by some riders of the experience of riding in a state of intense concentration or 'flow' where brakes are thought not to be needed.
In poland cycling without brakes is illegal. The bicycle must have one efficient brake.
Fixed-gear bikes subculture.
On Fixed-gear bikes do not ride only messengers. There are many enthusiasts who are not messengers. Some people were fascinated by pure form this type of bike or try to do tricks. People belonging to the subculture of fixed-gear have a unique style of dress, referring to the costumes bicycle couriers.
Movie showing the tricks of fixed-gear bike:
If anyone wants to try his luck on the fixed-gear bike, or fix your own bike, I am happy to help. :)
Surely you've seen on the streets of warsaw bicycle couriers, riding at breakneck speed. Are they always in a hurry to deliver the shipment? No, sometimes it just for fun.
What is Alleycat ? This type of cycling competition held in the city, taking place in normal urban traffic. The first race to be called "Alleycat" was held in Toronto on October 30, 1989. Warsaw also has a significant contribution to the history of allecat. Before the war took place in Warsaw newsboys racing - WYŚCIGI MAJDANIARZY.Information on the existence alleycat brought to the Polish Maka, who was a courier for a time in Canada and he just started an event called - "Racing on Tuesday" can be considered the first alleycat in Warsaw.
Race styles:
Alleycats reflect the personality, contemporary environment and level of competition based on the organizer.
Checkpoints - The first checkpoint is given at the start of the race, and on arrival the next checkpoint is revealed to the racer. Task Checkpoints - In some races upon arriving at a checkpoint the rider may have to perform a task or trick before being given the next location. Checkpoints Up Front - A common format is for organizers to give the checkpoints/manifest few minutes (or seconds) before the start of the race. This allows the rider to choose the best route between stops.
Before the start of the race, each player gets "szprychówka". "szprychówka" is a laminated card, usually the size of the A8, which contains the name of the alleycat and graphics associated with it. Szprychówki usually inserted between the spokes of the wheel.
Participate in the event you can not compare to anything. Incredible surge of adrenaline. Seconds to decide. In the city traffic is no place for mistakes.
Foreign racing:
Warsaw race:
More information about the races on: http://www.alleycat.waw.pl/
Race which I was the organizer: http://www.alleycat.waw.pl/85_Redballoons/85_Redballoons.php
Please compare this spot to any article or video about women's right in Poland and to the picture on the left :-)
