As I'm sure you all have realized, I made it back from Tunisia safe and sound. The colleague who was with me was pretty worried about going, but I was feeling okay with it - and rightly so. Things may heat up again when they have their big vote in July, but for now, it was business as usual.

Everyone we met said "Please, tell the tourists to come!" So Go, Tourists, Go! The flights are cheap and the hotels are empty. Our hotel was just across the road from the beach and cost 25€ per night for a room with a sea view - and that price also included breakfast and dinner!
And look, you can get all the citrus fruits your little heart desires:

My customers were also glad to hear of my pending nuptials. They've always thought it was bizarre that a single woman would travel with a married man to another country. They said "Can you cook? It is important for a wife to cook. We have a saying in Arabic that says The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. And of course now you must stop traveling after you are married, to take care of your husband."

That reminded me of an article I read in one of the big Tunisian newspapers. They have such a flowery, roundabout way of writing. It's interesting, but also tiring. Anyways, this article was part of a bigger series talking about honey. It talked about how tradition says that the newlywed couple should find a bowl of dried fruits soaked in honey hanging over their bed. They are then supposed to share these sweet fruits during the first weeks of their married life, with the hope that the honey will "sharpen their desire, stimulate their sensuality and sweeten their life together". And then the empty bowl was meant to show that everything had gone well and that they had been able to successfully "seduce" one another.

I wonder if this is where the term "honeymoon" comes from? It is called literally a "moon of honey" in French, as well as in several other languages, and given that this tradition is supposed to last several weeks, it could be a plausible explanation....