Posted
November 7, 2013
This
holiday was a self-serving commemoration: the government of Ben Ali
created this positive-sounding holiday in order to celebrate Ben
Ali's taking power on this date in 1987! Although Ali promised to
take steps to make his country more democratic than it had been
before he took power, he used his police force against his political
opponents.
In
late 2010, protests broke out in Tunisia, in the capital city of
Tunis, and the result was a revolution! After a month of intense
protests and civil resistance, Ben Ali stepped down on January 14,
2011, and almost a year later one of the dissidents, a human rights
activist, was elected president.
So
this is a new new era in Tunisia!
(I
imagine that this Ali-based holiday is no longer celebrated in
Tunisia, but my search of the internet did not confirm or deny that
guess.)
Tunisia
is the smallest country in North Africa—larger than the state of
Georgia or the nation of Greece, smaller than the state of Wisconsin
or the United Kingdom. The nation has close ties to Europe,
especially France; historically Tunis was ruled by Arab Muslims, Arab
Bedouins, Normans from Sicily, Spain, pirates, the Ottoman (Turkish)
Empire, and finally France.
Check
out the beauties of Tunisia, which range from the sand dunes
of the Sahara Desert to the waters of the Mediterranean sea and from
ancient ruins to modern skyscrapers.
If
you have half an hour to devote to learning more about Tunisia, check
out this video, which discusses history and culture as well as
geography.
Also
on this date:
Plan
Ahead:
Check out my Pinterest boards for:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for:
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