The magnificent sites of northern Tunisia, the wide rural landscapes and the extraordinary artistry achieved by the north African mosaicists are described on the previous pages but yet more awaits those who have time to explore Tunisia further.
Our onward journey south leaves the Mediterranean climate behind. One notices the olive trees spaced further and further apart as they compete for the scarce moisture, until we arrive in the strange white landscapes of the chotts - the area of great salt lakes which divides the country in two - and enter the fringes of the great Sahara desert.
On the way, we continue to follow the story of the Roman world into the realms of its military past, climbing the foothills of the Aures Mountains to seek out the only legionary fortress in the whole of this vast province at Haidra, and exploring the empty landscapes of the south in search of traces of the frontier zone.
We drive south into the sand-sea desert in order to experience the real Sahara and to stay at a remote (but very comfortable) camp site under the stars.
In the semi-desert regions of the south, fortified farmsteads (Ksour) were a feature of the landscape from Roman times right through until the recent past, their remarkable Berber architecture demonstrating the ingenuity of the local people in adapting to harsh living conditions.
