Road sign near Bizerte, photo by Badie FarrahBritish Airways is late from Gatwick. After missing the arranged tours, Anna and I join forces with fellow conference presenter Badie.
At the concierge desk in the El Hana Hotel, where Anna is staying, Badie uses his rusty Arabic to hire Adil, and we set off on our own tour. On the first day out, Adil's face is solemn as he escorts us to his clean green Renault.
Anna and I sit in the back, and Badie up front by the driver. The men exchange a few words before Badie turns to translate Adil's request for the lace-wrapped Koran. Anna passes it forward, and the owner tucks it snugly between the front seats.
After the airy heights of the Carthage ruins above the city, we tour the Bardo Museum, a stunning maze of mosaics: Carthaginian, Byzantine, Roman and Punic.
As we drive toward Utica, I wonder why the towel is draped across Adil's dash. In the heat of the road, I realize it protects the driver's perspiring hands from the burning heat of the steering wheel.
Here in the temperate zone, Vancouver summer feels almost as hot.
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