We decided to sacrifice a day on the altar of culture, and enrolled to a full day bus tour to visit some of the most remarkable sites in Tunisia. In short, it was a total disaster.
It was a Hungarian guided tour, so first we collected all the Hungarians from the different hotels. We also had to change bus, because half of the group was coming from a different area with a separate bus. Finally we arrived to our first stop, to the capital Tunis. We got off the bus, and tried to keep the pace with our guide and the rest of the group, who paid no attention to the fact that a 3.5 year old cannot walk as fast as an adult, and usually we caught up just after the guide has finished his talk. Then we were let go to see the Medina and do some shopping, but it was impossible to even get to the market area and back in the time provided. So, we had a small walk in the area, and went back to the bus, which was not there yet. Enikö had to go the toilet, so she and Judit went to a nearby restaurant. In the meantime the bus arrived, so did the rest of the group, and at the end we were the last ones getting on, 10 minutes late. In the following minutes we had to take several remarks from our guide, about how unacceptable our late return was, jeopardizing the schedule of the whole group.
The next stop was a small town, our guide continued his miserable attempts to run for a comedy award, and said that whoever late was welcome to take one of the small yellow cars to the next stop. The story was similar, running after the group, missing all the stuff, but at least we made sure that we got back first. It meant we did not manage to walk up to the point with the view, but neither did half of the group, simply because they were too fat and the road was too steep. The last person arriving back to the bus was our beloved guide, no mentioning of the yellow cars this time.
Then we went to Karthago to see some ruins, including an ancient bath. It was really spectacular, after we decided to leave our guide, who was too busy talking about the reproduction methods of palm trees, secrets of olive harvesting, and other relevant topics.
Then we were going to have lunch in a restaurant, and our guide made sure everybody was well prepared. He stressed that being the first bus at the restaurant was utterly important, and urged everybody to rush to the tables and mark them as reserved, then get a plate and pack as much food on it as possible, so nobody had to go back to have a second serving. This is pretty much what Hungarians would do anyway, but after all the brainwash, the result was truly spectacular. Our group swarmed the restaurant, we were the only family actually taking the time to wash our hands. There was hardly anybody else in the restaurant during the entire lunch, and there was never any congestion around the food tables, except when all our guys were fighting over the spaghetti. And the food was crap, worst food we had in Tunisia by far.
Then we went to a museum of mosaics, which was simply amazing. We had to get far from our most sympathetic guide, who was shouting so hard that I was afraid the mosaic pieces would start falling from the walls. The time was yet again way too short, but it was still a great experience.
Then we got on the bus again, listened to some more eternal wisdom about the everyday life in Tunisia, switched back to our first bus, said goodbye to our guide with tears in our eyes, and finally got back to our hotel and had some decent food. One thing is for sure, next time, we will just rent a car and get a guide book.
26 – June 29, 2008
Scheduling
Les Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie de Ghar El Melh have become the great appointment of photography in Tunisia. Photographers from all sides: confirmed, new, children and the general public expect the last week of June to look, listen, do speak… all the senses will be arrested. Exhibits, workshops, panel discussions, slide shows a menu is also gratifying that teaching.
Exposures
Since its invention, photography continues to metamorphose, to the point where it seems that every photographer, creating its subject, invents its own medium. Each edition of the Rencontres is an anthology of looks from here and elsewhere previously. Venues from abroad or Tunisia, exhibitions are always a certain way of seeing the world. In Bamako as in Arles, Paris or Barcelona, the organisers: commissioner or curator, s’ingénient to build a theme events. In the exhibition galleries Fort Ghar El Melh – former penal colony – where for a long time any event basic freedom was banned today no restrictions are imposed. Meetings Ghar El Melh are a tribute, always renewed, the photographers who sublimate life.
Carte Blanche collectors The exhibitions last year Mustapha Bouchoucha and Victor Sebag had a great success. This year Beit Bennani and Iadh Behi return to submit their shots heart. “Anonymous” is a selection of photographs without mention delved into the fund Beit Bennani, but whose documentary value is undeniable. Soler was the photographer for a long time that any s’arrachait Tunis, he was the photographer official ceremonies, the reporter whose photos illustrated journals from the early twentieth century and a portrait of talent. Iadh Behi offers a choice of savoir faire of this photographer.
Round Tables I: “The pictures today”
(Led by Amar Dhaya, University)
It is possible to consider photography as an area that is sufficient in itself, a stirring panorama as broad as the imagination allows the photographer while being containing photographic. It is also possible to meet a different picture, known as plastic, worked or “photoshopée”, which spans areas, erases labels and demystifies history.
The first provided a wealth of world-famous photographers, a significant amount of works that take the icon. The second, because newer, less is known to the public. Visible only in the galleries, it is for the moment, confidential.
These two photographs meet sometimes violently, through their tenants, with arguments by critics texts and rarely through the works or theories.
All of this leads inevitably to, once again, seeking a definition of photography and a statute for the photographer.
Round Tables II: “The photograph in these relations with the media”
(Led by Mohamed Elhedef, journalist and photographer)
What information should be mostly in their paper version without photographs? A non-illustrated article seems sometimes suspect because the photographers, amateur or professional, are ubiquitous. But this beautiful marriage between the press and the picture is sometimes acrimonious. The scenes of households are becoming common to the point where it is periodically to the brink of collapse.
Photographs published out of context of achievement, false stories, even photographers who manipulate their works have become commonplace.
Like always trains arriving on time and nobody speaks and who become the subject of a scandal without precedent when one of them shows a slight delay, photography fills often marvel at its role . The debate, introduced by a review of photographs that have surprised, shocked or outraged, analyze the path that follows an image of the photographer drive. Course mined, chaotic and often dangerous.
The Night meetings
The evenings of meetings will be set aside for photography, how can it be otherwise, thirst that we organize and you look. In the vast courtyard of the first fort, projections will be organized to add to the vision, the sound of music accompanying commentary or a photographer. Jean Claude – alias Father Fourat – Imed and Donia show every night bêtisier Encounters. This year, a slide show will allow the public to assess programmes carried out by photographers who hope to win “The challenge for Ghar El Melh” trophy that will crown the creativity and boldness.
Photography workshop for children and adults
The workshops, as their name suggests, are more than one site preparations. The result does not count more than the work leading thereto. “The Wall images”, “Life, face and portrait”, “Their photos… our legends”, “Family Album,” are some of the workshops where children give free rein to their imagination, fantasy and innocence. The photographers will be invited to take part and children by the hand to the wonderful world of photography.
Journal of Meetings
Le Corsaire écumera the shores of Ghar El Melh for the third consecutive year. Auditors reported the course of the event, interviews with photographers, citations to remember, excerpts book to read, memorize vocabulary, helping heart of poets, are the topics.
Photo Academy
The Academy of Art in Carthage is a new private school to teach photography in Tunisia. With equipment at the cutting edge of technology, experienced teachers will be glad to show you how to use your digital camera, make a portrait studio and exploit the possibilities of Photoshop. A team of students from this institution will cover the highlights of the day and will screen his interviews and reports each evening.
Back in a work, photography by A. Kahia
What other event could pay tribute to Abdelhamid Kahia? Les Rencontres hope enroll in the Tunisian landscape photography as a reference to consult. A slide show, made after his great book “Tunisia” published in 1964, will explore photography Abdelhamid Kahia, one of the few masters of photography Tunisia.
After midnight
“After midnight” is a meeting, informal and relaxed on the beach of Sidi Ali El Mekki, where interrogations, which have always accompanied the photographer, will be raised. What is a good photograph? The photographer must seek to be happy or to please the public? And the art market! Should we follow or ignore? These are some of the questions which no reply has been unanimously. Here and nowhere else, the digressions are allowed if desired, photography leads to everything and what better place to escape the starry sky of Tunisia and the beach of Sidi Ali El Mekki? The echoes of discussions last year, which ended at sunrise, still resonate today. Some went to bed others have had enough strength to go eat doughnuts and start a new day. The meeting is also this: a performance of physical endurance.
The animations
June 26
09h-12h: photography workshops for children
“Guided tours of exhibitions with Hamideddine
“The wall images with Rania
“Your photos… our legends” with Hajer
“Life, face portraits” with Rabaa
16h-18h: Workshop for adolescents and adults
“Picture Academy”, with the Academy of Art in Carthage
22h to 00h: Nocturnes.
The information (students of the Academy of Art in Carthage)
“Back in a work, photography by A. Kahia” Hamideddine
Slideshows contributing to the Challenge Ghar El Melh
“The bêtisier of the day” by Jean Claude alias Father Fourat, Imed and Donia
Beach Sidi El Mekki
00h to 02h: “After midnight, meeting informally with photographers.
June 27
09h-12h: photography workshops for children
“Guided tours of exhibitions with Lilia
“The wall images with Rania
“Your photos… our legends” with Hajer
“Life, face portraits” with Rabaa
16h-18h: Workshop for adolescents and adults
“Picture Academy”, with the Academy of Art in Carthage
22h to 00h: Nocturnes.
The information (students of the Academy of Art in Carthage)
Slideshows contributing to the Challenge Ghar El Melh
“The bêtisier of the day” by Jean Claude alias Father Fourat, Imed and Donia
Beach Sidi El Mekki
00h to 02h: “After midnight, meeting informally with photographers.
June 28
09h-12h: photography workshops for children
“Guided tours of exhibitions” with Marianne
“The wall images with Rania
“Your photos… our legends” with Hajer
“Life, face portraits” with Rabaa ”
“Reporters at GEM” with Lilia
16h-18h: Workshop for adolescents and adults
“Picture Academy”, with the Academy of Art in Carthage
Panel I: “The pictures today”
22h to 00h: Nocturnes.
The information (students of the Academy of Art in Carthage)
Slideshows contributing to the Challenge Ghar El Melh
“The day of the bêtisier” by Jean Claude alias Father Fourat, Imed and Donia
Beach Sidi El Mekki
00h to 02h: “After midnight, meeting informally with photographers.
June 29
09h-12h: photography workshops for children
“Guided tours of exhibitions with Nathalia
“The wall images with Rania
“Your photos… our legends” with Hajer
“Life, face portraits” with Rabaa
“Family Albums” with Lilia
16h-18h: Workshop for adolescents and adults
“Picture Academy”, with the Academy of Art in Carthage
Panel II: “The photograph in these relations with the media”
22h to 00h: Nocturnes.
“The bêtisier of the day” by Jean Claude alias Father Fourat, Imed and Donia
Slideshows contributing to the Challenge Ghar El Melh and awards ceremony.
“Back in a work, photography by A. Kahia” Hamideddine
Special Info (students of the Academy of Art in Carthage)
Beach Sidi El Mekki
00h to 02h: “After midnight,” Farewell.
Via [Du photographique] freshly translated fron French with Google.
Last Saturday night, riding the empty metro with some jerk friends nd taking some memorial photos (refer to my photolog) when suddenly a security customer (usually assigned to the metro through the hottest nights with increasing violence in Saturdays and beyond the midnights service) get out the driver booth and told me :”taking photos in the train is prohibited !! give me your camera !”, so my reaction was a big exclamation, my friends stood up and I told him that we were taking self photos, as he smelt the breeze of alcohol he gave up his fury.
The point is every time I tried to take a photo some guy usually the security forces, or even a simple employee, shows up and ask me to stop taking photos, as if I were shooting a nuclear plant or his daughter naked, damn world ! how can I practice photographing if everywhere my cam becomes a spy’s gadget ?
As locals taking photos of the market, people, the little wood next to your city around is always are not welcome : they will ask you to stop, or who you are ? or in some extreme cases :”show me you ID !”, ans so on, even I have developed many techniques of camouflage such as holding the cam in my hand and press the trigger, or try to find a hideout where nobody would notice me, or just talk with the people around creating some kind of friendship that leads to a unlimited photographing license, sometimes I have even paid to take shots.
Despite, If you’re a tourist to a resident foreigner (or just look like), you’ll just get smiles everywhere and take photos as free as a you were shooting your personnel garden, the police, or the people around won’t disturb your open photo workshop : God Bless Tourism !
I don’t understand this exaggerated awareness about the camera, or is it just about the media ? thus that most of the Tunisian think that all local photographers are working certainly for a newspaper, and their rear is justified as the press has been publishing unauthorized photos of many people without any permission for decades (the law has been fixed a few years ago), and all those photographers were pretending to be just making photos for joy or as souvenirs !
But the point is that Tunisian don’t really understand photography, except wedding or ID portrait, here in this country we don’t trust a man with a Camera, just because we don’t know him or we haven’t asked for his services, we don’t see the photos with art issues as they could harm our life making us uncovered.
It’s in the late years with the increasing popularity of the digital photography, that usual people shoot in the open air and that people are accepting those devices becoming a usual tool to memorize warm moments or just for fun, led by the outnumbering of the cell phones with camera, the freak is still on, but it’s getting less expressed to avoid getting damned as a retarded and primate person.
For the police two main reasons are making photography a real state enemy:
First, as those toys cam make videos, they have lately a useful tool to many people who started a propaganda videos, sex scenes or event took shocking videos who instantly spread over the web. Two stories are making sense to this : Two high school teacher shoot their self while making love, and the other is about a dancing policeman.
Secondly, the terrorism threat is making our national security more aware of … everybody, yes me and you and the guy pissing on the wall, as I’ve said before, we have no thought about art coming through photos, if you’re making a photo of the metro, you’re certainly getting ready to blow it, if you have take photos of an office, you’ll certainly come by night and steal its precious documents and if it’s not you, you’ll certainly send it to someone else, if ever you have no intention to any of those terrifying actions, someone in the web will use you photos as a material to harm our beloved republic. In one word, we don’t need your photos you can still make peaceful pencil drawings in a paper.
I have asked to colleagues graduated in law to find to make research and find me all about photography in the Tunisian law, the output will be published as soon as possible, and then I’ll get rid or may be of all this stupid behavior.
Finally, I just want to say , that I want make photos for fun, I don’t want to get nagged by a dirty bastard every time I tried to make an artistic photo,I don’t want to harm none, and I’d like to hear from your experiences and how do you faces such problems.
This is just a republish of an article I did write 2 years ago, since that things haven’t changed a lot.
GoGozo and its trip leaders put a distinct emphasis on fun, adventure and awareness building. With such exciting activities as riding camels in Tunisia, visiting the Star Wars filming site, or the nightly Balzan street festivals, there is much to experience.
Photographic instruction, including darkroom developing and computer manipulation, is an ongoing backdrop to our adventures. Students are encouraged to carry their cameras at all times and to experiment with new cameras including rudimentary pinholes, and single-use cameras.
Although Tunisians are claimed to be the experts of the Tourism business baking up their strategy through the sunny beaches, the sandy Sahara and a lot of fun, nobody made a statement how funny should be the education thus thus company offers a excellent trip all over Sicily, Malta and Tunisia and do you know why? because this line of marvelous country hold the best and essentials of the Mediterranean beauty, all you can is to take your camera off your bag and start to shoot.
Unfortunately this service seems to be open to European rather than locals, and the point is why we don’t invest a little in such great new business idea, in one part you can get everybody practice photography in the right ways, and in an other hand you can go anywhere including the less concerned area such as mountainous or less know or less visited historic monuments as photography can be operated any where there is a piece of beauty.
IMHO such places as Zaghouan would benefit from such business, the government have tried several years to pump the Tourism somehow there in vain, too far from the beaches and the hotels with couple of major historic monuments, but they never thought about innovation, many tourist nowadays practice photography not just to stamp their last summer travel as much as photography itself.
[Gogozo Website]
Do not photograph such things as foreign embassies, government offices, military installations, army manoeuvres, troop movements, etc however good a picture they may make. The police have instructions to question photographers who seem interested in “sensitive” sites. You risk being detained temporarily and you will probably lose your photographs.
This information is part of the Tunisia British council recommendations and it’s not almost true that the camera is making the forces nervous always nervous but it happens that they also got others instructions to leave the tourists roam free, and by the way those instructions are universal try step ahead and takes a picture of the Scotland Yard, in very little country sensitive sites are the same more or less tolerated.
There is one thing that I can ensure you that nobody got arrested in Tunisia -especially foreigners- because he was taking photos, remember that the Ministry of the interior is in the middle of Avenue Habib Bourguiba and that Tourists like to shot the whole street. Tunisia is a very safe country guarded by educated police forces, there’s nothing to worry about, if you have been mistaken you would asked kindly even to stop taking photos or just to erase them, no camera confiscated or any trouble at all.
