Travels Through My Lens

Our journey began with a short walk down Avenue de Carthage . But I promised you something more enduring, and so I brought you with me to Tunis Marine to take in the view of Boukornine—a mountain that, for many, is just a landmark. For me, it’s so much more; it’s my compass, my home. I was born in Tunis, at Aziza Othmana Hospital in the Kasbah , but my childhood played out between Ezzahra and Hammam-Lif, two coastal suburbs where Boukornine’s twin peaks were always in view.  To the ancient Carthaginians, Boukornine wasn’t just a mountain. It was sacred ground, a place of worship for the god Baal Hammon , the deity of fertility and vegetation, revered as the king of gods.  As a child, I heard whispered tales that Boukornine was a dormant volcano. That idea terrified me, planting vivid images of Pompeii-like destruction in my young mind. But over time, that fear turned into fascination.  I climbed Boukornine on a school trip, and my childish dread melted into awe. From the...

You thought I wouldn't be back, didn’t you? Same here... But I got caught up boarding planes, making memories, and filling my phone with even more snapshots. So, where did we leave off? Ah, yes—I’d told you about how I first fell in love with the vibrant architecture of downtown Tunis when I was 18, rushing off to tutoring classes. Back then, I’d dash through the streets without pausing to appreciate their beauty. In Tunis, people rarely stop to take in their surroundings; it’s the capital, after all. Life moves fast, and no one wants to slow the stream of pedestrians just to admire buildings, once grand, now occupied by those facing hardship. But as I grew older, I gathered the courage to capture these streets through my lens. My photos reveal the beauty of what was once the cultural heart of downtown Tunis. As my friend Hatem Bourial described in one of his articles , "Back in the day, Avenue de Carthage was a hub of culture in Tunis. It hosted the Artisanat department stor...