Not many people in Japan seem to know much about Tunisia; not even the accurate location of the country appears to be common knowledge. When I went there to visit, I did not have any preliminary knowledge about it either, as I had originally signed up for an entirely different tour, which was cancelled; my visit to Tunisia can thus be described as lucky happenstance.

I discovered that Tunisia is the place where the famous city of Carthage used to be in ancient times, and Hannibal, who traveled over the Alps with his elephants and won many battles against Rome, is also a hero of this country.

Furthermore, I discovered many more charms of modern-day Tunisia than I had expected.

One of them is doors painted in blue.

They are called Tunisian doors. An original pattern, unique to the family living in that particular house, is outlined using black doornails hammered into the doors, which are painted in a sky blue monochrome. This style is used throughout the entire country. In some cities, not only the doors, but also lattice walls, posts, garbage bins, benches and even shop signs, are painted blue.

Other than the buildings, which are painted in white, everything is blue. This country with the blue ocean and sky in the background is more beautiful and fantastic than anyone would have imagined.

I could sense the solid will of this country to aim for development of its tourism industry.