There were three of us left, and we needed to head toward Tunisia. As it turned out, we were in luck: Ali also had to go to Tunisia, so we traveled with him as far as the border in the same vehicle we used to tour Libya. The two officers from the tourist police also followed us, never once letting us out of their sight. At the border, the officer who always carried the red folder with our papers ushered us past the local crowd. He was likely glad to be rid of us or perhaps it was the same attitude toward foreigners that existed in the USSR, where visitors from abroad were always and everywhere allowed to skip the line.
We actually encountered some Libyans who, upon learning that we were Russian, switched to Russian. They studied in the Soviet Union and still hadn’t forgotten the language. I recalled that after my fourth year of college, a friend and I were sent to the Admiralty Shipyard for a practice where we were assigned to paint the fairing of a submarine. We were handed a can of reddish paint and brushes and we set to work coating it. A worker watched our clumsy movements, smiled, walked over to us and whispered as if sharing a secret that they were building this submarine for Libya. That was many decades ago. The submarine, of course, was scrapped since then. It is curious, though, how a connection can sometimes unexpectedly emerge between a long-forgotten episode from one’s past and the present.
So, we successfully crossed the border into Tunisia. We took a taxi to the bus station, said goodbye to Ali, and boarded a bus bound for Djerba. An hour and a half later, we arrived on the island in its main town, Houmt-Souk (meaning “big bazaar”), and began looking for a place to stay. On our second attempt, we found vacant rooms at the Arischa Hotel located right in the heart of that very bazaar for a mere $22 a night, the price that even included a modest breakfast.
Djerba is an island connected to the mainland by a causeway originally built by the Romans in the late 2nd century. The island has been inhabited since ancient times. Today, it is a tourist destination known for its beaches, Oriental charm, and low prices. After dropping off our luggage at the hotel, we took a taxi to El Ghriba Synagogue, one of the oldest in Africa. It is said to have been founded in the 6th century BC, following the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem, which means it is over 2,000 years old. It houses one of the oldest Torah scrolls in existence. The synagogue has been subjected to destruction and attacks on numerous occasions. The most recent terrorist attack took place relatively recently, in October 2023. The current building, designed in a Moroccan style, was constructed in the 19th century, replacing the structure that dated back to the 16th century.
