With a pocketful of dinars in Marche Central, Tunis – a story told in pictures

by Rashmee

Posted on August 16, 2015

This is where Tunisia’s Mediterranean heart meets its African spirit. Mini tartelette cases next to bowlfuls of harissa. Ravioli aux fromage and couscous. Tiny vol-au-vents and a semolina bread that looks like a half-inch thick tart and is the diameter of a large mug with a delicate crimped edge.

I’ve been to traditional markets around the world – there is always a predictable level of colour, plenty, noise, smells, cats and rushing barrowboys within an inch of running you over. But Marche Central, which was originally built in 1891 and renovated in 2007, is pretty spectacular.

There’s colour and plenty:IMG_2599

and carrots:

...and carrots

with lots of aesthetic touches.

We buy garlic from Hamza Lee (below) who tells us he’s an art photographer and urges us to look him up on Facebook. We do. Click here to see his offerings.

Hamza Lee - he sells vegetables and whips out his camera every time a customer agrees to be photographed
Hamza Lee – he sells vegetables and whips out his camera every time a customer agrees to be photographed

And we visit the best bread stall ever:

The bread was still warm when you bought it
The bread was still warm when you bought it
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Freshly cut French Fries made from real potatoes
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The Tunisian cucumber, which to my Indian eyes is a thicker version of our kakri
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Honey
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They call it butter but it’s really ghee, a clarified butter that’s used to anoint traditional Tunisian dishes
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About Me

Rashmee has lived and worked in several countries in the past decade, including Afghanistan, India, Haiti, Tunisia, the UAE, US and UK

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