Tunez Magazine

Tunez Magazine Magazine about Tunisia in the past, now and in the future.
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From the timeless landscapes of the south to the endless blue of the Mediterranean, Tunisia reveals a remarkable diversi...
18/08/2026

From the timeless landscapes of the south to the endless blue of the Mediterranean, Tunisia reveals a remarkable diversity of places, traditions, and architecture. Captured through the lens of Jack Graay, these visuals take us from the white-domed Mosque of the Seven Sleepers in the desert, to palm-fringed Mediterranean beaches, and onward to the remarkable Ksar Ouled Soltane, where centuries-old mud-built cells once served as grain storage.

A journey through Tunisia’s contrasts, where ancient architecture, desert landscapes, coastal beauty, and living heritage come together to tell the story of a country shaped by centuries of history.

17/08/2026

Do you want a full version?

I really love how this song makes me feel nostalgic for a time I wasn’t even born in, and how beautiful both the melodies and the lyrics are.

“Gharib Charid” is a beautiful Tunisian song written by Taoufik Sellam (Fouka), who was involved with both the Marhaba Band and Carthago, which is why the song exists in two versions. And the great Fawzi Chekili was a member of the bands.

Originally recorded by the Marhaba Band in 1978, it was later performed by Carthago, a pioneering Tunisian band of the 1970s known for blending Tunisian melodies with disco, soul, and rock influences. I personally prefer the Carthago version. The production resonates with me more, but that’s purely a matter of taste.

What I love most about this song is how it creates nostalgia for a time I never lived through, thanks to its beautiful melodies and heartfelt lyrics.

Carthago was a Tunisian band from the 1970s, formed through the fusion of two groups at the time, the Dalton and the Marhaba Band. The band became known for performing in clubs and hotels in Tunis and Sousse, two major northern tourist cities where many Arab and international artists performed during the 1970s.

Their music mixed disco, including Tunisian Arabic versions, soul, and rock’n’roll, creating a unique sound influenced by both Western styles and Tunisian musical heritage.

Their song “Alech,” which became a major hit on Tunisian national radio, brought them into the spotlight. This success led to a tour that ended with a major performance at the International Festival of Carthage.

During live shows, Carthago played both their own songs and covers of popular international artists such as Stevie Wonder and Chicago. The band members also grew up listening to traditional Tunisian music. When they wrote “Alech,” it carried a distinctly Tunisian rhythm and melody, while being shaped by Western influences through its riffs and chords.

Huge thanks to Mehdi Ben Yahia.

Pictures from Tunez Magazine

Few buildings in Tunis have achieved the same level of recognition as Hôtel du Lac. With its distinctive inverted pyrami...
17/08/2026

Few buildings in Tunis have achieved the same level of recognition as Hôtel du Lac. With its distinctive inverted pyramid shape, dramatic concrete structure, and futuristic appearance, the hotel has become one of the most memorable architectural landmarks in the capital.

Located on Avenue Mohamed V, Hôtel du Lac was built during the 1970s, a period when Tunisia was experiencing important changes in its urban landscape. Modern architecture was becoming increasingly present in Tunis, and the hotel represented a bold vision of what the city could look like in the future.

Designed with a strong Brutalist and modernist influence, the building immediately stood apart from traditional Tunisian architecture. Its unusual form was not simply a decorative choice. The structure was conceived as a striking architectural statement, combining functionality with a highly recognizable visual identity.

For decades, Hôtel du Lac has been part of the everyday landscape of Tunis. Its silhouette has appeared in photographs, magazines, postcards, television reports, films, and personal memories. For many Tunisians, seeing the building is closely connected to arriving in or moving through the center of the capital.

The hotel also became particularly interesting to architects and photography enthusiasts because of the way its geometry interacts with light and perspective. The repetitive windows, concrete surfaces, strong angles, and large cantilevered structure create a building that can look completely different depending on the time of day and the photographer’s viewpoint.

Beyond its architectural importance, Hôtel du Lac represents a chapter of Tunisia’s modern history. It belongs to an era when large public and commercial buildings were designed to express confidence, progress, and a sense of modernity. Its futuristic appearance made it feel almost ahead of its time, and decades later, it continues to look remarkably distinctive.

16/08/2026

In a 2000 interview on Vivement Dimanche, Claudia Cardinale reflects on her childhood in Tunisia and shares her early memories, including her love for music and how it shaped her path into cinema.

Tunisia rarely gets described with precision in global travel media, but when Condé Nast Traveler turns its attention he...
15/08/2026

Tunisia rarely gets described with precision in global travel media, but when Condé Nast Traveler turns its attention here, the narrative shifts in a subtle but important way. The country is not reduced to resorts or quick itineraries. Instead, it is approached through its textures, its contradictions, and the people shaping it today. In their guides, Tunis is not just a capital city. It is a place where movement never fully settles. The medina carries centuries of memory while a few streets away, new spaces emerge with a different rhythm. Cafés, studios, and quiet cultural spots redefine how the city is experienced without trying to imitate anything outside of it. Condé Nast Traveller Middle East frames Tunisia through lifestyle rather than spectacle. Where you stay matters because of the story behind it. What you eat matters because of who is cooking and how traditions are being reinterpreted. The experience becomes personal, almost intimate, rather than something designed for mass consumption. Places like Djerba are not only presented as escapes but as layered territories where histories overlap and coexist. The same applies to coastal towns, to overlooked neighborhoods, to spaces that exist outside the expected tourist map. What stands out is the attention given to a generation that is building quietly. Artists, designers, curators, and independent thinkers who are not waiting for validation but are inevitably shaping how Tunisia is seen from the outside. Their presence is not exaggerated, it is observed. This kind of coverage does not try to convince. It simply documents a country that is already in motion, already complex, already enough. Tunisia does not need to be reframed. It only needs to be seen properly.

14/08/2026

Mariah Carey’s concerts in Tunisia took place in July 2006 at the Olympic Stadium of El Menzah in Tunis during her The Adventures of Mimi tour. She performed on 22 and 24 July, with both dates organized as large scale public shows that brought together audiences from different parts of the country and visitors from abroad.

The Tunis concerts were included early in the tour’s international itinerary, at a moment when Mariah Carey was reestablishing her presence on the global touring circuit after several years focused more on studio work and selected appearances. The production that arrived in Tunis was the same touring structure used across major cities, including a full live band, background vocalists, choreographed segments, and a technical team responsible for sound, lighting, and stage design. The setlist reflected her career up to that point, combining material from The Emancipation of Mimi with earlier songs that had defined her international success. Tracks like We Belong Together and Shake It Off represented her then recent comeback phase, while older titles such as Hero and Fantasy connected the performance to her 1990s catalogue.

The concerts followed a structured progression, moving between vocal focused moments and more rhythm driven sections, which highlighted both her vocal control and the production scale of the tour. In Tunis, the performances were staged in a format adapted for an open stadium audience, with large screens used to extend visibility across the venue. The audience response was strong throughout both nights, especially during well known songs that had wide radio presence in Tunisia at the time. The event stood out locally because international pop tours of that scale were not frequent in the country, and it placed Tunis within a limited group of cities in Africa included in major global pop circuits during that period. These two nights are often referenced when discussing early 2000s international concerts in Tunisia because they combined a high profile artist, a full touring production, and a large capacity venue, creating one of the more visible live music moments of that decade in the country.

13/08/2026

In 1980, Tunisia was making significant progress in women’s rights, from legal and pay equality to access to contraception, while women were entering new spaces in public life, including politics and aviation.
This INA report, broadcast in 1980, offers a fascinating glimpse into the everyday lives of Tunisian women who were claiming their place in society and contributing to the modernization of the country. 🇹🇳

Every year on 13 August, Tunisia celebrates Women’s Day, a date deeply connected to one of the most significant moments ...
13/08/2026

Every year on 13 August, Tunisia celebrates Women’s Day, a date deeply connected to one of the most significant moments in the country’s modern history.

On 13 August 1956, only a few months after Tunisia gained independence, the country promulgated the Personal Status Code. It came into force on 1 January 1957 and introduced major reforms concerning marriage, divorce, family rights, and the legal status of women.

The Code prohibited polygamy, established the principle of mutual consent for marriage, introduced a minimum marriage age, and created a regulated judicial divorce procedure. It was considered remarkably progressive for its time and became an important milestone in Tunisia’s history of women’s rights.

But 13 August is more than the anniversary of a law. It has become a symbol of the generations of Tunisian women who have shaped the country as teachers, doctors, artists, athletes, entrepreneurs, journalists, politicians, workers, mothers and creators.

From the women who contributed to the building of modern Tunisia to those defining its future today, Tunisian women have played a central role in the country’s social, cultural and economic life.

At the same time, celebrating this day also means recognizing that equality is an ongoing journey. Despite the historic advances represented by the Personal Status Code, challenges and inequalities continue to exist in Tunisian society.

13 August is therefore both a celebration and a reminder: to remember the progress Tunisia has made, to honor the women who helped build it, and to continue working toward a Tunisia where every woman can live, create, lead and choose her own path with dignity and freedom.

Happy Tunisian Women’s Day. 🇹🇳❤️

Jean Daniel Lorieux’s campaigns in Tunisia occupy a distinctive place in the history of fashion and image making in the ...
12/08/2026

Jean Daniel Lorieux’s campaigns in Tunisia occupy a distinctive place in the history of fashion and image making in the country. Shot mainly in the late twentieth century, this work did not treat Tunisia as an exotic backdrop in the touristic sense. Instead, it used the landscape as a space of structure, light, and rhythm, where modern fashion could exist without explanation or spectacle. Lorieux was drawn to Tunisia for its clarity. The desert, white architecture, and long horizons offered visual precision rather than ornament. In his Tunisia work, that clarity served real commercial commissions. One of the best known examples is his Dior imagery made in Tunisia, often referenced through the photograph titled Dior Shoes, Tunisie from 1980. He also produced advertising calendar work photographed in Tunisia, including material referenced as a Bridgestone calendar shoot in Tunisia in the mid 1980s. More broadly, Lorieux was a regular contributor to major fashion magazines such as Vogue and worked on campaigns for luxury houses including Dior, among others. In the Tunisia images specifically, the setting does not compete with the subject, and the subject does not dominate the setting. The light stays clean and direct, often natural, letting texture and silhouette do the work. Tunisia reads as a confident environment that can hold contemporary style on its own terms.

Once Upon a Time in Tunisia is a portrait series about the people who built, shaped, and continue to carry Tunisia throu...
11/08/2026

Once Upon a Time in Tunisia is a portrait series about the people who built, shaped, and continue to carry Tunisia through their everyday work.

From the fisherman leaving the harbour before sunrise to the baker opening his oven at dawn, from the tailor surrounded by fabrics to the craftsman working with his hands, each portrait captures more than a profession. It captures a way of life.

These are stories of generations, traditions, ambition, struggle, and pride. Some professions have survived for centuries, while others are slowly disappearing. Others belong to a new Tunisia, reflecting how the country and its people continue to evolve.

Through intimate portraits and personal stories, the series asks a simple question: Who are the people behind Tunisia?

Every face becomes a piece of the country’s living history. Every job becomes part of its cultural memory.

Once Upon a Time in Tunisia is not only about looking back. It is about remembering the people who made Tunisia what it is, while documenting those who are shaping what it will become.

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