James Baquet I’m not really sure I get Tunisia’s travel slogan: “I feel like Tunisia.” It seems they missed a golden opportunity, because one of the great jazz standards is Dizzy Gillespie’s “Night in Tunisia.” The song is so popular that it has been covered countless times. It is the title track on 30 CDs and is included in over 500 CDs that are still available. Gillespie’s recording is in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Anyway, Tunisia doesn’t really need a 1940s jazz tune to make it alluring. It is located on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, between Algeria on the west and Libya on the east, with Italy lying just 150 kilometers across the Sicilian Channel, the second closest approach of Africa to Europe (after the Straits of Gibraltar). This proximity separates the Mediterranean Basin into its western and eastern parts. Cape Angela, its northernmost point, is also the northernmost point of the African continent. Tunis, the nation’s capital, is located on the sheltered Gulf of Tunis, and has lent the country its name. Tunisia’s largest city is the site of ancient Carthage, in its heyday a rival to the Greek and Roman Empires (until its fall to the Romans in the Third Punic War, which ended in 146 B.C.). Inland from there, one finds the northern portions of the Sahara, the world’s largest desert (as we think of deserts, though Antarctica and the Arctic are considered deserts in terms of precipitation). The Atlas Mountains separate the desert from the sea coast. Tunisia has the distinction of being considered the Arab World’s only full democracy. Like Sri Lanka, it is semi-presidential, having both a president and a prime minister. Once a colony of France, it still uses French in much of its commerce and education, though Arabic is the official language, and Berber is widely used. Operating in association with the European Union, it has particularly close alliances with France and Italy. Over 99 percent of its people are adherents of Sunni Islam. Vocabulary: Which word above means: 1. performed by another artist 2. protected, not exposed 3. mark of honor 4. rainfall, snow, etc. 5. award from the U.S. national academy of recording arts and sciences 6. excellent chance to do something 7. very attractive, fascinating 8. followers, supporters 9. period of greatest success 10. important song in the jazz repertoire | 