Tunisia trivia: 48 questions and answers

Tunis. Tunis is the capital and by far the largest city. Sfax is the second city, and Kairouan was the capital of the region in the early Islamic period.

Algeria and Libya. Algeria and Libya are Tunisia's only land neighbours: Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast. Italy and Malta lie across the sea.

False. False. Tunisia's coast, about 1,300 km long, is entirely on the Mediterranean Sea. In the Maghreb, Morocco and Mauritania are the countries with an Atlantic coast.

False. False. Arabic is the only official language. French is widely used in business and education, but it has no official status.

Tunisian dinar. The currency is the Tunisian dinar (TND), divided into 1,000 millimes.

Phoenicians from Tyre. Legend says Queen Elissa, or Dido, came with Phoenicians from Tyre, in today's Lebanon, and founded Carthage in 814 BC.

False. False. Carthage was founded by Phoenician settlers from Tyre. The Romans destroyed it in 146 BC and later built a new Roman city on the site.

The Alps. Hannibal marched from Spain over the Alps into Italy at the start of the Second Punic War, in 218 BC.

The Treaty of Bardo. The Treaty of Bardo, signed on 12 May 1881 by the bey Muhammad as-Sadiq, made Tunisia a French protectorate. The Treaty of Fes did the same for Morocco in 1912.

True. True. France recognised Tunisia's independence on 20 March 1956, and the country became a republic the following year.

Habib Bourguiba. Habib Bourguiba, who had led the independence movement, became the first president in 1957 and held office until 1987. Ahmad Bey and Husayn ibn Ali were beys in earlier centuries.

The Nobel Peace Prize. The Quartet won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to build a peaceful, pluralistic political order in Tunisia after the 2011 revolution.

A hot red chilli paste. Harissa is a hot red chilli paste with garlic, caraway and coriander seed, used in stews and couscous and served with bread and olive oil.

True. True. On 1 December 2022 UNESCO added harissa, with the knowledge, skills and social practices around it, as part of Tunisia's heritage.

False. False. Couscous was added in 2020 after a joint nomination by Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania and Morocco.

A baked egg dish, like a frittata. A Tunisian tajine is a baked egg dish, like a frittata, with cheese, parsley, potatoes and meat or tuna. The stew in a cone-lidded pot is the Moroccan tagine.

A whole egg. A classic brik is a crisp fried pastry folded around a whole egg, often with tuna, capers and parsley. The yolk often stays runny.

The Aleppo pine. Assida zgougou is made from the tiny seeds of the Aleppo pine, covered with custard cream and decorated with nuts.

Pine nuts. In the cafés of Tunis you are often asked whether you want your tea with pine nuts, which float on top of the sweet tea.

Sfax. Sfax, a port on the east coast, is the second-largest city after Tunis, with olive oil industries and the country's largest fishing port.

True. True. Bizerte lies on the north coast of Tunisia, and Cape Angela, the northernmost point of Africa, is nearby.

False. False. Bourguiba was born in Monastir on the Sahel coast, and he is buried there in a large mausoleum.

A Roman amphitheatre. El Jem has a Roman amphitheatre, built around AD 238, with room for about 35,000 spectators. It has been a World Heritage Site since 1979.

Blue and white. Blue and white: Sidi Bou Said has white houses with blue doors, shutters and window grilles, a look made popular in the 1920s.

True. True. UNESCO inscribed the Village of Sidi Bou Saïd in July 2026, bringing Tunisia's total to ten World Heritage Sites.

Roman mosaics. The Bardo has one of the largest collections of Roman mosaics in the world, including a famous portrait of the poet Virgil.

True. True. Its stacked vaulted granaries were used for scenes of the slave quarters of Mos Espa in Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace.

False. False. Chott el Djerid is a salt lake, the largest salt pan of the Sahara, and it is dry for most of the year.

Tataouine. Tatooine is named after Tataouine in southern Tunisia, where Lucas filmed parts of the first Star Wars film.

Cape Angela. Cape Angela, near Bizerte, is the northernmost point of Africa. Cape Bon is a Tunisian peninsula further east, and Cape Spartel is in Morocco.

Spain. According to the International Olive Council, only Spain produced more olive oil than Tunisia in 2025/2026, when Tunisia made a record of about 500,000 tonnes.

True. True. Djerba, in the Gulf of Gabès, covers 514 km² and is the largest island of North Africa.

Maltese. Maltese descends partly from the Arabic once spoken in Sicily and Tunisia, and Maltese and Tunisian Arabic speakers can understand about a third of each other's speech.

10. Tunisia has 10 World Heritage Sites as of September 2026, including Carthage, El Jem, the medinas of Tunis and Sousse, Kairouan, Dougga, Djerba and, since July 2026, Sidi Bou Said.

True. True. The country takes its name from Tunis, and in Arabic the same word, Tunis, is used for both the city and the country.

Thank you. Yaishek means thank you, and it is also added to a request, like 'please'.

Two. Zouz means two. One is wahed and three is thletha.

True. True. Barsha means a lot or very, and you will hear it all the time in Tunisia.

False. False. Aslema means hello. Goodbye is bislema.

Bqaddesh?. Bqaddesh? means 'How much is it?'. Shnahwalek? is 'How are you?', tsharrafna is 'Nice to meet you' and samahni is 'Excuse me'.

Labes, yaishek. Shnahwalek? means 'How are you?', and 'Labes, yaishek' means 'Fine, thank you'.

True. True. It means 'Take me to ..., please'.

Sbah il-khir. Sbah il-khir means good morning. Msa il-khir is good evening, liltek zina is good night and bislema is goodbye.

False. False. The dinar is a closed currency: taking dinars out of Tunisia is not allowed. Keep your exchange receipts and change leftover dinars back before you leave.

190. 190 is the ambulance number. 197 is the police in towns, 198 is fire and road accidents, and 193 is the National Guard in rural areas.

Friday. Supermarkets do not sell alcohol on Fridays, the Muslim day of prayer. Licensed hotels, bars and restaurants still serve it.

True. True. Do not photograph government buildings, police or military sites, and ask before photographing people.

French. French: most road signs are in Arabic and French, and French is widely spoken in shops, hotels and offices.