Beach-resort tunnel vision, and the summer heat in the south

The resorts of Hammamet and Sousse are fine, but the country is in the interior: the amphitheater at El Jem (Rome's third largest), the troglodyte houses of Matmata, the Ksar Ghilane oasis, and the island of Djerba with its old synagogue. The Sahara south is brutal in July and August; spring and autumn are the seasons for it. Hustlers around resort medinas push carpets and "brother's shops"; a polite no and walking on works.