Art Of The Day Weekly
#389 - from 21 May 2015 to 27 May 2015
Return to the Bardo
TUNIS – The terrorist attack against the Bardo museum, in which 22 tourists died last 18 March, had caused an international commotion. As we are constantly solicited by the most recent events – such as the earthquake in Nepal or the ISIS arrival at Palmyra – the events in Tunis almost seem like ancient history. And yet the effects will undoubtedly last for a long time. Attendance in the former palace of the Bey, a museum since 1888 and entirely renovated in 2012, which holds some of the most famous mosaics of the Roman world - the Triumph of Neptune or Virgil writing the Aeneid), - has gone down drastically. Foreigners haven’t only abandoned the beaches. The medina has also been affected while reasons for visits continue to flourish: the patrimony continues to be restored (recently honored by an Aga Khan Award for Architecture) while Dar Bayram, the former palace of the grand mufti, refurbished to its state in the XVIIIth century with its impressive collection of Iznik tiles, has just been inaugurated as a luxury hotel. In the past an ad recommended to “Read while you suntan”. Here are new opportunities to turn travel and museums visits into an act of citizenship.