A riad or riyad (Arabic: riyāḍ) is a type of garden courtyard historically associated with house and palace architecture in the Maghreb and al-Andalus. Its classic form is a rectangular garden divided into four quadrants by two paved paths intersecting in the center, where a fountain is typically situated. The planted areas are usually sunken below the level of the paths. Its origin is generally attributed to traditional Persian gardens whose influence spread during the Islamic period. The term “riad” is nowadays often used in Morocco to refer to a hotel or guesthouse-style accommodation with shared common areas and private rooms, often within a restored traditional mansion. read more…
Tunisia is a country in North Africa, covering 165,000 square kilometres (64,000 square miles). Its northernmost point, Cape Angela, is the northernmost point on the African continent, only 140 km south of Sicily. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia’s population is at 11.3 million. Tunisia’s name is derived from its capital city, Tunis, which is located on Tunisia’s northeast coast. Geographically, Tunisia contains the eastern end of the Atlas Mountains and the northern reaches of the Sahara desert. Much of the rest of the country’s land is fertile soil. Its 1,300 kilometres (810 miles) of coastline includes the African conjunction of the western and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Basin and, by means of the Sicilian Strait and Sardinian Channel, features the African mainland’s second and third nearest points to Europe after Gibraltar. read more…
