A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Oh, hang on a minute, I’ve done that one already. Actually, Star Wars was not the only memorable movie to be filmed in Tunisia in the 1970’s. Another iconic – some might say iconoclastic – movie of that era was Monty Python’s Life of Brian. It tells the story of Brian Cohen, a young Jewish man who was born on the same day as Jesus and subsequently mistaken for the Messiah. At the time of its release the movie was considered to be in poor taste if not down right blasphemous by the Establishment. Now it is regarded at one of the best movies ever made, and arguably the best comedy ever made. Classic lines such as ‘He’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty boy!’ and songs such as ‘Always look on the bright side of life’ (doesn’t the title alone make you want to whistle?) are just as funny today as they were over 40 years ago.
The film was actually shot at several location within Tunisia, which I’ve omitted in to mention thus far – partly because I was already rather excited by the Star Wars connection (I do get excited easily). However, today is our last day in Tunisia and Monastir (25 miles south-east of Sousse) is our last destination so it’s now or never. We just have enough time for a quick tour of the ribat in Monastir before returning to Tunis for our onward flight to…well we’ll get to that later. As I mentioned filming of the Life of Brian occurred throughout Tunisia. The crucifixion scene was filmed in the hills outside of Matmata (while Christi and I were busy being troglodytes), while the kasbah in Sousse doubled as the city walls of Jerusalem. However, the majority of the film was shot in the ribat in Monastir. Not that I told Christi all this – at least not until our train had reached Monastir station. She gives me her famous eye-roll and then reluctantly accompanies me as I skip out of the station. There are two notable scenes from the movie shot in the ribat (which, incidentally, is the oldest building of its kind in Tunisia dating to the 8th century). The first scene featured Michael Palin as Pontius Pilate, who suffers from rhotacism (an inability to pronounce the letter r). He says to the crowd ‘welease woger‘ followed soon thereafter I should point out by ‘welease wodewick’ (the christian name of yours truly!). The second scene featured Graham Chapman jumping off a tower in the ribat only to be saved by a flying saucer. As usual I’m running around like a giddy schoolboy poking my head into every nook and cranny and trying to imagine myself on the set of the Life of Brian. Christi is my unwilling accomplice tasked with taking endless photos until I deem one of them to be perfect. It’s all so wonderfully magical.
Adjacent to the ribat is the mausoleum of Habib Bourguiba, who was the first president of Tunisia after the country gained independence from France in 1956. He ruled the country for 30 years. The mausoleum is a vast open space dominated by two slender, tall minarets and a central golden dome that houses his tomb, which is all a bit somber after the irreverent humor of Monty Python.
Still there is no time to dwell on such things. We have two trains, a taxi, and then a plane to catch, which now that I think about it does put a little stress in our lives. Fortunately, the Tunisian transport system performs perfectly, however, and we’re back at Tunis airport after a whirlwind 10-day visit.
Our luck does not hold, unfortunately. I purchased two tickets to Cairo on the Tunis Air website a couple of weeks ago and have the computer printouts to prove it. For some reason, though, our names do not appear in the the system when we try to check-in. The staff agree that we have valid electronic tickets, but the airline system failed to issue the tickets. And according to the check-in staff, they don’t have the authority to over-ride the system. We complain to Tunis Air customer services, who refuse to help as does the station manager (the highest ranking paper-pusher available). His only solution is to buy two more tickets and make a claim at a later date. Christi and I are under a time pressure here because they announce that ‘our’ flight to Cairo is boarding. It’s totally outrageous, unfair, and defies logic, but Tunis Air will not budge. I know I’m being screwed, but I eventually pay up and storm off to the gate. Bastards! The 3-hour flight (and + 2 hour time change) is at least smooth, although the food is disgusting. Immigration in Cairo is super easy, but the arsehole of an immigration officer places the Egyptian tourist visa right over my Timbuktu stamp. I am mortified and my mood darkens a little further. I’m certainly not looking on the bright side of life at the moment.
Blog post by Roderick Phillips, author of Weary Heart – a gut-wrenching tale of love and test tubes.
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