Tunisia has the Mediterranean at its front door and the Sahara at its back. Roman ruins, desert towns, fishing harbours and blue-and-white coastal villages all exist within a surprisingly compact country.

In Sidi Bou Said, cafés spill onto sunlit streets above a luminous Mediterranean Sea, while inland, ancient amphitheatres and old caravan towns hint at the many civilisations that passed through here. Landmark films such as Gladiator, The English Patient and parts of the Star Wars series were all filmed in Tunisia — a country cinematic enough to require very little embellishment.

Tunisia is full of surprises, and all the more compelling for it.