When I returned home last year to visit friends and family in Italy, I travelled throughout the island of Sardinia, exploring the ancient ruins of the Phoenicians and Carthaginians.During my exploration, I discovered the amazing fashion sense of the ancient Nuraghic men, who lived thousands of years ago, dwelling in honeycomb structures and sporting—what we would consider today—very avant-garde styles.
As I return home this Sunday, I plan to continue my research on Phoenician and Carthaginian menswear with a 4-day excursion to the ancient city of Carthage, the ruins of which lay just outside of Tunis—the capital of Tunisia.Tunisia is a country in North Africa, which is situated just 95 miles (155km) from the coast of Sicily, Italy.
(One of my favorite Tunisians, by the way, is Oussama Mellouli—gold medalist in the 1500m free at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.)
Some scholars attribute the name Tunis to the ancient Phoenician goddess, Tanit, although there exists an array of explanations.
While researching the culture and dress of the ancient Phoenicians and Carthaginians, I hope to meet up with modern Tunisian designer Salah Barka, with whom I have been corresponding.
For the past year, I have been studying Arabic, so I hope it comes in handy! If not, well, fortunately I can rely on some French!Photo Oussama Mellouli, GNU Free Documentation License at Wikipedia.
Photos Nuraghic figures & sketches, Copyright Angela Demontis 2005, used with permission.
Remaining photos of Phoenician and Nuraghic sites, Copyright Men’s Fashion by Francesco.
