Touching down in north Africa for only the second time in my life I was excited to see for myself what Tunisia has to offer the modern tourist.

I had read about the country’s gorgeous Mediterranean coastline, the rolling sands of the Sahara and its rich Punic and Roman history influenced by influxes of Arabic, Berber and French cultures.

The starting point for my Tunisian odyssey was Tunis, the home of ancient Carthage, and now Tunisia’s bustling capital.

After a night at the plush Hotel Africa, I was awoken the following morning by the call to prayer issuing from the mosques through the darkened city’s streets and felt for first time that I was truly in Africa.

Later that morning I flew out from the Tunis-Carthage airport to Djerba, the lush island off the country’s southern coastline, immortalised in Homer’s The Odyssey.

The first destination after touching down was the island’s museum of patrimony, featuring basic yet revealing dioramas of traditional Tunisian marriages, fishing techniques and ways of life.

Next was a trip to the home of Ali Berber, a wizened, funny old man who described in French and broken English the traditional Berber techniques for grinding grain and making bread.

At the end of my tour through the building Mr Berber posed for photographs inside the huge vats used by the locals for centuries to store olive oil.

Later in the day I visited the island’s capital Houmt Souk, still a bustling marketplace, filled with traditional rugs, jewellery and shishas as well as some very pushy traders.

After lunch at a distinctive boat-shaped restaurant on the coast, which specialises in locally-caught sea food, it was only a short drive to a nearby historic Spanish fortress.

That night was spent at the five-star Sofitel Palm Beach.

The following morning it was up and out into the Tunisian Sahara in a 4x4.

The destination was Matmata, one of the filming locations for the Tataooine sequences in the first Star Wars film.

I received a warm welcome at an ancient but still inhabited Troglodyte dwelling and had a chance to try their traditional sand-baked flat bread dipped in a mixture of olive oil and honey.

A short distance away was another larger dwelling that was featured in Star Wars as Luke Skywalker’s home and still functions as a hotel and restaurant.

I sat down to a delicious lunch of local couscous, lamb, cabbage and chickpeas with bread and harissa, a very hot paste made of chillies.

The dwelling was relatively unspoiled although tourists were still gathering eagerly around a few Star Wars set pieces left behind from the shoot.

Driving on through the desert towards the village of Tataouine, I visited a mock-up of the ksours (granaries) built as set pieces by George Lucas for the Star Wars sequel The Phantom Menace.

After checking into the Hotel Sangho and enjoying an evening meal of roasted goat, I went into Tatouine town centre for their annual festival celebrating the area’s culture and history.

After sitting through several stanzas of Arabic poetry the music started up and filled the square with an infectious drum beat.

There followed displays of local dancing as well as displays from Syrians and Libyans who re-enacted battle sequences with swords and shields and looked remarkably like an Arabic version of Morris dancing.

The following morning I visited another Berber settlement where rugs were produced.

Later that afternoon I returned to Djerba and checked into the opulent Hotel Riu Palace Royal Garden.

After dinner in the hotel’s luxurious restaurant I went to the on-site Pacha night club where guest DJ Joyce Mercedes put on a performance.

The following day was spent travelling from Djerba back to Tunis and on to Heathrow.

I returned from Tunisia feeling I’d only scratched the surface of what the country has to offer and I hope someday to return to see more.