My first Tunisian moment really happened two years ago, on a Hamilton cruise, with two of my sisters. We loved the little we saw of Tunisia immediately and resolved to return to take another look.

As good luck would have it, in June this year, I was invited for a long weekend there by the present Tunisian ambassador, Monsieur Naceur Mestiri, along with two colleagues from The Times of Malta. Just perfect for recharging your batteries, I said to myself. Stress and hassle melted away like ice cubes in the Sahara at the thought. My nerves, permanently frazzled by the daily effort of muddling through from cornflakes to Ciobar, would get a chance to calm down.

When you’re young, you can put up with an amazing amount of discomfort but not now, I like my creature comforts…and I was not disappointed in the two hotels in which we stayed, one in Tunis and the other in Hammamet.

This was my first time in the capital, Tunis. Its Mediterranean mood is reflected in outdoor cafés frequented by young and old.

I loved the narrow and cobbled streets of the old Medina, the men in jellabas and those hats with a tassle, whose name I can no longer recall. I was tempted to buy myself one, if only to hang somewhere at home, as a souvenir. I loved its shops, stalls, craftsmen. The streets are both unpretentious and atmospheric with a sense of calm insularity. I would have liked to spend many more hours there, but there was little time.

Whack on your haggling hat and prune the price when you are buying, as buy you will. We’re used to doing it here and they are used to it too and expect it once they find out you are Maltese. And there is always time to haggle a last minute deal, too, for something you particularly want.

The Bardo museum, one of Tunis’ many museums offers an enlightening glimpse of the country’s vibrant past. It houses an exceptional collection of Roman mosaics and is probably in the running for the 8th wonder of the world. I enjoyed our visit there.

On the programme was a trip to Hammamet and our guide who spoke excellent English had an enthusiasm for his heritage which was infectious and provided a valuable insight into the essential spirit of modern Tunisia.

The route to Hammamet provided a mixed bag of olive trees, hills, farmhouses along the long trunk road. I looked at the acres and acres of olive trees. They were like a gentle reproach to what we have done to our own olive groves.

As we travelled we came across roads, like a mini los Angeles, with expensive real estate and scrubbed villas along quiet shady streets, bougainvillea, boutiques and BMWs.

Just because Tunisia has a great many new hotels don’t imagine Tunisian beach holidays are something new. Like us, most of the population live and work within striking distance of the Med and they have been dipping their toes into it forever.

In Hammamet, once we got there, the calm turquoise water of the Mediterranean nudges the shore while the ramparts and fortress dating back to the fifteenth century, keep sentinel. We had a drink in a pub and ate at an excellent Italian restaurant.

A visit to the blue and white medieval town of Sidi Bou Said, is almost a cliché, but it is a must and although I had spent a couple of hours there the previous year, I loved it again, second time around. Our guide, as we were leaving the town, unexpectedly suggested having a quick look at Dar El Annabi. We passed through one of the splendid and floridly decorated blue doors and into a courtyard. You could feel the presence of the spirits of men and women of another age in there. The owner of the house, with characteristic charm and friendliness, offered us some mint tea and we went round a home which had belonged to her grandfather, a notary, and which her family still used. It was well-worth the visit. At last, I had an idea what lay behind one of those lovely doors.

Close to Sidi Bou Said, right next to the president’s palace, is what remains of Carthage, the once great power and a living testimony to the existence of one of the most fascinating historical sites in the world. Call me a philistine but I really am no longer very keen on piles of old stones now that I am fast becoming a wreck myself.

Tunis spells variety. It is a country which is half desert and half coast. You may wish to free yourself from the obligation to visit important historical and architectural sites and simply go for a truly relaxing holiday. There are dozens of isolated beaches along the northern coast for those who can be bothered to head off along unmade roads.

You can go to Korbous, where the French go for thermal water treatment.

Those who have been to Sousse tell me it is a better thought out version of Hammamet, the hotels the size of Olympic villages. It is Tunisia’s third largest city, after Tunis and Sfax.

The former fishing village of Port el Kentaoui in the middle of the zone touristique, is a short drive north of the city centre, and is today a concentration of hotel/apartments, bars, restaurants and gift shops, around a perfectly groomed marina. A band was about to start playing, when we visited and in the marina there were plenty of sleek yachts with Tunisian flags which vastly outnumbered those with French tricolours.

The subtropical island of Jerba, home of the Lotus Eaters in Homer’s Odyssey, is, I am told, covered in palm trees and fringed by magnificent beaches. Its old capital of Houmt Souk is friendly and fascinating with markets, mosques, shops and open air cafés on flowery squares.

Our guide told us that in Jerba there is a Jewish community of about 700 people and 14 synagogues. The Tunisians are proud of the fact that Jews and Muslims have been living peacefully side by side for ages.

The smart money is investing in tourism. We are told that in the next century everybody will travel, not just the Western middle classes, but the great untapped markets of China and the Pacific Rim. The traditional resorts are already bursting at the seams, so new ones will need to be built, or cities will have to reinvent themselves. I believe Tunisia has already got this message.

The sad truth is that many of the world’s most famous holiday places are faded beauties ruined by their own success. They were alluring once, now they are the ugly sisters.

Much of Tunisia is untouched by commerical development and remains unspoilt. There are wonderful sandy beaches without local trouble or jet lag (I am thinking of the Caribbean). I have to say that Maltese and Gozitan beaches pale into insignificance when compared to them.

Tunisia is also an exotic experience and just round the corner. They have much to be proud of with a startling diversity of scenery spread across a huge area and golf courses a gogo (I couldn’t resist that!).

Here is a country which offers so much to the tourist, yet remains largely unspoilt. It offers tremendous opportunities for walkers, naturalists, archaeologists and historians as well as hedonists.

Tunisia is also a soft introduction to North Africa. It is not only one of the most interesting of Muslim countries, but also one of the most welcoming, safe and liberal. It has loosened the straitjacket of Islamic culture, too. It offers layers of history along with its Winter sun and a myriad attractions of a year-round holiday destination. I want to go there again and see some more of it. The desert perhaps.