Decorating with Tunisia in mind is like holing up in a Genie’s bottle.

There is something almost physical about taking in the blue and white hues of traditional Tunisian architecture and design. In the bay village of Sidi Bou Said – long a bohemian and artist’s sanctuary – one feels compelled to be immersed in the brilliant blues, set against crisp whites, under the hot Mediterranean sun.

Originally a pilgrimage destination, this, Tunisia’s most celebrated blue-and-white village, looks more like a painting, or a shimmering mosaic.

It is a study in bicolor simplicity, glimpsed along a labyrinth of winding streets, hidden gardens and flowering courtyards. Against dazzling white walls are flashes of everything blue: doors, window frames, shutters and moucharabiehs (latticework window screens), to name a few.

We sourced some of Sidi Bou Said’s finest interiors and exteriors for inspiration, seeking to recreate a Tunisian experience at home.

An elaborate birdcage is a key piece in Tunisian interiors. They are typically round and bulbous on top, with a solid rectangular bottom.

Bowls made from Tunisian olive trees, which are too old to bear fruit, can be used as decoration or for more functional purposes. Meanwhile, hand-painted plates in blues, yellows, golds, and oranges make for an enviable dinner party. 

Decorative murals and tiling in bathrooms, kitchens and pools is typically Tunisian, and a little French too. Not surprising given the long and complicated (i.e., Colonialist) affiliation between the two nations.

Tunisia is a small country that is bordered by the Mediterranean to the north and the east. It is for this reason, perhaps, that the color blue is used so predominantly in exterior embellishments and interior décor.

The layering of rugs and textiles create a bold, patterned and lush look.

The Tunisian inspired home is like living in a genie’s bottle set adrift in the placid tranquility of the Mediterranean blue. It is for this reason that I dream of Tunisia. Do you?

Images: Kristof Abrath; Agent Smith; hdandylion; Guillem Ribera; House to Home; Bellyglad; Alexandre Paris; Nicole Jane Home; Liz Tagami; cat-o’

The post I Dream of Tunisian Blue appeared first on EcoSalon.

Imagine the consequences of 20 years of nuclear waste dumping in the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea that surround the Italian Peninsula and its islands.

It’s an unfolding crisis that has the international community alarmed, including the fishing interests in Japan.

We’re talking about the coasts of 22 countries in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and a pending ecological and public health disaster which is being allegedly swept under the rug by the Italian government.

I only learned about it recently in a Counterpunch post on the nightmare, passed along to me by a devastated reader. Meantime, the disaster is also catching on in the mainstream media.

The post writer, Michael Leonardi, is a university educator who lives in Calabria with his wife and baby. He says after returning from a visit to the States, he was alarmed to learn that the Tyrrhenian Sea – which his daughter has been bathing in since birth – was intentionally poisoned with toxic waste.

“How shocked and dismayed we were to discover that government officials have known about it all along,” he shares. “And how enraged we are that a journalist has been killed, possibly for trying to reveal the truth about the disposal of waste by the international Ecomafia and their colluding government and corporate interests.”

The journalist described was Rai television reporter Ilaria Alpi. Leonardi says she was following the trail of arms and toxic garbage trafficking from Italy to Somalia in 1994 when she and her camera man, Miran Hrovatin, were gunned down and killed in Mogadishu.

“Many here believe, including the Mafia pentito, Franceso Fonti, that she was killed because she learned too much about the collusion between the Mafia and Italian military,” argues a bold Leonardi.

So how is the dumping engineered by the bad guys?

Leonardi says dozens of ships with the radioactive and toxic cargoes have been intentionally sunk by organized crime syndicates.

Leonardi says epidemic levels of cancerous tumors and thyroid problems have occurred in the area and along the coasts of the Mediterranean – where fishermen make a living by selling their catch throughout Italian and on the international market.

The public outcry is heating up as Greenpeace and the Italian environmental organization Legambiente work to bring the disaster to the surface. CNN reported on the scuttled hips, as well, last week. The report says it is believed between 32 and 41 of the ships sunk in international waters between Italy, Greece and Spain.

Lending credence to the sinking, testimony by Franceso Fonti, who admitted his role in helping to sink three ships in the fishing waters, including the Cunsky.

Last week a robot sub was sent down off the coast of Centraro to shoot photos of the ship thought to be the Cunsky. The images document the presence of drums like those used to transport and store radioactive and toxic wastes. The hope is that the barrels are still in tact but no one knows for certain what they contain.

“Traces of Mercury and Cesnium 137 have recently been found near the town of Amantea in Calabria further south of Cetraro by about 50 kilimeters,” explains Leonardi. “Amantea is considered a “hot spot” for tumors and ground temperature around the contamination area is six degrees warmer than normal.

“The population is demanding the truth and government action,” he says, adding international cooperation is needed.

Images: enigmachck1, Wiki, Wiki

The post Ecomafia Radioactive Waste Dumping in Mediterranean: International Catastrophe Coming to Light appeared first on EcoSalon.