Towards semester’s end, when good progress has been achieved in the French language and a solid knowledge acquired of the historical context and the challenges facing North African nations, students will spend one week in Tunisia for the Fall and Morocco for the Spring. Adding yet another authentic dimension to the academic classroom, this AUCP full-immersion experience of the Maghreb unites lectures, site visits, encounters with North African students and individual homestay placement in French-speaking families, legendary for their hospitality.
Airfare from Marseille to Sidi Bou Saïd and Fez, all organized academic classes and field trips, as well as housing on a demi-pension basis are included in the AUCP semester program costs.

Fall Semester
Tunisia: Sidi Bou Saïd

AUCP students will enjoy an intensive week in Tunisia, in keeping with their Arabic and inter-religious study. Overlooking the bay of Tunis and the ancient city of Carthage, the cliff-top city of Sidi Bou Saïd offers a stunning example of the cultural sedimentation typical of the Mediter-ranean cities of the Maghreb. With visits to nearby Tunis and Djerba, students will discover the dynamic intersection of the world’s three great monotheistic religions as exemplified by Sidi Bou Saïd itself, painted in vibrant blue and white in honour of the Israeli flag.

Spring Semester
Morocco: Fez

In the north of Morocco, near Andalusian Spain, Fez, with its million inhabitants, offers mystery, enchantment and the intense sensation of experiencing another time, another world. An authentically intact and fully functioning medieval city, the medina, bustles with life and commerce. Narrow, tortuous pedestrian streets, covered passages, stairs and numerous dead-ends trace a labyrinth amongst ancient walls and store fronts where transport can be assured only by heavily laden donkeys and mules. Founded in the early 9th century, the first of the Imperial Cities, Fez is known as the pearl of the Arab world, reflecting both the epitome of the Moorish city and the intellectual enlightenment of Islam.