The Atlas Obscura Podcast · Thursday, September 17, 2026
During his travels for his global bagpipe quest, Ross Jennings encountered a surprising situation in Tunisia. When stopped at a police roadblock, his bagpipes, which he feared would cause trouble, instead led to a joyous celebration.
“And I open up my bagpipe bag. And they all freeze. And they go. Mazwid? Now, luckily, that was one of the few Arabic or Tunisian Arabic words that I knew. And Mazwid means bagpipes. And they go, Yalla. And luckily Yalla is the other, sort of Arabic word that I know. Yalla. Let's go. Let's do it. Let's hear it. Yalla, Mazwid. And I start to assemble my bagpipes together. And I play for them. And they lose it.”
“And it turns out that night, I was a bit confused because I thought, what on earth is happening? Turns out it is the national instrument of Tunisia. The bagpipes. Mind blown.”