Panoramic view of Tunisia after the revolution

Below the watchtower of the ancient fortress known as the Ribat, a panoramic view of the Tunisian city of Sousse unfolds. To the east lies the Mediterranean coast, where the Carthaginians moored their navy during epic battles with the Roman Empire. To the south and west, the labyrinthine passageways of the medina, the city’s old walled quarter, extend to the vanishing point amid a sea of tightly packed houses and minarets. On a sunny January afternoon, I walked along the battlements of the empty fortress, peering through arrow slits into the streets where elderly Tunisian men in red caps and women in head scarves strolled. It occurred to me that I could see nearly everything in Sousse from this vantage point. Except for one: fellow travelers. Since arriving in Tunisia a few days earlier, I had barely glimpsed another tourist. True, it was low season. But the real reason, I knew, was the Jasmine Revolution of January 2011, when Tunisians rose up against an authoritarian regime and forced the flight of the longtime strongman Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. Travelers, understandably, had gotten spooked. Tourism fell by more than 30 percent last year, even though, in the months after Mr. Ben Ali’s ouster, the country was generally calm. During my visit, hotel receptionists and restaurant servers repeatedly bemoaned the lack of tourists to me. So I was pleasantly surprised when a German family of four interrupted my admittedly peaceful reverie atop the watchtower. They had been traveling by bus, admiring “the religion and the culture,” the father, Tobias Haug, told me, as he scanned the view. “Everyone has been very friendly,” he said, adding that friends in Germany had expressed concern before their departure. “They don’t know that the war’s been over for more than a year,” Mr. Haug said. And so it is — mostly. As attention has turned from Tunisia to the far bloodier Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt, Libya, Syria and beyond — many of them inspired by the Tunisian example — the North African nation is still trying to restore its image in the eyes of the world. But for travelers, a visit to Tunisia right now offers a chance not only to witness this pivotal moment in the country’s history, but also to get a sense of the struggles and stakes of the Arab Spring in general. As dictators around the region fall or are challenged, Tunisia, while far from untroubled, offers a reassuring example of what might emerge from the wreckage. Elections in October produced results that would have been unimaginable during the Ben Ali years, when Islamist groups and dissent were smothered: a prime minister from a moderate Muslim party and a president with a résumé as a human rights campaigner. A year after the revolution’s end, I took advantage of Tunisia’s well-developed tourism infrastructure — abundant hotels, clean restaurants and generally effective transportation — and began an eight-day journey by bus and train to see the country’s storied sights and take the pulse of its vital and suffering tourism sector. In cities like Tunis, where public debate now finds an outlet in newspapers, exhibitions and street art, I found friendly people who were more than happy to share their ideas with travelers. Farther afield, in more tourism-dependent places like El Jem, with its gorgeous Roman ruins, locals expressed relief at the old regime’s demise, but also voiced an urgent need to start refilling empty hotels and restaurants. Everywhere, I found Tunisians to be laid-back and grateful to anyone willing to visit their country during this transitional time. IT rained my first day in Tunis. I leaned out my window in the rather dated Hotel Excel and peered down at Avenue Habib Bourguiba, site of the biggest protests. Lined with French colonial edifices and lively sidewalk cafes, the thoroughfare provided a crash course in modern Tunisian history, starting with its name. Habib Bourguiba, a Paris-educated lawyer, offered a passionate voice against French colonialism and helped win the country’s independence in 1956. The next year he became president and began modernizing the country, ensuring universal education and mandating equal rights for women. Polygamy was banned, and the veil discouraged.