Ancient history buffs like me will feel like in heaven in this country. That is, if heaven consisted of ancient cities with amazingly preserved amphitheaters, temples, thermes and forums, and museums filled with stunning mosaics and sculptures. On the other hand, non-maniacs will have many reasons to complain about all these stones, which are just everywhere. In an attempt to find the golden balance, I selected for you some impressive accents from the Roman cities of Tunisia.
1. El Jem amphitheater
Whether the Gladiator movie was really filmed here or just had to be shot, but for a number of reasons it moved elsewhere, is not so important. The facts indicate that the El Jem amphitheater is among the few such Roman artifacts preserved, and that for some reason it was the only not-destroyed building during the demolition of the city in some internal imperial plots. Beyond the facts is the feeling that one acquires, wandering through the ancient corridors and up and down in the warn steps. Incomparable!
2. Dougga Capitol
Dougga is probably the most visited of the Roman cities of Tunisia. I exclude El Jem, since there is virtually nothing left of the city. There is quite a lot left of Dougga, and the importance of the site is recognized by UNESCO, by including it in the World Heritage List. Its Capitol dominates the landscape and impresses with its size, but I recommend that all the other corners of the ancient settlement be visited as well. You may be entirely on your own in the remotest ones. By all means, see the reservoirs, there are not many similar ones that have lived to this day.
3. The underground houses of Bulla Regia
Unlike Dougga, this city falls a little away from the main tourist routes. At about 2 hours west of the capital, your route would normally be go to it and then back, or continue south in the direction of Kairouan. The terrain is dry and well-baked and the site does not offer much shade. For this reason, the ancients have come up with a cunning way to deal with the heat, the latter not being a problem only in the winter time. They have taken the housing architecture below ground.
4. Sufetula Forum
Sufetula is I think the only one of the Roman cities of Tunisia located on the southern Limes (border) of the Roman Empire. It is also included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. This decision is a bit strange as there are far better preserved sites in the country, but experts have clearly considered something in the city made it worthy of global honor. The majestic temples on the central square (the forum) may have something to do with the matter.
5. The views of Gightis
It is located in the immediate vicinity of the port, where the ferries to the island of Djerba depart. Considering that Djerba is one of Tunisia’s most visited marine destinations, the fact that we did not meet another visitor in Gightis was strange. It was even stranger that we had to wait for somebody to come and open the site for us. Seeing the degree of preservation of the city, it was no longer that strange, but the views from the ruins to the Mediterranean can compensate for any eventual disappointment.
6. The garum factory of Neapolis
In case you don’t know, garum was one of the most important commodities in the Roman Empire. Almost as much as olive oil and wine. It is a fermented fish sauce – the backbone of Roman cuisine. Garum producers and traders enjoyed a high social status and decent wealth. The problem, as you can learn from the museum of ancient Neapolis in present-day Nabeul, is that they also enjoyed a terrible stench. The clay-covered pits in the above photo served as fish fermenters, and the owner’s home was…on top!
7. Kerkouane Necropolis
Among the Roman cities of Tunisia, Kerkouane is the one with the most preserved Punic heritage, i.e. from the times before the Romans decided that Carthage was annoying them too much and almost erased it to the ground. The remains of the city itself are very interesting with the different way of construction and the optimization of space, but even more interesting is the necropolis of the ancient settlement. It was discovered by chance by a local teacher who secretly dug it up at night and carried away the funeral gifts until the authorities noticed that he was spending a lot. Alas.
8. The water reservoirs of Tuburbo Majus
You may not hear about this and the next of the Roman cities of Tunisia until you find yourselves on the spot. And it would be a big mistake to miss any of them. About an hour away from the capital, not far from each other, it takes a whole day to see both. There are many things that will impress you in Tuburbo Majus; I chose the big water reservoir which has its own internal architecture and I can’t even imagine what it must have looked like when it was intact and full.
9. Therme of Uthina
Giant baths can be found in many ancient Roman cities, in varying degrees of preservation. Why do I offer you the ones in Uthina? The Great Baths themselves collapsed a long time ago and the pieces of brickwork have formed a rather sad maze on one of the city’s hills. However, the dungeons are almost completely preserved, and I personally had the opportunity to enter the ancient tunnels for the first time. Their purpose is still not completely clear to me – did the water for the baths flow there, or did the slaves serve the furnaces for heating and other unknown activities? Maybe you will find out…
I leave Carthage for later. In the meantime, find more about Tunisia here.
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