N. Africa
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The
word for the day is “phenomenal”. TD went off right after
breakfast to get the rental car and then we headed south
towards the city of El Jem. As you approach the city you can
see the coliseum ruins dominating the landscape in the
distance. Tunisia was part of the Roman Empire and the
coliseum was built here in the year 211 AD. It held
approximately 30,000 spectators which makes it about 2/3’s of
the size of the coliseum in Rome. The size of this structure
speaks to the wealth and power of this ancient city. “Thydus”
as it was known then was on an important trade route supplying
the Empire with olive oil and wheat.
El
Jem’s monument is in substantially better condition than it’s
counterpart in Rome. In the late 1800’s the building was used
for target practice which breached one side. The rubble was
then used for building materials. We walked all around the
coliseum and even got to go under ground to see the holding
cages and walkways that lead to the exhibition field. They
held competitions between animals and men, men and men and of
course had the execution of the Christians in this arena. It
is amazing to think that this was the entertainment for people
1800 years ago. AD questioned if the gladiator vs. gladiator
battles weren’t a little like men fighting in wars! The
perception of the young is astute.
In
El Jem they also have a museum of mosaics. The reader boards
explained that the more adornments and colorful mosaic floors
your hour house had, the higher your social position was. The
museum had beautifully laid out displays mimicking an ancient
house. There was also an example showing how the huge floors
are excavated and moved. Sections are split down lines of
tiles. The first step is to glue a tracing paper on top of the
design. Then the floor underneath is supported with boards
then wire. When it is lifted it is put into a mold and moved
to the new location.
On
the return trip, we drove through Sousse, the third largest
city in Tunisia. It is a fairly modern looking city with many
wide streets. There is a large Medina area behind the typical
castle-like walls. In some cities the Medina has been turned
into a tourist shopping district but most of them are just
neighborhoods with densely packed housing. Sousse sits on a
beautiful stretch of beach on the Mediterranean Sea. The
northern area is lined with hotels.
We dropped AD off at our hotel for archery while we went off
to the internet café in Hammamet. There aren’t any internet
cafes out in the resort hotel section of the city. We returned
to find an unhappy AD because he had not been allowed to
participate in archery today. A different staff member told
him “he wasn’t old enough”. We’ll see about that tomorrow!
We
got up earlier today to be on the road at 8:30. Our
destinations are to the north today. It took under an hour to
get to Tunis. We drove through the city to get to Carthage. It
was once a rival to Rome before the defeat of Hannibal. Little
remains of the ancient city. Carthage today, is an upscale,
seaside suburb full of beautiful homes and expensive cars. The
Roman ruins that remain are sprinkled in residential areas.
Most
impressive of the ruins is Thermes de Antonin. The foundations
for the baths are well excavated and a model has been built to
show what it looked like. There are other smaller foundations
scattered around this historical site. Carthage has an
archeological sites ticket that covers your entry to all the
museums and ruins.
We
drove around looking for other locations and found the
Amphitheatre easily. It is used even today as an entertainment
venue for Carthage.
Along the coast from Carthage is a picturesque seaside village
called Sidi Bou Said. It is a popular tourist destination
known for its many interesting doors. The old village sits on
steep hills. All the buildings are painted in classic white
wash with bright blue trims. Tour buses drop off loads of
people who wander the streets looking at many shops and
houses. Tunisia is known for metal works, leather goods, and
ceramics. AD bought a small metal plate with a camel scene and
the man engraved his name in Arabic on it.
A
drive through the center of Tunis didn’t take very long. There
is one short main boulevard that is lined with upscale shops,
hotels and restaurants. On the edge of the area is a massive
redeveloped area with high rise banks and hotels surrounded by
large green spaces. It’s a contrast between a city scaled for
people and one for the automobile. The traffic was heavy and I
was happy to just drive out after a short look. We made it
back to the hotel for archery. With an adult along, there was
no question of AD being allowed to participate. We are finding
this facility easy to turn away a child from an activity.
I returned the rental car and walked back to the hotel. We
read before dinner and drank the last of our Tunisian red
wine. I finished a classic book “Adam Bele” by George Elliott.
It was set in 1800 England in a small farming village. The
book was filled with great old adages like “Nothing to say
against him, only it was a pity, he could’na be hatched o’er
again, and hatched different.” We continue to consume lots of
books and pick up whatever ones we can find in English.
AD has started going to Snoopy Disco at 8:30 PM. The staff
plays music and gets the little kids to dance. It’s mostly
much younger children but he seems to have a good time. It at
least keeps us out of the room until a little later in the
evening. There’s only CNN to watch on TV and going to bed at 9
is way too early.
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