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Tunisian Sites
#1
Salvete,

This summer I'm off on Holiday to Tunisia. I wonder if anyone can recomend anything particularly woth a visit while I'm there. Obviously El Jem and Douga are the big things. But what about anything else, less well publicised.

I'll be staying in the Monastir area and don't want to spend all my time travelling, it'll be too hot and the family won't let me :roll:

I think the draw of Carthage will be too much to resist. I know that there's not a huge ammount to see but the history makes up for it.

Any experiences please :?:
Mark Downes/Mummius

Cent Gittus, COH X. LEG XX. VV. Deva Victrix

____________________________________________
"Don\'\'\'\'t threaten me with a dead fish!" - Withnail
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#2
We had an outstanding holiday in Tunisia- and again with family!
The Roman sites
-El Djem- unmissable http://homepage.mac.com/melissaenderle/ ... eljem.html
-Bardo museum - great mosaic collection
-Sbeitla http://homepage.mac.com/melissaenderle/ ... eitla.html
-Carthage - a bit disappointing as the Romans did a good job at wiping it out, but the Antonine Baths are worth seeing http://homepage.mac.com/melissaenderle/ ... thage.html - and there is a beautiful area of town nearby- alll blues and whites (can't recall the name)
-Thuburbo Majus http://homepage.mac.com/melissaenderle/ ... majus.html
-Didn't get to Utica, Bulla Regia or Oudna http://homepage.mac.com/melissaenderle/ ... sites.html

The astonishing thing was Roman mosaics still in place, and masonry just lying around.

The highlight for us (Mrs Caballo and me, four kids aged 7 to 13) was a desert safari where we travelled through the salt, stone and sand deserts, broke down near an oasis, camped out, and - the highlight- a 12 km camel ride at sunset into the Sahara. They'll also show you the Berber troglodyte villages (as featured in Star Wars) and El Djem.

We had a great time- recommended.

Cheers

Caballo
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aka Paul B, moderator
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#3
Do not miss Dougga, or Bulla Regia, and if you can get to it Haidra right on the border with Algeria. It is majestic, albeit only very partially excavated. There is pottery, marble, etc. lying just everywhere!.
Sulla Felix

AKA Barry Coomber
Moderator

COH I BATAVORVM MCRPF
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#4
Also - Byrsa hill, the platform made by the Romans over the destroyed remains of Carthage is impressive for the view over the bay. You can still make out the remains of the port of Carthage which is also worth a visit and has some nice reconstructions (models) of the port(s), and some in-situ slipways for ships (gives a good idea of the size of these vessels). Underneath the Byrsa Hill platform are the remains of a number of Cartheginian houses that date to the destruction by the Romans, including some decoration and quite sophisticated underground water storage systems.

Also check out the remains of the aqueduct at various places which are very impressive.

The museum at El Djem has some superb mosaics, and if you do nothing else the Bardo (as Caballo says) is an absolute must. Allow at least two hours here (preferably longer) and check out the finds from the shipwreck on display.

Have a good trip!
Sulla Felix

AKA Barry Coomber
Moderator

COH I BATAVORVM MCRPF
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#5
I'd second all of the above. With an aircon coach it isn't too bad going to El Djem etc (we went from Sousse and our aircon broke down en route though Sad ) and although Thurbobo is only partially excavated - there appeared to be people 'living' in it and popping out of the ruins to offer 'genuine' artefacts - it is huge and majestic. You'll find yourself walking on scattered tesserae too - the path from the coach park to the site seemed to be made of a mix of them, gravel and pot/tile fragments. Weird.

Oh, for later period stuff old-town Sousse (Medina, Kasbah, walls) and Kairouan are worth a look. There are mosaics in the Kasbah museum at Sousse, including IIRC a cross-eyed Venus.
a.k.a. Simon Frame
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