Sousse is a convenient location from which to explore a little more of the surrounding area. And having learned a painful lesson on the bus ride from Houmt Souq to Sousse, Christi and I intend to travel by train from now on. Tomorrow we’re off to visit Monastir, but today its the small town of El Jem, which is home to some of the most impressive Roman remains in Africa, including a coliseum (or amphitheater). It just boggles the mind that such exquisite antiquities can be found in Tunisia. Who knew?
Fortunately it’s only a 60-minute train journey from Sousse to El Jem. Along the way we befriend a couple from Lithuania who are on a week-long package tour to Tunisia. Apparently it is very cheap for Eastern Europeans (Polish, Russian, Lithuanians etc.) to visit North Africa and they are doing do so in their thousands (which partly explains the madness of the ‘Zona Touristique’ on the island of Djerba). And because the economy back home is booming, this Lithuanian couple have also visited Florida on a 2-week fly drive vacation recently and plan to visit California before the end of the year. Both speak excellent English and both are enjoying the new-found freedoms that capitalism brings. I suspect that Christi and I will encounter many more Eastern Europeans as we continue to explore the globe.
The coliseum at El Jem (built on the ancient Roman city of Thysdrus) is the third largest amphitheater in the Roman world after Rome and Capua (a city in southern Italy). It is also easily the largest monument in Roman North Africa, measuring some 148m in length by 122m in width with a perimeter of 427m. It was a massive undertaking since the nearest quarries were more than 30 km away. But at the height of its commercial success in the third century AD (a result of olive oil production, which Rome craved apparently) Thysdrus was a sufficiently prosperous settlement to be able to afford such an extravagant building. Of course then the locals had to find enough Christians to burn and throw to the lions. Life is always full of challenges.
And speaking of those Eastern European package tours, it was quite impressive to see coach after coach roll up to the entrance of the amphitheater, disgorge the tourists for a 33-minute visit (I timed them) and then continue onto the next destination. From a money-making perspective, these highly organized tours appear very lucrative. From the perspective of learning a little about the history and culture of Tunisia…well, I have my doubts. There is probably a reason why Christi and I are not part of a package tour scene. Anyway enough proselytizing otherwise I might as well become a Jehovah’s Witness. In between waves of tourists, Christi and I wander through the maze of arches that comprise the coliseum and up endless flights of steps gazing at the wondrous views the patrons would have had of the gladiatorial contests and Christian sacrifices. Later we visit El Jem’s archaeological museum, which houses numerous beautiful mosaics dating back to Roman times that were excavated here in El Jem. Two lions killing a boar and a mosaic of Rome and its provinces are my favorite. In fact there are several Roman villas in and around El Jem that you can visit, but a sudden downpour sends us scurrying for cover in a nearby restaurant, and this is followed by a lengthy wait on a chilly platform for a train back to Sousse. Perhaps there are some advantages to a package tour after all.
Blog post by Roderick Phillips, author of Weary Heart – a gut-wrenching tale of love and test tubes.
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