Friday, February 21 – Tunis

I’m still not feeling the greatest this morning, but it’s a beautiful day (partly cloudy, high in the mid 60s); let’s get out and roam!

My first stop was this pharmacy near the hotel. I was prepared this time though! Using Google Translate on my phone, I composed an explanation of my symptoms (congestion), and then translated it to French. The clerk that waited on me was amused by my effort, and it worked. She ended up providing me with a nasal spray and a box of Actifed. Thank you!

This is Bab El Bhar; a gate in Tunis that marks the separation between the Medina and the city.

I like the colorful doors of the Medina…

I moved closer to take another picture of this building, but was vigorously waved off by the guards. Okay!

Just adjacent to the Square is the Kasbah Fortress. This dates to the 12 century, and is believed to be the Gate of Ghadr, which opened into the Medina. It was a gate designated only for the king and his entourage and not for the public.

I was starting to get a little hungry…

By the way, I’m wearing shorts and a long-sleeve t-shirt!

Dar Lasram is a former palace of the Medina. It was built during the period 1812 to 1819. The entry fee was 5 dinar ($1.60).

The palace is a little run down, but remains beautiful!

Notes from the Day

• I walked through the market, but similar to the souks of Tangier and Marrakech, the crowds pretty much prevented the taking of any worthwhile pictures. Although, the crowd here appear to consist more of locals than tourists.
• A local approached me in the market, offering to direct me to a nearby landmark. He seemed like a nice guy, but I’m done dealing with the locals. I’m jaded, and it’s kind of a shame.
• I also had a merchant invite me to the roof of his shop to get a better view of the Medina. Again, no thanks. He claimed no obligation, but I had a feeling I’d be stuck looking at rugs (or whatever) for a while!
• This being Friday, and Tunisia being a Muslim country, I thought today would be a holy day. But that wasn’t the case. Tunisians follow the Western schedule, with the weekend falling on Saturday and Sunday. Interesting.
• I’ve talked previously about using eSIMs for data access while traveling abroad. The one I’m using here in Africa has worked like a champ! It cost $19 for 3Gb covering 30 days. And the nice thing is that eSIMs for different regions of the world will work simultaneously. So, for example, I have both an African and European eSIM installed on my phone at this time.
• I ended up doing 18k steps today. Probably not too smart. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow…

Saturday, February 22 – Tunis

I’m feeling better today, so hopefully I’ve turned the corner (fingers crossed)!

Today I’ll be traveling to the northeast to visit the ancient city of Carthage. It was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classical world. It became the capital city of the civilization of Ancient Carthage and later Roman Carthage.

Conveniently, there is a tram that operates between Tunis and Carthage. I’m on it!

Sidenote: I confirmed the tram route with two different staff of my hotel over the past couple days.

It’s about a half hour walk from the hotel to the tram station. Here are a couple photos from the journey…

So, as I approach the tram station, it appears to be kind of empty. But there is a line of people waiting to board that bus on the left. Mmmmmm…

It turns out the that tram is no longer operating. And with subsequent research, I learned that it has been out of service since at least early November. It seems like this is something that my hotel’s reception staff should be aware of!

Thankfully, there is replacement bus service available. The bus did not depart until it was fully loaded. And I mean fully – it was packed. The bus driver turned out to be a pain – mainly not letting people off at their requested stops, including me! But it actually worked out in my case, because I was conveniently dropped near an historical site. The 30 minute bus ride cost 1 dinar (35 cents).

There are 10 ten archaeological sites in Carthage that can be visited with a combined ticket which allows access to all, at a cost of 12 dinar. The tickets are are available at each site entrance. Let’s see how many of the 10 I’ll visit…

The Roman Theatre of Carthage

Built in the 2nd century, the Carthage Roman Theatre was a prime location for dramatic performances, music, and public gatherings. With a seating capacity of around 5,000, it was an important cultural hub in Roman Carthage.

The Roman Villas of Carthage

By the turn of the 1st century, Carthage was the second largest city in the western half of Rome’s empire. The Carthage Roman Villas site is believed to have housed some of the wealthier inhabitants of Roman Carthage.

Antonine Baths

The Baths of Antoninus, or Baths of Carthage, are the largest set of Roman thermae (large imperial bath complex) on the African continent and one of the three largest in the Roman Empire. The baths were built during the reign of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius (138 to 161 AD).

Ampitheatre

The Amphitheatre of Carthage was erected at the end of the 1st century or the beginning of the 2nd century. This is one of three African amphitheatres to have been built on flat ground rather than atop a hill, the others being El Jem and Thapsus.

Byrsa Hill

In 146 BC Carthage was besieged and destroyed by the Romans during the Third Punic War. However, when they rebuilt the city, Byrsa Hill became central to their administration. A number of important public buildings were constructed at the site and it was installed as the seat of the proconsul of Africa within the Roman Empire.

The Acropolium, previously known as Saint Louis Cathedral, is a former Roman Catholic church. It was constructed on Byrsa Hill in 1884, over the ruins of the ancient temple dedicated to Eshmun. Intended to honor Louis IX of France, who had died in Carthage in 1270 during the Eighth Crusade, the Cathedral was constructed by the French Consul-General with the permission of the Bey (Governor) of Tunis.

Following his death in Carthage, Louis IX’s body was boiled so that the bones could be transported hygienically from distant lands back home. Some of his entrails are said to have been buried in Carthage, where the so called ‘Tomb of Saint-Louis’ can be seen in the photo above (located adjacent to Saint Louis Cathedral). His heart and other entrails were sealed in an urn and placed inside the cathedral of Monreale, Sicily, while his bones were laid to rest at the Basilique Saint-Denis in his native France.

Punic Ports

The Punic Ports of Carthage were originally excavated during the 3rd century BC. They then underwent significant refurbishment during the Roman occupation, most notably during the rule of Emperor Commodus (2nd century AD).

There weren’t any ruins to view here. Kind of a disappointing stop, but it was a pretty area to walk around!

North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial

My last stop was not part of the Carthage archeological tour, but turned out to be my favorite.

The cemetery, the only American one in North Africa and dedicated in 1960, contains 2,841 American war dead and covers 27 acres. It is administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission.

Along the southeast edge of the burial area, bordering the tree-lined terrace, is the Wall of the Missing. On this wall, 3,724 names are engraved.

My compliments to the American Battle Monuments Commission. This is a wonderfully maintained memorial (as it should be). And it’s kind of contradictory, as it’s located well off the beaten path of Carthage.

Okay, getting to Carthage was easy, I just boarded the awaiting bus at the tram station. So now I need to figure out how to get back to Tunis. Mmmmm…

I (kind of) remembered the route of the bus as it passed through Carthage. My plan, therefore, is to retrace that path and hopefully find a marked bus stop. Well, thankfully I eventually came across what looked like a stop, and that was confirmed when I spoke to a nice woman, who spoke English (yes!), and was waiting there. She also informed me of which bus to board. Thank you! I turns out that there are only two buses that use the route – one local to Carthage, and one that goes to Tunis. So I had a 50/50 shot!

After about a 20 minute wait, my bus arrived. And it was kind of crowded. But as we made our way to Tunis, it became packed. And the driver kept stopping to pick up more people! Crazy! It was like a Tokyo commuter train at rush hour, but with chaos! But, as you can tell, I survived. And now have this story to tell!

The sites around Carthage are rather spread out. As a result, I ended up walking 29k steps today. I guess I can recover from my illness when I get back to London!