On the ancient Roman ruins of Tunisia on your own
In the fall of 2017, my husband and I visited Tunisia for the first time, we lived in the wonderful Magic Beach Hotel in Hammamet. Our goal was ancient Roman cities, museums, everything related to ancient Roman culture. We just fell in love with this country and decided to come again. Indeed, in Tunisia in ancient times there were 46 Roman cities, every 80 km (daytime horse crossing). These architectural reserves were our goal.
In preparation, we used numerous stories of travelers, to whom we are very grateful. I hope that my story will be useful to those who go to explore Tunisia after us.
This year we decided to stay further south, in Sousse, from where it is convenient to start traveling. We chose minibuses - luazhi - for moving. But the best thing, of course, is to rent a car. It's inexpensive and very convenient.
A couple of notes. We bought a local Ooredoo SIM card, Flexi 30j tariff, providing ourselves with the Internet and the ability to call within the country. We always took with us copies of our passports, insurance and some excess money just in case. We downloaded an interactive map of Tunisia to our smartphone in advance, which also served as a navigator. I learned a dozen necessary phrases in French, and my husband knows a little Arabic, namely the Tunisian dialect. This knowledge, the ability to ask for directions, was more useful than GPS.
The tour was bought very inexpensively at the Dreams Beach Hotel, 3*, BB from the Annex tour. I wrote a separate review about the hotel. Perfect location for our purposes. And we ate in different cafes and restaurants, as we wanted. Prices are moderate, food is delicious. At 7 in the morning we took a taxi to the luage station (5 dinars, according to the counter 3.7) and there our wanderings began. They set off on the return trip no later than 3-4 days, so as not to miss the last flight. Tickets are bought at the box office, there are signs in French indicating the place and price. Then approach any driver, repeating the destination, and they will gladly help you find the right car.
The first day. El Jem. The most popular tourist object in Tunisia (after Carthage). Tunisian Colosseum. The dimensions are impressive. But. Maybe its location in the center of a modern, rather poor Arab town is to blame, maybe it is too popular, but there was no feeling of awe, of spiritual uplift. It felt like you were on a grand Hollywood set. We drove for about an hour (69 km). Louage ticket 6 din. From the puddle station it's about five minutes to go, the circus can be seen from everywhere, it is located on the highest place. The museum, the excavations of the villas and the reconstruction of the Villa Africa are quite far from it, about 1 km to the southwest. We searched for a long time, asking the police and sellers. Already despaired of finding and suddenly heard Russian speech. The group was returning from the museum. They showed us the way. The museum is small, but the mosaics are very interesting and well preserved. Blooming trees in the yard. I have long dreamed of seeing what a Roman villa looked like. And now I look at Villa Africa, restored from the remains of the foundations. Interesting. Peristyle, atrium, columns, small rooms. What a contrast between the grandiosity of public buildings and the modest size of the houses of even wealthy Romans. And the kitchens and hearths are generally tiny. A small snack in a cafe at the entrance to the amphitheater (did not like the food) and back to Sousse.
Second day. Medina Sousse. We start with a tour of the archaeological museum and the Kasbah. First we climb the Kasbah, from there a beautiful view of the city, a small beautiful garden. We go down to the museum. Mosaics, some sculptures. Two halls are dedicated to burials, Punic and early Christian. The poor lighting was disappointing. Are the lights burned out? Later I read in the issued brochure that the light was dimmed out of respect for the departed. Touching. The sculpture of Priapus, the god of fertility, made me laugh. This must be seen. Next, we decided to visit the El Cobb Museum, located in an old caravanserai, which functioned from the tenth century until the 70s of the 20th century. Then it was turned into a museum of local life. Despite the map and the fact that there are signs with the names of the streets on every corner, they would never have been found without the help of the locals. This is a real labyrinth. The museum building has a very unusual roof, which is the dome of the hammam, located on the lower floor. The building is strikingly reminiscent of the structure of an ancient Roman villa. Enclosed patio, divergent rooms from it. In the rooms, the life of the 18-19th century is recreated and there are mannequins in the clothes of that time. Here the girlfriends are dressing the bride, the merchants are having a snack, sitting at low tables, the jeweler, the scribe, the barber is cutting the client's hair. Although not our theme, but I liked it. Nearby, behind a long white wall, there must have been an ancient reservoir of Sofra. They found the wall, they found some kind of entrance, but they did not dare to go further. A deserted labyrinth, a smell. . . Retreated. Further, the Dar Essid Museum is probably one of the most unusual. The family, who lived in the house built in 923 for hundreds of years, turned it into a museum, leaving furniture, bedspreads, numerous clocks of the 18th century brought from Germany, figurines, vases, lithographs, perfume bottles. Kitchen and pantry full of jugs and amphoras. The house has a well! The current ancient Roman urinal, i. e. sewerage. At the entrance, they give you a leaflet, where the exposition is described in Russian, and then you are alone with all these testimonies of the life that once flowed here. On the spiral staircase you go up to the roof, a view of the old and new city. They say you can drink traditional tea there, but there was not a single soul to pour tea for us. We just sat at the tables and relaxed. Worth to visit. I remember the smell. It smells like an old man's house. A little sad. In conclusion, we decided to have lunch at the popular Tunisian cafe Seles. It's near, along the outer wall between the archaeological museum and Dar Essid. They ate couscous and meshuya. Modest cafe, delicious food, surprisingly warm and friendly attitude. It was like visiting friends. Liked the mint tea served before meals. Even in Medina, Ribat and the Grand Mosque are recommended for viewing. We missed them. The general impression of the Medina is interesting, informative, relatively clean, there are remarkably beautiful streets (where Dar Essid is). Well, it stinks somewhere. We have seen much dirtier and shabbier medinas.
Sunday is a day off in Tunisia. Busy public transport. We go to the beach, the sea was unclear, but warm. We walked around the shopping malls. We found a wonderful cafe Bruklin.
On Monday we bought an excursion to the Anex tour. Zaguan-Dugga, 100 dinars. From 7 am to 7 pm. Usually we try to drive on our own: it’s more interesting, we don’t like the crowd, and it’s cheaper by a factor of 2. But Dugga is very far away, it’s 300 km through Tunisia, 300 km one way. Plus Zaghouan, which we haven't seen yet. We were in Dugga last year: the impression is so strong that I want to come back again and again. The trip turned out to be very successful. I was lucky with the guide, on the way he told me interestingly about the country, its history and customs. In Zaguane (89 km) there is the Temple of Water, from here water flowed through aqueducts throughout the country, hundreds of kilometers all the way to Carthage! And no pumps. The building genius of the Romans is simply amazing. The modest temple is well preserved; it served to accommodate figures: Neptune and nymphs. The sculptures were taken away by the British. Nymphaeum is now empty. But the place itself is breathtakingly beautiful. Mountains overgrown with forest, some unusually fresh air, beautiful views of the hills below. And behind the temple are even higher peaks. All this is mesmerizing. They say that Tunisians come here, as in a reserve, to relax. A couple more hours of driving and we are in our beloved Dugga. With pleasure we walked through already familiar places and, wow, visited two objects that we missed last time. The first is the mausoleum of Ataban, the second is the large baths near the brothel. It turned out that an underground passage leads to the baths. We didn't find it without a guide last time. Then we were taken to a restaurant at some tourist hotel, where we were fed a delicious lunch. We were treated to wild boar meat! And a bottle of Magon quenched his thirst and lifted his spirits even higher. Tickets and lunch included in the ticket price. I liked it very much.
Archaeological museums in Lamta, Moknin and Mahdia are scheduled for Tuesday. All these towns are located on the Sahel metro line. Bab Zhdid station is located near the port of Sousse. Tickets cost a penny, the cars are comfortable, the cars are free, trains run every twenty to forty minutes. Having read somewhere that the trip from end to end lasts 1.5 hours (62 km), we hit the road. It took an unexpectedly long time to get to Lamta, an hour and a half, with arrival and departure to Monastir. Lamta is a small, unremarkable village. The museum is not far from the station, we found it right away. But alas! Closed. And, it seems that for a long time and for a long time. Then the rain began to drizzle... But the indomitable travelers drove on, to Moknin. This town is bigger, richer, more crowded. We were looking for a museum, asking people. Found with the help of a barber. He explained the way to us so artistically, in three languages, gesturing like a mime, that we easily found the museum. But how we liked this artist! On the way back, we specially came to thank him, he bowed. An awesome character from an old movie. We are approaching the museum… Tadam!! ! It is also closed. Well no. We knock. Auntie comes out. Explains what is closed, like completely. Apparently, taking pity on us, he opens it, turns on the light, leads us, proudly explains something in French. My knowledge is enough to understand that she complains about the lack of visitors and we are very happy. The museum is tiny, beautiful clothes and jewelry of the 18-19th century, some Roman ceramics, a mosaic with a strange horseman, somehow, non-Roman. Leaving, they tried to pay, the aunt refused. Thank you for a long time. On the way to the station, they tried to imagine how a battle between Julius Caesar and Pompey took place somewhere here. But no Roman spirit was felt. Restless, we drive on to Mahdia. When the train dragged for more than an hour, I suspected something bad. Exactly. We ran up to the Mahdia Museum at a quarter to four. They didn't let us in, and somehow adamantly. Spoiled by a warm attitude towards themselves everywhere, they were even somehow taken aback and a little offended. In short, not our day. Apophigei was on the way back - 2.5 hours by train to Sousse, thinking about who prevented us from getting on the bus and getting there in an hour! You understand, we did not like Mahdia. But seriously, M. is positioned by tour operators as a quiet, sleepy town, not yet spoiled by tourists. We saw a clean, smart, typical resort town with a lot of vacationers. It looks a bit like Yalta. More about the view from the window: there are beautiful gardens near Mahdia, everything else is more or less a dump.
We scheduled a Sbeitla on Wednesday. 165 km. A little worried, we sit in the lounge, ticket 12.4 din. We drive 2.5 hours with a 15 minute drive to a decent diner with a clean toilet outside of Kairouan. We got there. We find out that the last luage goes back at 5. After 10 minutes, we enter the museum. Very interesting mosaics and sculptures. We cross the road and are transported two thousand years ago, to the ancient Sufetulla. The territory is very large. The museum gave us a map, thanks to which they tried not to miss anything. The complex of three temples made the greatest impression. A couple of dozen tourists wandered with us, which pleased us. In the far corner, some grandfather stuck up, offered to buy coins and ceramics. Looks like the originals. There was a temptation, but the husband categorically refused. If it were outside the territory of the reserve... And there is nothing to encourage black diggers. But my heart skipped a beat, I wanted to buy, I confess. We safely return to the luage back.
Thursday. Maktar. This city is not even on all tourist maps. Completely undeserved. Ticket 12 dinars. Drive 2.5 hours, as in Sbeitla. I always look with interest on the way to the surroundings. But only on the way to Maktar, already approaching it, it is impossible to look away, such beauty. Orchards, olive groves, surrounded by thickets of cacti, vineyards. The city is located high in the mountains. The last kilometers are just serpentine. And when a completely sheer cliff hangs on the right, and an abyss on the left - you experience such a mixture of fear and delight! A modern city is a tiny village, but like an adult: a public garden, a hotel, a taxi, good roads. A hundred meters from the central square is the entrance to the ancient Maktaris. Small museum. The territory is no less than Sbeitly, in my opinion. The largest, best-preserved baths. I saw many pools, the foundations of the term, but only here I got an idea of how grandiose they were in height. You understand with your mind, you read it, but seeing it with your own eyes is completely different. The forum turned out to be simply gigantic, the largest ever seen. A very interesting complex of the "school of young men", an ancient lyceum for golden youth. Below are green hills. The peculiarity of this place compared to most of the excavated cities is a lot of greenery, not only bushes and grass, but also tall trees. This makes it somehow more real. Not just ruins, but like a living city, only the inhabitants have gone somewhere. The air here is wonderful, just crystal clear. Fairy tale atmosphere, not a single soul, just you and the grandiose remnants of Roman genius. We return to the stop. Not a single car. The uncles drinking their endless coffee in the cafe on the square are reassuring, in two hours there will definitely be a luage to Sousse, don't worry. I am slightly anxious. What to do? Looking for a hotel? Go to Le Kef? Gradually, anxiety turns into panic. And when the luage driver offers to pay for the entire minibus or he won't go, we meekly shell out 100 dinars. My husband took the situation in stride. I twitched, then calmed down and decided - it was worth it, believe me. This was spectacular. Maktaris was a real discovery and shock for us.
The remaining couple of days were divided between the wonderful sea and shopping. I want to share my observations. The Soul Center is cheaper than the Palm Center. And bags are much cheaper in stores on the Corniche. Last year I bought dishes in Nabeul and halva. This year I bought soap with olive oil, creams, clay shampoos, leather bags for gifts. I could not resist buying a couple of painted bowls. Life forced me to look for a medicine in a pharmacy (Farmacy). I was surprised to find that exactly the same medicine costs 3 (! ) times cheaper than in Ukraine. Moreover, there are no fakes in their pharmacies (state). I bought medicines that I remembered that might come in handy.
I wish you all exciting travels and a great holiday!
