Adventures in Africa: El Jem, Tunisia

This morning Diana and I woke up to a gorgeous morning, our last one in the Tunis medina.  After another wonderful breakfast at the Dar Ben Gacem, we enjoyed the rooftop alcove one last time.

Around 10:30 we checked out and took a taxi the dar arranged to the airport.  Interestingly, the arranged taxi cost 30 dinar--5 dinar more than our taxi from the airport had cost!  Still, it was nice to not have to worry about it, and anyway 30 dinar is only about $15 Canadian.

At the airport we picked up a Fiat Punto rental car from Avis.  We drove it south about 200 kilometres to El Jem, whose attraction is a Roman amphitheatre.

The highway was mostly excellent, and despite the fact that we had to pay tolls four times, they totaled only about 5 dinars (~$2.50 CDN).  Along the way we stopped once, at a rest stop where we picked up a couple of sandwiches for lunch (tuna [very popular in Tunisia] and ham [surprisingly common as well, despite the fact that it is a Muslim country]).

Actually, the road stop was kind of a funny experience.  Diana volunteered to order our lunch, so went off to do so.  A few minutes later she met up with me in a BAD mood.  Convinced she was the victim of sexist rudeness, she explained that "he wouldn't let me order" and stormed to the car.  To be fair, the patriarchy in Tunisia is almost as bad as I observed in Morocco, which was the worst I had ever seen, so her assumption seemed possibly true.  I went to the counter to try my luck.  It turned out that the (granted, not particularly friendly) man was simply trying to communicate in French that he did not have what Diana was trying to order.  With my marginally better French, I was able to successfully order two sandwiches, two bags of french fries, and two drinks, but now I was stuck having to precariously carry the six items outside all alone, while Diana pouted in the car.  In the end we had a pretty good laugh about it.

We reached El Jem shortly after 14:00.  The Hotel Julius is modeled after the amphitheatre.  It is fairly cheesy, but somehow endearing, too.

I was pretty excited to have this view from our room's window!

I was also intrigued by this Mecca-direction-indicator on our desk.

After resting for a bit, we walked down towards the amphitheatre.

First we enjoyed coffees at a cafe across the way.  I had been keen to ride a dromedary while in Tunisia, and so before going into the amphitheatre we took the opportunity.  

Diana was hesitant but decided to join me at the last minute.  She seemed terrified, but I loved it!  It was probably the most touristy thing we had done in Tunisia, but I managed to swallow my pride.

I handed the men 10 dinars for the little ride/photo op, and they asked for 10 more.  I gave them another 5 and they seemed happy enough (and so was I).

Now, adequately caffeinated and with our camel experience complete, we actually entered the amphitheatre.

The amphitheatre was built early in the 3rd century CE, apparently in an attempt to rival Rome.  There was a special tax put in place on local olive oil exports to fund the construction--reminded me of similar contemporary schemes to raise revenue from taxpayers so that politicians can approve subsidizing billionaire sports team owners' venues.  I guess some things never change.

In any case, the El Jem amphitheatre is not in fact as big as Rome's Coliseum, but it was the largest Roman amphitheatre in Africa, and is the third largest worldwide still standing.

Most of the northern wall (right of the picture below) is gone, but interestingly this is because the amphitheatre was being used as a fort during a rebellion against the Ottoman empire, and cannon fire destroyed it.  In other words, if it had not been for a battle that involved intentionally destroying part of it, the amphitheatre would be even better persevered than it already is!

Where the breach in the wall happened, seats have been installed so spectators can sit for concerts or other shows that take place.  It must be a pretty cool venue!

Here are some more photos from around the amphitheatre (unlike in Rome, tourist have impressive access all through the amphitheatre [including underground, which does not photograph well as it is basically pitch black]).

Obviously the amphitheatre itself is incredible, but I also really enjoyed the view it provided of El Jem (you can see the cafe we had had coffee at and the camel we rode down below).

The Hotel Julius is the brownish building in the middle of this arch.

I had read that dusk is a popular time to be at the amphitheatre, and sure enough we were treated to a colourful sunset (after being kicked out for closing), just as the call to prayer began.  

Back at the Hotel Julius we ordered some food in the lobby, and then enjoyed mint tea (ubiquitous in Tunisia) and a shisha.