One of the sites I was really looking forward to seeing in Tunisia was of course Carthage. Carthage is of course one of those legendary cities, forever linked to names like Hannibal (the Punic general – not the Lecter one ;-), and the tragic love story of Dido and Aeneas (as told by Virgil in the Aeneid). These days it’s actually a posh and well-off suburb of Tunis – in fact even the omnipresent president lives here.
To get there, we decided to give the TGM, a suburban railway link which runs along the coastline towards the north from Tunis, a go. It all went without the slightest trouble (a far cry easier than our foolish attempts to use the Cairo public transport during out trip to Egypt, for example), and we arrived in Carthage, full of anticipation. Our first destination was Byrsa hill, which was the spiritual heart of Punic Carthage. Unfortunately, as we found out, not much remains of the Punic town – the romans took their declaration “Delenda Carthago” (Carthago must be destroyed) rather literally – very little remains, so a fair bit of imagination is required. A part of the residential area are still to be seen, and there is an interesting museum. So it was pretty interesting, in the end – and the views from the hill over Carthage (including the Punic ports) were impressive.
After a very nice lunch of freshly caught fish by the seaside, we headed to visit the Roman remains of Carthage. After the destruction of Punic Carthage, the Romans built a new city here, under the reign of Julius Ceasar – which actually became the capital of the Roman province of Africa. So it became the 2nd city of the Roman world – after Rome itself. We started with Antonin’s roman baths – which were very impressive indeed. The most impressive Roman baths I’ve ever seen – that’s for sure. Certainly more imposing than the ones we saw in Varna a couple of years ago, for example. We spent a good half hour wandering around the atmospheric ruins – I kind of like the way have been preserved – without sings / maps and explanations everywhere. Leaves things to the imagination.
Having explored the baths and the other ruins nearby, we headed for the other Roman site in Carthage, the area of Roman villas. It was less interesting than the roman baths – less to see, but there was one interesting roman villa, which has been quite well restored. And we were once more treated to great over Carthage and nearby Sidi bou Said, from the balcony. We also had time to check out the Roman theatre, just down the road. This one has definitely been rebuilt to serve the needs of the Carthage International Festival, which takes place during the summer, so it’s not what I would call “authentic”. Still, worth the walk….
By now we reckon we’d seen enough ruins for one day, so we decided to move on to Sidi bou Said (we were too lazy to hike down to the TGM station so decided to take a taxi this time). Sidi bou Said is what one could call “the perfectly picturesque Tunisian village”, sitting as it does on its hilltop, with its blue and white houses. Numerous artists (such as Flaubert, Chateaubriand, de Beauvoir) were also seduced by the place’s tranquil charms, and spent a lot of time discussing art, philosophy and other important things at the café des nattes. Well, we were charmed as well – and also happy to be visiting off-season (I can only imagine what it must be like when the busloads of tourists descend upon the place come summer… After a very pleasant stroll around, we had some tea and Tunisian pastries at the other famous café of Sidi bou Said café Chebaane. Justly famous, the views were rather amazing (and the pastries weren’t bad either…).
After a quick walk down (well, the village is at an altitude of 130 minutes, so it wasn’t THAT quick), to the marina (where we noted that the yachts were only less impressive, but only slightly, than on the Cote d’Azur), and the mandatory tea at the café des nattes, it was time for dinner. We had again chosen a real Tunisian institution – Au bon vieux temps. We had a very nice meal there – the place had real class with more than a bit of a French touch (as seems to be the case with posh restaurants in Tunisia). The photos decorating the walls were testimony to the fame of the place (former dinner guests include Sarko & Carla, Harrison Ford, a former miss France, to mention but a few…). Our bellies once more filled, we took the TGM back to Tunis, happy after a day filled with new impressions and good meals ;-).
More photos here.
To get there, we decided to give the TGM, a suburban railway link which runs along the coastline towards the north from Tunis, a go. It all went without the slightest trouble (a far cry easier than our foolish attempts to use the Cairo public transport during out trip to Egypt, for example), and we arrived in Carthage, full of anticipation. Our first destination was Byrsa hill, which was the spiritual heart of Punic Carthage. Unfortunately, as we found out, not much remains of the Punic town – the romans took their declaration “Delenda Carthago” (Carthago must be destroyed) rather literally – very little remains, so a fair bit of imagination is required. A part of the residential area are still to be seen, and there is an interesting museum. So it was pretty interesting, in the end – and the views from the hill over Carthage (including the Punic ports) were impressive.
After a very nice lunch of freshly caught fish by the seaside, we headed to visit the Roman remains of Carthage. After the destruction of Punic Carthage, the Romans built a new city here, under the reign of Julius Ceasar – which actually became the capital of the Roman province of Africa. So it became the 2nd city of the Roman world – after Rome itself. We started with Antonin’s roman baths – which were very impressive indeed. The most impressive Roman baths I’ve ever seen – that’s for sure. Certainly more imposing than the ones we saw in Varna a couple of years ago, for example. We spent a good half hour wandering around the atmospheric ruins – I kind of like the way have been preserved – without sings / maps and explanations everywhere. Leaves things to the imagination. Having explored the baths and the other ruins nearby, we headed for the other Roman site in Carthage, the area of Roman villas. It was less interesting than the roman baths – less to see, but there was one interesting roman villa, which has been quite well restored. And we were once more treated to great over Carthage and nearby Sidi bou Said, from the balcony. We also had time to check out the Roman theatre, just down the road. This one has definitely been rebuilt to serve the needs of the Carthage International Festival, which takes place during the summer, so it’s not what I would call “authentic”. Still, worth the walk….
By now we reckon we’d seen enough ruins for one day, so we decided to move on to Sidi bou Said (we were too lazy to hike down to the TGM station so decided to take a taxi this time). Sidi bou Said is what one could call “the perfectly picturesque Tunisian village”, sitting as it does on its hilltop, with its blue and white houses. Numerous artists (such as Flaubert, Chateaubriand, de Beauvoir) were also seduced by the place’s tranquil charms, and spent a lot of time discussing art, philosophy and other important things at the café des nattes. Well, we were charmed as well – and also happy to be visiting off-season (I can only imagine what it must be like when the busloads of tourists descend upon the place come summer… After a very pleasant stroll around, we had some tea and Tunisian pastries at the other famous café of Sidi bou Said café Chebaane. Justly famous, the views were rather amazing (and the pastries weren’t bad either…). 
After a quick walk down (well, the village is at an altitude of 130 minutes, so it wasn’t THAT quick), to the marina (where we noted that the yachts were only less impressive, but only slightly, than on the Cote d’Azur), and the mandatory tea at the café des nattes, it was time for dinner. We had again chosen a real Tunisian institution – Au bon vieux temps. We had a very nice meal there – the place had real class with more than a bit of a French touch (as seems to be the case with posh restaurants in Tunisia). The photos decorating the walls were testimony to the fame of the place (former dinner guests include Sarko & Carla, Harrison Ford, a former miss France, to mention but a few…). Our bellies once more filled, we took the TGM back to Tunis, happy after a day filled with new impressions and good meals ;-).More photos here.
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