Yacht Zen Again: Tunisia Month 2

Hi everyone,

Nearly two months have passed since our arrival in Monastir. Over the last month we've explored El Jem, Mahdia, Sousse and Carthage.

El Jem Roman Amphitheatre

El Jem

We toured El Jem and Mahdia in company with Jean-Luc and Nadia of sv Silence. Together we borrowed a car from another cruiser which made the visit to El Jem much easier.

El Jem is famous for its huge Roman amphitheatre. It is the second largest in the world and very well preserved. And one can wander through most of it. The 'tunnel' excavated under the stage is well preserved, including the lion's pens, the Christian's pen, the gladiator's pens, the mortuary and the water reservoir. Two elevators lifted the combatants up to the stage.

Accommodation for 30,000 spectators, 7 lions and 20 Christians

Gladiator's Passage and Entries

Spectator Passageways

2000 years of graffiti

The 'tunnel' under the stage

Lion pen with stands for a cage and a water trough

The water store was fed from the entire amphitheatre

At the Amphitheatre (Nadia Rabhi photo)

Mahdia

From El Jem we drove on to the coastal town of Mahdia. The town has a large Ribat and ruins of a Punic harbour.

Mahdia Ribat

Remains of Punic arch with modern replica

Punic harbour with original sea wall

Lunch overlooking the beach at Mahdia

Innovative plastic recycling scheme?

Tunisians love their brightly painted metal front doors

Extensive shade over a Mahdia Cafe

Mahdia Medina

Colourful Clothing Displays

Coastal Salt Flats with Flamingoes

Back in Monastir - the car didn't need pushing thankfully!

Sousse

We took the 'metro' train from Monastir to Sousse to visit the Archeological Museum and the Museum Dar Essid. The former was so good we ran out of time so will have to return for the latter! The train fare is only 1 TND (0.50 AUD) per person each way.

The museum accommodates an array of Roman and other items. Most impressive are the mosaics, many of which are 2m by 2m in size.

Approaching the Sousse Archeological Museum entrance

Inside the museum

Roman mosaic

Roman mosaic of Neptune

Mosaic depicting four types of fishing

Roman mosaic

Large Roman mosaic of the Gorgon Medusa

4th Century Christian Baptism Font

Carthage

Most recently we did a day trip to Tunis to explore Carthage. We took the direct train from Monastir to Tunis departing at 0615. It's busy and a bit of a bone-shaker and with luck it gets you there at 0900.

Mahdia - Tunis Train

It took us about half an hour to find a taxi. Our driver spoke English and gave us a full tour of Carthage for 50 TND on the meter plus a tip. We visited Punic sites, Roman sites and the tourist town of Sidi Bou Said before finishing in central Tunis.

The amphitheatre in Carthage is much smaller and less well preserved than that at El Jem. Apparently here the Romans allowed the Christians to pray at a small shrine before leading them to the elevator.

Roman Amphitheatre

"Tunnel" under Roman Amphitheatre stage

Shrine where Christians were allowed to pray in the Amphitheatre

The main museum building in Carthage was closed for renovations but the site was open. There are Punic building remains, apparently not destroyed by the Romans since they're some distance from the main original city of Carthage.

Punic ruins overlooking modern Tunis

Punic ruins

Roman mosaic on the exterior wall of the Museum

We visited a reconstructed Roman amphitheatre which is still in use. In non-Covid times there are concerts here on most days.

Reconstructed Roman Amphitheatre

Next we visited a park holding Punic burial ruins and the Roman baths.

Punic burial site

View over the Roman Baths

Roman Baths

Lower level of the Roman Baths

The Roman Villas site in Carthage was very interesting. One can walk through this 'very posh suburb'. Some of the rooms and even the streets still have the original mosaics on the ground. The best preserved have been removed and we found some of them too.

Roman Villas

Street mosaics still intact today

Roman Mosaics in storage

A closer look

From the top of the Roman Villas site there is a good view of the Tunisian President's residence.

Tunisian President's Residence in Carthage

Our final Carthagian site was the Roman water reservoirs. Water was gravity fed from the mountains 100km away to Carthage. Stone aquaducts carried the water across valleys. The site includes the final aquaduct which fed water into a series of large covered reservoirs.

Roman Aquaduct

Cross-Section of Aquaduct

One of a large set of 9m * 5m *50m Reservoirs

Near Carthage is the North Africa American Cemetery. This impressive and well tended compound inters nearly 3000 WW2 American servicemen. Sobering.

US WW2 Cemetery

From Carthage we did a quick drive-through of Sidi Bou Said. This is a very pretty coastal town with all buildings painted white with blue trim.

Sidi Bou Said

On the way from Sidi Bou Said back to Tunis we passed the main mosque. Apparently it was originally named after the first Tunisian president but no longer. It's an impressive building.

Modern Mosque overlooking Tunis

In Tunis we had time for a very quick look around the city centre. The main boulevard seems to be modelled on the Champs Elysees in Paris. It is a wide cafe-lined boulevard with impressive buildings.

Cafe-lined Boulevard in Tunis

Tunis

From Tunis we took the train to Sousse. The last direct train to Monastir departs around noon so we had to return home in stages. The train to Sousse was not quite as crowded, less of a bone-shaker but even older than the morning train. All good fun nevertheless.

Tunis-Sousse train

Boat Work

Back in Monastir we've been gradually working through the boat to-do list...

Completed filling our diesel tanks
Serviced our four Andersen winches
Serviced our three galley and head foot pumps, one of which had a burst diaphram
Had a s/s plate manufactured and fitted it over the wooden outboard motor bracket
Replaced a failing LED strip light
Serviced our engine ignition switch which was corroding
Regularly 'burping' the PSS shaft seal which 'seizes in salt' in the salty 30C+ water
Regular engine runs to minimise growth on the propellor