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El Jem
Towering above the town of El Jam is a Roman coliseum to rival the
one in Rome.
It is not entirely clear why the Romans would have built a coliseum
in that area as it is inland (in the middle of nowhere), the soil wasn't
great for farming, and there was poor supply of water. |
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The structure is remarkably well preserved with roughly half the
structure standing at full height. Steps can be followed to the top.
The inside of the coliseum would have been covered in seating, although
the arch and rubble structure that held the seating has mostly fallen
down.
A model of the coliseum shows a roof apparently made from wood and
cloth giving the coliseum the look of a modern stadium. |
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Seating has been sensitively reconstructed on one side of the coliseum,
the new construction not visible from outside. |
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The south of El Jem contains the excavated remains of Roman merchant
houses, together with a museum housed in two houses that have been rebuilt.
The mosaics are very well preserved, and mosaics from El Jem can be
seem in museums around Tunisia. |
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El Jem has a second coliseum! This earlier structure was formed by
digging a large hole for the center and piling the earth on the sides
to reduce the amount of stone needed to complete the structure.
It's across the road from the museum (above) and you can walk up the
train line back to the station from there. |
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We took the train from Monastir to El Jem.
On the way back the train was full and we stood in the area between
the carriages. The train had automatic doors to the outside and one
of these doors had failed to close. It was a wonderful feeling to sit
beside the open door, enjoying the sunshine, the excellent view, and
the cool breeze as the train rattled along.
It's refreshing to see the approach to safety. In the UK responsibility
is taken so far away from the individual. There are no fences beside
the railway, but the trains drivers are very good at hooting |
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Monastir
The main attractions in Monastir are a Ribat (fort) built in the 9th
Centuary. Part of the Montey Python film "Life of Brian" was
filmed at the fort (The Biggus Dickus scene). The fort houses a museum
of Roman remains.
Monastir has a number of coffee shops, but fewer resturants. The town
dies at about 7:00, with even taxis becoming something of a rarity.
It was cold, windy and deserted when we left the resturant. A couple
of kids on a moped asked us for a cigarette, and we offered to give
them one of they found us a taxi. The moped belted down the road weaving
around shouting at the taxi. |
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The town contains two hotels- a plush one near the harbour and another
on the beach. We drank at the hotel on the beach and do hope they get
around to cleaning the toilets before high season.
We had a pleasant meal at the resturant in the medina, but we heard
a lot of good reports about the Pirates resturant by the harbour which
generous seafood meals. |
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The first president is interred in a mausoleum in Monastir (together
with his family). It appeared closed when we visited, but the side entrance
turned out to be open. For a few dinar the curators will unlock the
doors to the burial chamber and gallery and act as guides. |
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This Medina is much like others in the area - The shops are crouded
with goods and shop keepers wait by the enterance - much like spiders
awaiting their prey.
No medina price is fixed. The asking price depends on how gullable
the customer looks, and the selling price after bartering will normally
be anywhere between 1/5 and 1/2 of the starting price. lots of shops
sell the same products so it pays not to buy at the first. |