Two Roman Sites and a SHOWER!

(with door!) What a concept!!

Hello from Tunis! We have made it safely back here to the lovely Hotel Belvedere Fourati, and there was even a parking space waiting for us out front! How nice was that?!

Up this morning early, about 4:30 am for me. I slept really well in our VERY warm room – the room came equipped with a wonderful wall mounted AC/heater unit that managed to heat up our very chilly room quite nicely! But added to that, with all the driving yesterday, I was ready for bed by 8 pm … so I did get a goodly number of hours in! First problem in the morning, though, was a lack of any sort of shower curtain/door or anything. I know that with RV’s, you can have a “wet” or a “dry” bath room – well, this one would certainly qualify as wet – and added to the fact that there was no hair dryer in sight, I opted against showering … as did R. So, up, dressed and up (2 flights of stairs) for breakfast at 7 am. (I had been asked the time we wanted breakfast and said 7 am; I’m sure it could have been later.) We took the two suitcases down with us, figuring we’d only have to make one more trip down with luggage, which worked out really well.

Really excellent breakfast! Good breads, cake, cookies, as well as other fruit on the table. Then we were presented with a very good and freshly made cheese crepe, with fresh cucumbers and tomatoes, which were excellent! All washed down with what I can only assume to be a Tang-tasting orange juice … remember the Astronauts?? Why, when there are so many oranges in Tunisia, have we yet to see O.J. on any of the breakfast menus? The ONLY O.J. we’ve had is on our first day, at the café at the Bardo Museum – and it was delicious!

We left the Dar Saida about 7:45 am, loaded up the car with all our “stuff” and headed out of El-Kef. R had to first get me turned around on the narrow street, as I was definitely headed in the wrong direction, but that accomplished, out we went! Our first stop was just a short distance away, a very nice and open Shell station! Unlike the other Shell station in El-Kef where we stopped yesterday, this one actually had gasoline for sale! The tank was almost half-empty and required 52 Dinars (approximately $17.64) to fill up and we were on our way!

Our first stop, about an hours’ drive away, was Bulla Regia. Bulla is amazing! It is best known for its unique and excellently preserved underground villas built during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. We have visited many, many Roman sites all over the former Roman Empire, but we’ve never seen anything like this!

Countryside around Bulla Regia

Reservoir in the distance

The provide storks with platforms, like Turkey!

Or sometimes the storks just use trees!

Olives on a tree in the parking lot!

While the site itself dates back to the 4^th C. BC, well before the Phoenicians arrived, the area was occupied by various tribal dynasties, including the Numidians, before being taken over and occupied by the Romans.

It turns out, that this area gets very hot in the summertime, and the rich Roman settlers in the area had their architects build downwards, digging into the soft rock below ground to keep cool!

Bulla Regia!

Lots of arches...

And Mosaics everywhere!

Beautiful shape with tiled bottom!

Temple of Isis

Amphitheatre

Bear Mosaic still in situ in the amphitheater

Our favorite house – the House of Hunting (named after the partial hunting scene mosaic) was simply incredible! It included some beautiful above-ground marble columns, and featured a separate double toilet and bathroom, as well as private baths. It also has an underground colonnaded courtyard that received an amazing amount of light, which was so surprising, as it was totally below ground! We were very impressed!

Looking down into the underground area

Surprised there was so much light!

And again, mosaics everywhere!

Hunting mosaic from the "New Hunting House"

The site also included (the usual) amphitheater that could accommodate 2,500 to 3,000 people, as well as a temple to the Goddess Isis – which is strange, seeing that this was a Roman site, but then maybe not so strange, as Tunisia is one country away from Egypt.

From Bulla Regia, we next headed to Dougga, again, about an hours’ drive away. (As R says, it’s not necessarily the pure distance that takes so long, it’s the fact that there are so many small towns to go through, each containing their own amount of speed bumps, which you have to take very slowly! Trust me on this one!)

Dougga is one of Tunisia’s eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is designated as the best-preserved Roman small town in North Africa and as such provides an exceptional picture of everyday life in Antiquity. I’m not sure how they can call it a “small town” as it occupies over 75 hectares, and is built on the side of a hill … all I can say is, those Romans are tough cookies! Ugh!! Slogging up some of those steps – wow! And walking on a Roman road is no joke.

Dougga site - 75 hectares

Beautiful Temple stands above everything!

Those Roman roads are not easy to walk on...

Small amphitheatre

The site has most likely been occupied as far back as the 6^th C. BC, and by the 2^nd C. BC was the well-developed capital of Numidian King Massina. The region came under nominal Roman control in 46 BC, it did not become fully Romanised for another 250 years. There were many outstanding features, but the Temple of Augustus Piety was just superb!

There were several tour groups there, although for most of the time we didn’t see anybody else, the site is that huge! We wandered a great deal – small amphitheater, public baths, private housing, the market area … it’s all there! Most of the things weren’t labeled, so we had to rely on the guidebook, but it was enjoyable to walk around … just have to watch your feet though, as those stones are REALLY difficult to walk on!

After Dougga, we decided we would head into Tunis and the hotel. It probably took about an hour and a half – maybe a bit longer, as of course, lots and lots of traffic coming into the city! Turns out there is a second motorway that comes in from the west, which worked out really well! I think it is Africa 2! At any rate, got to the hotel about 3 pm.

Our favorite room – 201 – wasn’t available tonight (it’s a lovely suite!) – so we’re in 302, which is a nice double room on the third floor, with a front view. Very comfortable, and we are definitely in for the night!

I am thinking we will pack up everything in the morning, and then when our room is ready, we will ask for the staff to move everything downstairs for us, so that when we get back from our exploring tomorrow, we can just go right there.

Our plan actually is to go out in the morning to Uthina and Thurbo Majus and then head back to the airport and drop the car and take a taxi back here. That way, on Wednesday morning, we can just get a cab to the airport for our flight, and not have to worry about the car. R pleased with the plan!

So! Downstairs to the restaurant on the first floor for dinner tonight!

More later!

xxx

Just back from dinner, and it was wonderful, as usual! Same menu, so this time, I had the shrimp “brick” – which was fabulous with the four-cheese ravioli! Great! R had their red lentil soup with their veal tenderloin with frites and veggies. He enjoyed it very much! Dessert this time (compliments of Ratief) was a HUGE glass of pomegranate seeds in honeywater … certainly not my favorite, but definitely R’s … so he finished mine! [Note from R: Pomegranates are depicted in some of the carvings from Mesopotamia from around 4000 BC. Been around a long time!]