Jul

Discover El Jem in Tunisia

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This ancient Punic city, called Thysdrus that time, fought alongside the Roman Empire in the third Punic War (146 AD). A wise decision that granted the El Jem the status of free city after the fall of Carthage. Midway through the third century it became a Roman colony, and became one of the richest cities in Africa. Today, thanks to its historical and cultural tradition, its cuisine and its environment at night, El Jem is a tourist can satisfy the most demanding traveler. Once the traveler begins to discover more detail all its treasures, is when El Jem comes more evocative. From its terraces and tea can be enjoyed by the privileged environment to contemplate the social life of its people and to be infected by the relaxed pace of life within this gem situated in the Mediterranean.

There are many reasons to visit El Jem, including its Roman amphitheater. Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, is one of the most famous Roman monuments of Tunisia , and the main cultural attraction in the country. It occupies an emblematic place in the Mediterranean, so visiting it is like taking a trip back in time. Its impressive architecture of sandstone rises majestically between the lower city. With a capacity for 35,000 spectators, was built by the emperor of the gladiators and circus shows that competed with those of the Roman metropolis. Once inside, you can visit the dungeons and cells of the bottom, where beasts, slaves and gladiators waited for the moment of stepping on the sand. This is one of the last Roman amphitheatres constructed and one of the few who kept the pit of lions, still visible today, so it's easy to feel for a moment the grandeur of the place simply by imagining scenes that are there lived a few centuries . As the fourth largest coliseum, after Rome and Capua, as one of the best preserved amphitheatres in the world, its magnificence is a great picture and impressive, both for its strength and formidable dimensions, and to summarize all the evidence that the traveler may need to capture the scope and grandeur of Roman civilization in Africa.

The amphitheater has inspired many legends: for example, says that inside the coliseum is a hidden treasure. A couple of El Jem capable of killing a sheep and make the meat a good couscous and its a beautiful woolen carpet, you will find valuable treasure.

The Coliseum was not built the first amphitheater at El Jem. In front of the museum and on the other side of the tracks of the train, are the ruins of a coliseum earlier excavated a low hill. There is another cluster of Roman cities of great archaeological interest north of the Coliseum.

From mid July to August, the amphitheater of El Jem becomes a splendid scene lit to welcome the International Festival of Music Symphony of El Jem. The concerts are celebrated with candlelight and assume one of the most interesting cultural events in Tunisia. An unforgettable memory to the memory of the tourist.

Another of the attractions of El Jem is the manufacture of tiles. Just outside the city, one of the best preserved Roman villas in Tunisia, there is an ancient Roman house rebuilt to house the Museum of Mosaics. Located 1km south of the amphitheater, on the road to Sfax, this museum contains a collection of small but extremely beautiful mosaics, illustrating scenes from gladiators to abstract and stylized designs. Highlight a fabulous collection of scenes from the coliseum and a spectacular representation of Dionysus on the back of a tiger. All mosaics is in very good condition, and the visitor can evoke the past and relive the splendor of this season and people during the Roman Empire.

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