Part 53

Time permitting, we follow the Sidi-Daoud road to the N.W. from the castle-hill, cross the Goletta and La Marsa highroad, and reach (¼ hr.) the Roman =Amphitheatre=, which has been broken up only since the 16th cent., and which Edrisi, the geographer (1154), has described as one of almost matchless splendour. All that is left of it consists of a few remains of substructures deeply imbedded in rubbish, several underground passages, and in the centre of the arena (where a chapel with a cross recalls the martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas, p. 350) three underground chambers, probably for the machinery used in theatrical performances.

To the S., not far from Douar ech-Chott (p. 344), are a few vestiges of the Roman _Circus_. It measured 770 by 110 yds.; the Spina, or

## partition round which the racing chariots passed, was 380 yds. long.

Scarcely a hundred paces to the N.W. of the amphitheatre, near a farm-building, is a _Burial Ground of the Officiales_ (1st–2nd cent.), the imperial freedmen and slaves employed in the proconsul’s office (tabularium).—Beyond the amphitheatre the road passes a second _Burial Ground_ of the same kind on the right and the foundations of the _Villa of Scorpianus_ (identified by the inscription ‘Scorpianus in adamatu’) on the left.

To the W. of the highroad, 12 min. from the castle-hill, lies the dirty village of =La Malga= (82 ft.), which swarms with begging children. On the N.E. side of the village are scanty ruins of Roman _Thermae_. The CISTERNS in the middle of the village, 15 (originally 24) barrel-vaults now in a very ruinous condition and partly used by the natives as dwellings or stables, once formed the chief reservoir fed by the _Roman Aqueduct_ (pp. 329, 353, 358), begun under Hadrian in 117, but not completed till 163. The whole city was supplied thence by means of leaden pipes.

A _Roman Road_ leads almost in a straight line from La Malga, to the N.E., close past Damous el-Karita (p. 349) and past the Basilica Maiorum (p. 350), to the Arrêt de la Briqueterie (p. 344).

From La Malga we follow the road to the S.E., past the _Croix de St. Cyprien_, a memorial of the famous bishop (pp. 345, 346), along the course of the old ‘Conduit Souterrain’, to the =Abbey Hill= (171 ft.), often groundlessly called _Colline de Junon_, rising to the N.E. of the castle-hill. Here are situated the _Monastère du Carmel_, a Carmelite nunnery, and the _Petit Séminaire_, the original mission-house of the White Fathers, now an orphanage presided over by the Sœurs Missionnaires d’Afrique, a sisterhood also instituted by Card. Lavigerie. On the roadside, between these buildings, remains of _Roman Houses_ and _Cisterns_ have been excavated.

On the slope of the =Odeon Plateau= (181 ft.), the N.E. continuation of the abbey-hill, near the bridge of the electric tramway, and 3 min. to the left of the upper Carthage and Sidi Bou-Saïd road (p. 350), are relics of the _Roman Theatre_, including several rows of the seats of the cavea (p. 293) and parts of the stage-building. After the partial restoration of the theatre a grand performance took place here in 1908 and similar representations will be occasionally repeated.—A few paces to the S.W. of the stage we come to the foundations of a small Roman _Temple Circulaire_. To the N.E. of the theatre, on the S.E. slope of the plateau, are the more considerable remains of _Roman Houses_, but these have recently been threatened with demolition.

On the plateau itself, about a hundred paces above the theatre, in the midst of a _Punic Necropolis_ (3rd cent. B.C.), are relics of pavement and several underground passages marking the site of the _Odeon_, a roofed theatre (theatrum tectum) for concerts, built under the proconsul Vigellius Saturninus (about 212 A.D.). Both the theatre and the odeon are said to have been destroyed by the Vandals in 439.

Outside the old town-wall (p. 345), about 135 yds. to the N. of the Odeon, and 3 min. to the W. of station Ste. Monique (p. 344), lies an extensive early-Christian cemetery, in the centre of which lie the ruins of =Damous el-Karita= (domus caritatis?), a great basilica. This church, 71 by 49 yds., was built at different periods. The oldest basilica with its ten aisles (4th cent.) was orientated to the S.E., and the second, with eight aisles, probably of the Vandal period, was turned towards the S.W. A third building, again with ten aisles, evidenced by its reduced size the decline of Carthage in the Byzantine period, as it consisted only of the old transept converted into a nave and of the four N.W. aisles of the second basilica. Within the oldest nave, in the axis of the first choir-recess, a new apse was erected. The =⟙=-shaped building thus resulting, with its very short and many-aisled body, seems to have been the model on which Hassan ibn en-Nôman built the Kairwan mosque, as well as the source of much of its material (comp. pp. 374, 376).

Adjoining the basilica on the N.E. is a vast semicircular _Atrium_ (see p. 316), belonging to one of the two earlier churches, with remains of the fountain of purification and of a trefoil-shaped memorial-chapel (comp. p. 317) built into the colonnade. On the S.W. side of the basilica lie the foundations of a _Baptistery_ with an octagonal font.

On the outskirts of a small olive-grove, reached either across the fields from Damous el-Karita (in 8 min.) or to the W. from the Arrêt de la Briqueterie (2 min.; p. 344), is the =Basilica Maiorum=, excavated in 1907. In the Vandal period this was the church of the Arian bishop. In the Confessio (10½ by 10¼ ft.), according to an inscription, the martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas (d. 203; see also below and p. 348) were buried. In the contiguous early-Christian cemetery bishops’ tombs and a cistern have been discovered.

We conclude our visit with a glance at the ruins in the PLAIN by the sea.

On the slope of the Odeon plateau, between the two roads to Sidi Bou-Saïd, extends a large =Punic Necropolis= (_Nécropole de Douïmès_), containing many rock-tombs of the 7–5th centuries. Near it are remains of _Punic Pottery Kilns_ and the foundations of the _Basilica of Dermèche_, a Byzantine church with double aisles and traces of a baptistery with its octagonal font. A few paces to the N. we come to a _Roman Cistern_, 85 ft. deep, and vestiges of an _Early Christian Monastery_ (St. Stephen’s?).

Close by are the *=Cisterns of Bordj el-Djedid=, on a side-branch of the lower road, the largest in the ancient city after those of La Malga, whence they were supplied. They were restored in 1887 and utilized for the new waterworks of Tunis (p. 339). The building, once dreaded by the natives as the ‘devil’s cavern’ (Douames ech-Chiatinn), forms a rectangle of 147 by 44 yds., with seventeen parallel barrel-vaults of 33 by 8 yds., two filtering basins, and broad side-passages (keeper ½ fr.).

Close to the sea, a little to the S.E., perhaps on the site of the harbour of Kambe (p. 345), lie the shapeless ruins of the =Thermes d’Antonin=, or _Baths of Dermèche_, re-erected under Antoninus Pius about 145, once perhaps the largest at Carthage.

Between the baths and the ruinous Turkish fort _Bordj el-Djedid_ (49 ft.) lie the foundations of the superb _Roman Stairs_ (Escalier Monumental) which once ascended from the quay to the Platea Nova, one of the largest squares in Roman Carthage. Their marble blocks were used in the building of the cathedral in 1884.

An underground Roman building, with a flight of twenty-five steps, to the N.E. of the Bordj el-Djedid, formerly called Fanum Cereris, but now termed _Carcer Castrensis_, is said to have been the prison of the martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas (see above).—Near it is a _Roman Tower_ resembling a bastion, half in the sea.

On the new road from Bordj el-Djedid to station Ste. Monique (p. 344) is the ‘_Kubba Bent el-Re_‘, a number of underground chambers of unknown object, formerly called ‘Baths of Dido’.

A picturesque rock-path skirting the abrupt coast, besides the two roads named on p. 350, leads from Carthage to =Sidi Bou-Saïd=, about 2¼ M. from the Byrsa. This wealthy and highly picturesque village, almost entirely Mohammedan, with the bey’s summer residence, a fine beach for bathing, and the shrine of the local saint (much frequented on Fridays), lies at the E. end of _Cape Carthage_ or _Cartagena_ (423 ft.; Arabic _Râs Sluguia_), which has kept its Punic name throughout the ages. From the entrance to the village (station and cab-stand) we ascend straight to a small square with several Arab cafés, then by a path in steps to the left, again to the left, and lastly to the right, to the round lighthouse (_Phare_; ½–1 fr.). From the top we enjoy an exquisite *View, which is finest by morning light, of the site of Carthage, the whole of the bay stretching to Cape Farina (p. 129), and Lake Bahira with its mountain background.

From the lighthouse a beautiful path leads past the _Poste Optique_ and behind the vineyards of the _Archiepiscopal Palace_, to the Arrêt de la Corniche (p. 344) and (½ hr.) =La Marsa= (Hôt. de la Régence), a village in the fertile plain between Cape Carthage and Jebel Khaoui (see below), with many country-houses and a bathing beach (dangerous currents). About halfway between the two stations (p. 343) is the _Palais du Bey_, where the present prince (p. 323) usually resides. (Adm. to the stables only, containing the state-carriages; fee 1 fr.)

To the N.W. of La Marsa extends =Jebel Khaoui= or _Kraoui_ (345 ft.; ascent from La Marsa and back viâ Kamart ca. 2½ hrs.). On the top and the N. slope are many rock-tombs, remains of the _Jewish Necropolis_ of Roman Carthage. Fine view, to the S. to Tunis, and to the N.W. over the _Sebkha er-Riana_ to the Medjerda delta as far as Utica (p. 353). On the N. side of the hill, on the reddish _Cape Kamart_, lies the picturesque, palm-girt village of _Kamart_, with the ruined _Bordj Ben-Aïed_.

54. From Tunis to Bizerta.

61 M. RAILWAY. Express on Wed. only (back on Sat.), corresponding with the steamers of the Comp. Gén. Transatlantique (R. 21), in 2½, ordinary trains in 2½–3¾ hrs. (11 fr., 8 fr. 35, 5 fr. 90 c.).—The HIGH ROAD (37½ M.) is recommended in the cool season only, as the Medjerda flats are malarious.

From Tunis to (15 M.) _Djedeïda_, see p. 329. The train diverges here to the N. from the main line to Algeria.

19 M. _Chaouat_; 24 M. _Sidi-Athman_, near the _Garaa Mabtouha_, backed by the offshoots of _Jebel Kechbata_ (p. 354). We then run through hilly country, to the W., to (31 M.) _Aïn-Rhelal_.

40½ M. =Mateur= (Rail. Restaurant; Hôt. de France, etc.; pop. 5000, incl. 1600 Italians), a small town nearly 1 M. from the station, lies pleasantly on a hill beyond the influx of the _Oued Tine_ into the _Oued Jemine_ or _Joumine_, and is still enclosed by its old walls, built

## partly out of the ruins of the Roman _Oppidum Matarense_. It is the corn

and cattle market for the fertile _Plaines de Mateur_, which were densely peopled in ancient times, and for the Berber tribes of the _Bejaoua_ and _Mogod Mts._

A railway runs from Mateur viâ (17 M.) _Jefna_, in the Nefza Mts., to _Djebel-Abiod_ (p. 328), whence it is being extended to _Tabarca_ (p. 327).—Another line connects Mateur with _Béja_ (p. 328).

The train crosses the plain, to the N., towards the _Garaet Ichkeul_ or _Achkel_, the _Sisara Lacus_ of the ancients, a freshwater-lake abounding in fish, but very shallow and rapidly filling up. On the S. side is a marshy tract where within the last few decades a large herd of half-wild Italian buffaloes has sprung up. Above it towers _Jebel Ichkeul_ (1667 ft.), noted for its marble, the chief landmark of the bay of Bizerta.

50 M. _Oued-Tindja_ (Hôt. de la Gare) lies on the strip of land, barely 2 M. broad, between Lake Ichkeul and the =Lac de Bizerte= (Arabic _Garaet Tindja_). The latter, the ancient _Lacus Hipponensis_, ca. 30,000 acres in area and 40 ft. deep at places, is now the chief French naval harbour on the Mediterranean next to Toulon.

A strategic railway and a road (omn. 20 c.) lead to the E. from Oued-Tindja to (2 M.) =Ferryville= (Hôt. de l’Amirauté; Hôt. de l’Arsenal; pop. 3000, largely Italian dock-labourers), the youngest town in Tunisia, named after Jules Ferry (p. 333), and to (2¾ M.) the small bay of _Sidi-Abdallah_, on which, 9½ M. from the open sea, a _Naval Arsenal_, with five large dry-docks, was built in 1899–1908.

The train crosses the _Oued Tindja_, the sinuous effluent of Lake Ichkeul, and rounds the marshy W. bank of Lake Bizerta. 55½ M. _Sidi-Ahmed_, opposite _Djezira el-Kebira_, the largest island in the lake.

59 M. _La Pêcherie_, on the _Goulet_, a narrow arm of the sea to the N., which, with the new harbour-canal (p. 353), connects the dockyard with the open sea. On the small _Baie Ponty_, now used as a torpedo-boat station, rise the _Arsenal de la Défense-Mobile_ and the handsome _Amirauté_.

A road leads to the S. from the station through olive-woods to (½ M.) the =Barrage des Pêcheries=, two fish-dams about 1000 yds. long, adjoining the S.W. end of the Goulet (here 55 yds. across), where the fish descending from the lakes to spawn in the sea are caught in great numbers. The yield, a few years ago ca. 580 tons, but now much reduced, is sent to Tunis and Marseilles.

We pass the _Baie de Sebra_, the inner harbour of Bizerta, as yet little used, and the _Artillery Arsenal_, intersect the new S. wall of the town and the garden-suburb of _Bijouville_, and reach the station of (61 M.) _Bizerta_, on the harbour-canal.

=Bizerta.=—_Railway Restaurant._—HOTELS (comp. p. 324). *_Grand-Hotel_, Place d’Europe, in an open site near the station, R. 3–6, B. 1, déj. 3, D. 3½, pens. 10–12, omn. ½ fr.; _Hôt. de la Paix_, _Hôt. de France_, etc.—CAB. Drive 30, for 3 pers. 40, with pair 50 c.; hour 1–1¼ or 1½–2 fr.; ½ day (6 hrs.) 4, 5, or 7 fr.; whole day (12 hrs.) 6, 7, 12, or 14 fr.

BRITISH VICE-CONSUL, _Hon. T. Bourke_, Rue de Provence.

_Bizerta_, Fr. _Bizerte_, Arabic _Bent-Zert_ (pop. 17,300, of whom 9500 are Moslems, 5100 Italians and Maltese), a town strongly garrisoned with 7000 men, the ancient _Hippo Diarrhytus_ (_Zarytus_), was one of the earliest Phœnician settlements on the Tunisian coast. It lies on the W. shore of the _Bay of Bizerta_, between a range of hills on the N.W., culminating in _Jebel Kebir_ (900 ft.), and a strip of land (once bounding the Bizerta Lake, and also fortified), to the S.E., beyond the harbour-canal.

The old town, to which many Moors flocked after the fall of Granada (p. 75), and which was occupied for a short time by Charles V. on his way back from Tunis in 1535 (p. 323) and was to a great extent destroyed by a Venetian fleet in 1785, rises on the hill-side between the ruined _Kasba_ and the _Fort d’Espagne_, both originally built by the Spaniards. The _Old Harbour_, unimportant in ancient times, became in the 16th cent. a favourite haunt of pirates, but is now used by fishing-boats only. Of the _Old Harbour Canal_, completely choked up with the mud of centuries, the mouth alone now exists. The new town, with its busy market (Tues. and Thurs.), is still in embryo.

The _Avant-Port_, 215 acres in area, constructed by the Compagnie du Port de Bizerte in 1890–5, is sheltered by two piers, the Jetée du Nord (1337 yds. long) and the Jetée du Sud (1041 yds.), and by a new mole or breakwater (670 yds.). The commercial harbour consists of the _New Harbour Canal_, 1 M. long, 263 yds. broad, and 33 ft. deep, the entrance to the Goulet (p. 352), and also of the Baie de Sebra (p. 352). Two steam-ferries (bacs à vapeur; passage free) cross to the N.E. bank of the canal, where there are large coal-stores near the village of _Zarzouna_.

The HIGH ROAD FROM TUNIS TO (37½ M.) BIZERTA diverges to the N., between the Bardo (p. 339) and Kassar-Saïd (p. 342), from the road connecting Tebourba with Medjez el-Bab (p. 328), intersects the Roman *Aqueduct of Carthage (p. 348), which was here restored in the 16th cent., and ascends through olive-woods to the saddle (269 ft.) between the hills of Ariana (p. 338), on the right, and _Jebel Ahmar_ (1060 ft.), on the left.

10 M. _La Sebala_ lies on the S. edge of the marshy Medjerda delta (p. 129), now called _Sebala_. 16 M. _Fondouk el-Kantara_, a caravanserai on the right bank of the Medjerda, near the old seven-arched bridge.

Just beyond (19½ M.) _Oued Cherchara_ a road branches off, to the N.E., past the spurs of _Jebel Menzel Roul_ (541 ft.), once a cape, to (2 M.) the ruins of =Utica=, the earliest Phœnician settlement in this region. Before the rise of Carthage it was the richest trading town in Barbary, and from 146 to 29 B.C. it was the capital of the province of Africa and seat of the Roman proconsul. It was here that the younger Cato committed suicide (46 B.C.) on the overthrow of Pompey’s party in the civil war against Cæsar. The harbour, entirely silted up since the middle of the 3rd cent., lay between the cape and a small island off the coast. The sea is now 5½ M., and the mouth of the Medjerda, near the Porto-Farina lagoon (p. 354), is nearly 10 M. distant. The Roman town was destroyed by Hassan ibn en-Nôman (p. 322) in 698, at the same time as Carthage. The ruins, now called _Henchir Bou-Chateur_, consist chiefly of the aqueduct and cisterns, a theatre, a vast amphitheatre, and large thermæ.

Beyond Jebel Menzel Roul the Bizerta road traverses a desolate plain, strewn with Roman ruins. On the S.E. side of _Jebel Kechbata_ (1370 ft.), and also in the marshy plain beyond it, roads diverge to the right (one 12½, the other 15 M.) to =Porto-Farina= (pop. 1400, incl. 320 Europeans, mostly Maltese), the _Ruscinona_ of antiquity, a notorious pirates’ harbour in the Turkish period. In 1665 it was destroyed by an English fleet, but it was restored and fortified by Ahmed Bey (1837–55). Potatoes are largely cultivated in the neighbourhood. The _Lac de Porto-Farina_, on the S. side of _Jebel Nadour_ (883 ft.), once abounding in fish, has been filled up by the deposits of the Medjerda since the middle of last century.

Beyond the dunes of _Aïn Bou-Ras_, where the new water-conduit of Bizerta, 8½ M. long, has its source, our road runs close to the lake of Bizerta, passes (34½ M.) _Menzel Djemil_, and ends on the old neck of land on the harbour-canal of (37½ M.) _Bizerta_ (see p. 353).

55. From Tunis to Dougga (_Le Kef_).

Excursionists to Dougga usually start from the station of _Medjez el-Bab_ (Hôt. des Colons; p. 328), 41 M. by train from the S. Station at Tunis (in 1¼–2½ hrs.; fares 7 fr. 40, 5 fr. 60, 3 fr. 95, return 10 fr. 35, 7 fr. 85, 5 fr. 55 c.). Thence by motor-omnibus (starting every morning; 5 fr.) to Dougga direct. Or we may take a carriage (30 fr.; ordered in advance at the Hôt. des Colons) or the diligence (6 hrs.; 2½ fr.) from Medjez el-Bab to (28 M.) _Teboursouk_, whence we go on to (3¾ M.) Dougga by carr. (5–6 fr.) or on mule-back (3–4 fr.).—The journey may be made also from the station of _Pont-de-Trajan_ (p. 327; 66½ M. by railway in 2¾–4 hrs.; fares 12 fr., 9 fr. 10, 6 fr. 40 c.); ride thence (mule being ordered beforehand at Béja, p. 328) viâ _Henchir Maâtria_ to (17½ M.) Teboursouk; or from the station of _Gaffour_ (p. 360; 75 M. in 4½–5½ hrs.; fares 13 fr. 55, 10 fr. 30, 7 fr. 25 c.); ride thence across _Jebel Sidi Abdallah Ben-Cheid_ to (19 M.) Teboursouk.

The excursion from Tunis to Dougga and back, in one day, is far more easily made by motor-car (p. 330). Motoring parties are occasionally formed at the tourist offices (p. 331).

From Tunis to (41 M.) _Medjez el-Bab_ by railway, see pp. 329, 328.—The two roads from Tunis to Medjez el-Bab, one direct (35½ M.) viâ _Bordj el-Amri_, the other, passing the station and running viâ _Djedeïda_ and _Tebourba_ (p. 329), unite on the left bank of the Medjerda, near the bridge (p. 328).

Our road leads from Medjez el-Bab in the same direction as the Roman road from Carthage to Tebessa (see p. 328), to the S.W., generally a little apart from the Medjerda, past a good many Roman ruins. 9 M. _Slouguia_ (299 ft.; the ancient _Chidibbia_), a village with a slender minaret, lies on a hill on the right bank.

The road then leads through olive-woods and vineyards to (12 M.) =Testour=, on the site of the Roman _Tichilla_, now a little town of 3500 inhab., mostly descendants of Andalusian Moors, with thriving potteries and a large Friday market.

We cross the _Oued Siliana_, not far from its influx into the Medjerda, and then ascend in long windings above the valley of the _Oued Khalled_, a tributary of the Medjerda.

18 M. _Aïn-Tounga_ (821 ft.; no inn), on the N. slope of _Jebel Tounga_ (1575 ft.), the site of the small Roman town of _Thignica_, has the ruins of two triumphal arches, a temple of =Mercury= (170 A.D.), and a Byzantine fortress.

We descend, in sight of Teboursouk and the distant capitol of Dougga, into the valley of the Oued Khalled. We pass through many side-valleys, cross the river, and then ascend a branch of the road to the right, soon joining the Gaffour road (p. 360).

28 M. =Teboursouk= (1378 ft.; Hôt. International, R. 3½) B. ½, déj. 3, D. 3½, pens. 10 fr., quite good, but charges should be agreed upon beforehand; Hôt. de la Poste, humble; pop. 3000, (incl. 300 Europeans) has a fine open site on the olive-clad slope of _Kef Teboursouk_, high above the valley of the _Oued Zebbès_. Into the walls of the narrow and picturesque streets are built many fragments from the ruins of the once considerable town of _Thubursicum Bure_. We note also the _Byzantine Fortress_ (with remains of a Roman triumphal arch in its N. wall) and the _Neo-Punic Burial Ground_, to the S.W. of the town. A superb distant view is obtained at the ruined tower at the upper end of the town.

The rough, hilly road from _Pont-de-Trajan_ (p. 327) to Teboursouk leads through the rugged hill-region to the S. of the Medjerda, and passes (12½ M.) _Henchir Maâtria_, the ruins of the small Roman town of _Numluli_ or _Numiulis_ (foundations of the capitol of 170 A.D., early-Christian chapel in quatrefoil form with four apses, and Byzantine fort). It ends at the N. gate of (17½ M.) _Teboursouk_.

The ROAD TO DOUGGA, 3¾ M. from Teboursouk, leaves the Le Kef road (p. 357) after ½ M. and ascends to the S.W. over a plateau thinly overgrown with scrub.