El Jem - Tunisia

While in Tunisia we also went on a tour to El Jem, this town has some of the most amazing Roman ruins and mosaics, including the amphitheatre in which the film Gladiator was based.

The bus ride there was very good with the guide being very informative, telling us about Tunisian traditions, agriculture, education, employment, wildlife in fact anything that popped into his head as we travelled along the road. He would just see something as we went by and that would set him off, he was very good though. He also told us about the olive trees, just as our previous guide did, but stressed how important they are to Tunisian people, with many trees being family heirlooms passed down from one generation to another. 

Before we went to the amphitheatre we went to the museum which is built on the site of an old villa. The most interesting pieces in here were the mosaics which showed the goddess of Africa, these are the first mosaics of her that have been found. 

A lot of the museum is actually outside and is the original foundations and remains of the Roman town, showing a road and houses. 

On the short drive from the museum to the amphitheatre we passed many men who were wearing long brown or black woollen coats. We were told that these also are family heirlooms, being very expensive and are cared for from one generation to the next. 

Once in the amphitheatre we were shown and told about its many features and got a chance to explore. We saw all the tunnels and enclosures under the amphitheatre , which the animals,gladiators and other participants  involved in the games used. 

The building is quite safe to walk around so you can climb very high up to the cheap seats and also wander around the many tunnels under the ground. 

As you can see there is a great height to the building which allowed lots of seating for the large audiences they attracted. 

The photo below was taken from the posh seats were the senators and important people would have sat. As you can see it had an excellent view of the arena. The whiter seats on the right were also classed as posh seats! 

We had a good time exploring there but it was freezing. We only had our walking sandals on so our feet were like blocks of ice by the time we returned to the bus. The place is well worth a visit though and we would recommend this rather than  a visit to Carthage.