Roman Central Tunisia

Some of Tunisia’s finest Roman ruins are found in the central part of the country. They are best reached from either Kairouan, Sousse or Tunis.

El Djem (ancient Thysdrus) means ‘the place where the lions hide’ in Arabic, a distant memory of the games once held in the city’s amphitheatre. It is a magnificent structure in a better state of preservation than the Coliseum in Rome. El Djem’s amphitheatre once held 30,000 spectators, with huge outer walls rising to three storeys. Below ground, the visitor can walk through the tunnels and dungeons that once housed wild animals, gladiators and criminals before being delivered into the arena. El Djem’s museum houses a collection of mosaics that is second only to the Bardo.

Sbeitla (ancient Sufetula) was founded in the 2nd century AD and is located in the Tunisian pre-desert. The city’s substantial remains are built from a beautiful honey-coloured stone and include instantly recognisable views in the country: that of three well-preserved Capitoline temples facing a Triumphal Arch of Marcus Aurelius.

Thuburbo Majus is situated amongst a beautiful rural landscape and probably originated as a Berber settlement. The town flourished as a market centre and provides an excellent example of a typical African provincial city. Thuburbo Majus’ principal monuments date from the 2nd century AD when the town was given the privileged title of Colony by the emperor Commodus.

A Numidian king founded Maktar (ancient Mactaris) in the 2nd century BC in a spectacular mountaintop location. The impressive ruins include a fine rectangular Forum on the south side of the remarkably well-preserved Arch of Trajan, the attractive ruined Schola, and a Libyco-Punic Mausoleum in the form of an obelisk.