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In
Tunisia, the Aura of Carthage and Hannibal Lives
On by Habeeb Salloum Standing
atop Mount Byrsa, the acropolis of both Punic
and Roman Carthage, I surveyed the panorama of
the modern spread-out urban centre covering the
historic ruins which, without doubt, form an
important part of the heritage of humankind.
After having a short time before explored the
few Punic, also known as Phoenician or
Carthaginian, and Roman remains, so far
uncovered, it was easy to fantasize about the
Punic/Roman wars and their most renowned hero,
Hannibal - one of the greatest army commanders
in the ancient world and Carthage's most
illustrious son. Among its once splendid villas
and richly adorned temples, he must have
strolled, planning his battles with mighty Rome.
Leading his 59,000 men and 40 elephants over the
Alps in an epic march, he kept Rome for years
under the threat of his troops. Even though he
won many battles, he was never able to occupy
that city. Eventually, he had to return to
defend Carthage. At the Battle of Zama near
Carthage, his army was defeated in 202 B.C. and
he fled to Asia Minor where, rather than be
captured by the Romans, he committed
suicide. Today,
Hannibal and his city, of which only traces
remain, are remembered by modern day Tunisians
with pride. Ancient Carthage, once the richest
city in the world, is marketed by Tunisian
Tourism as a 'storehouse of history'. Throughout
the country, hotels and businesses carry the
name of its courageous Carthaginian leader and
his city. Modern Tunisia owes a great deal to
Hannibal in the building of its national
character. His city might be no more, but its
memory remains. Yet,
only a century later, the Romans built atop the
Phoenician ruins, New Carthage and made it the
capital of their African province. It quickly
grew until it became a cultured and cosmopolitan
urban centre with a large university and the
second largest city in the empire. Subsequently,
Christians - Saint Augustine was born here -
Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs and Turks took over
the city as it gradually declined. According to
Edward Gibbon, at the beginning of the 16th
century Carthage had only a mosque, a college
without students, some thirty shops and five
hundred ignorant peasants. French
Influence After
the French occupation, his supposed bones were
taken back to France. Atop his burial spot, the
Catholic Carmelite Order decided to carry on his
Crusade to Christianize North Africa. They built
the cathedral as a base for this modern Crusade.
Yet, it all came to naught. The
French left in the 1950s and today the cathedral
is an empty historic structure, edged by
remnants of a Punic neighbourhood. Beside it
stands a museum where archaeological finds from
Carthage's past are exhibited, relating to three
major periods in Carthage's history -
Phoenicio-Punic, Romano-African and
Arab-Islamic. The wide range of objects from
ceramics, mosaics, inscriptions and pottery to
sarcophagi, sculptures, and stelae reflect the
particular nature of each age. The
museum only houses a minuscule part of the
remnants of ancient Carthage. A modern
sparkling-white town dotted with pine trees and
mimosa cover most of the ruins of the Punic and
Roman city. Only here and there have parts of
the historic metropolis been
uncovered. Of
these, the most famous are the remains of the
Antonine [Antoine] Thermal Baths,
covering 3 1/2 ha ( 8.6 ac). The third largest
and the most imposing in the Roman Empire, they
were completed in 162 A.D. after 12 years of
work by thousands of slave laborers. A large
drawing on a plaque of the baths in their days
of glory and a re-erected granite column 15 m
(49 ft) high, topped by a white capital give
visitors an idea of the luxury and the immense
size of the baths. Even the little that remains
is quite impressive. The
2nd century Roman theatre was one of the largest
in the empire, but through the centuries it was
almost totally razed to the ground. At the
beginning of the 20th century, it was partially
reconstructed. Today, it retains little from its
past, yet, as it did in Roman times, it still
draws visitors, providing an attractive setting
in July and August for the International
Festival of Music, Singing and
Dancing. On the
Odeon plateau, facing Byrsa's twin hill, there
is an entire quarter of Roman villas, a number
partially excavated - the most notable being
called 'Villa de la Volière'. It is
positioned around a courtyard colonnade and from
its terrace there is a marvelous view of the
sea. As to
Punic Carthage, the Magon Quarter near Antonie
Thermal Baths was originally Phoenician but
rebuilt by the Romans. The Punic Quarter, edging
the cathedral is largely preserved because the
Romans used the site as a dumping ground during
their building of New Carthage. Dating from the
3rd and 2nd centuries B.C., excavation has
revealed a collection of carefully built and
laid-out houses on a regular grid system. These
were endowed in their time with all the
conveniences and comforts of that age which
included plastered walls, sewers, tiled floors
and water tanks. In the ensuing centuries, the
Romans inherited these Punic building features
and they came down to us as a legacy of
Rome. Opposite
the Roman theatre stands the tophet - a Punic
cemetery, appearing like a shrub-filled elegant
garden. In it, a Punic crematorium and many
small stone coffins with carvings of children on
their face have been unearthed. Guides point to
these as indication of child sacrifice. Yet, it
has never been proven that the Carthaginians
practiced this form of offering to the gods.
Only the Romans, Carthage's mortal enemies, have
accused them of this cruel practice. As I
wandered through Carthage's scattered ruins, I
thought of how our world would be today if
Hannibal had occupied Rome. No doubt, instead of
the Roman gods, the Phoenician god Baal-Hammon
and the goddess Tanit would have been the
supreme beings of the pre-Christian
Mediterranean lands. Who knows what would have
come thereafter. Yet, was Carthage truly
destroyed? Even though the Romans erased the
Punic city from the face of the earth, its
renown is imprinted on the soul of modern day
Tunisia. How To
Get There: Carthage
is only a suburb of Tunis - tramway costs less
than $1. and taxis about $5. Facts
About Tunisia: 1) To
enter Tunisia, no visas are necessary for
travellers from western Europe, Japan, the
U.S.A. and Canada. 2) It
is best to travel to southern Tunisia in spring
or autumn. In summer it is very hot. 3) The
currency used in Tunisia is the dinar - one US
dollar is worth1.25 dinars. Tunisia is one of
the few countries in the world where hotels give
a better exchange rate than the
banks. 4) In
all of Tunisia, taxis are metered and very
reasonable; buses and shared taxis (louages)
connect all towns and villages; tour companies
offer excursions; autos can be rented - small
ones for about $60. per day, fully
insured. 5)
Hotels in Tunisia are very reasonably priced.
However, it is to best book through a tour
company. They can offer even better
prices. 6) Try
Tunisian food. It's very tasty. Four of the best
dishes are: couscous - prepared in seemingly
hundreds of different ways - from sweet to very
hot; briq - a thin pastry which comes with a
variety of fillings, but always includes an egg;
chakchouka - a ratatouille which is offered in
many types; and spaghetti cooked Tunisian style
- for me the epitome of Spaghetti
dishes. 7)
There is less crime in Tunisia than in western
Europe or North America, but beware of pick-
pocketers, especially in crowded trains, buses
and souks. 8)
When taking tours, make sure the guide speaks
English. If you do not ask, French will be the
language spoken. 9)
Tunisia is the most sophisticated, relaxed and
tolerant state in North Africa. Women travellers
are very safe when travelling alone. 10)
With the exception of its capital, Tunis,
Tunisia is geared up for tourism. The most
up-to-date touristic facilities are found in all
its resorts. Note:
All prices quoted are in US dollars. For
Further Information, Contact: Tunisia
National Tourist Office, 1253 Ave. McGill
College, Suite 655, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3B
2Y5. Tel:514/397-1182/0403. Fax: 514/397-1647.
E-mail: tunisinfo@qc.aira.com or
Tunisian Tourism Office, 1515 Massachusetts
Avenue N.W.,Washington, DC 20005 Tel : (202)
466-2546. Fax : (202) 466-2553. or Web:
www.tunisiaonline.com and
www.tourismtunisia.com Habeeb
Salloum kk |
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...................
Carthage,
derived from the Phoenician Kart Hadascht (new
village), was established in 814 B.C. by the
Phoenician princess, Elissa-Dido, who had fled
Tyre, in present day Lebanon, to escape the
wrath of her brother Pygmalion. In the ensuing
centuries her descendants created a navy which
ruled the seas, guarding Carthage and its empire
until, in 146 B.C., the city was destroyed by
the Romans and their Berber allies. They razed
it to the ground and scattered salt on the ruins
to ensure that it would rise again. Roman
historians gleefully describe how thoroughly
they demolished the city. During the razing, its
libraries were burned, hence, all we know of
Carthage was written by her
conquerors.