|
IN
TUNISIA, THE AURA OF CARTHAGE AND HANNIBAL STILL
LIVE 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.
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.
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.
By
the 19th century, little of the city still stood.
It almost became a ghost town after its stones had
been pillaged as building materials for other
towns. When the French occupied Tunisia in 1881,
they built a massive cathedral on the summit of
Mount Byrsa - known to its new conquerors as the
hill of Saint Louis. It was named after the
Crusader King Louis IX who was killed trying to
conquer Tunisia and was believed to have been
buried here.
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.
IF
YOU GO
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
DJERBA -
TUNISIA'S ISLE OF
FORGETFULNESS
Photos and
story by Habeeb Salloum
No
different from Ulysses, who some authors have
described as Djerba's first tourist, a traveler
will find the people of this Tunisian isle friendly
and hospitable. From the first day of a visit, the
delightful charms of Djerba (also spelled Jerba)
will hold most travelers spellbound.
Why this island,
which travelers have labeled, 'Isle of
Forgetfulness', holds visitors under its spell, is
virtually unexplainable. A great many attribute it
to its magic halo - a combination of a clear-blue
sky, shining white houses, clean and well-kept
towns, tree-covered countryside and warm, yet not
too hot climate. Whatever the case, a good number
of travelers go into raptures when describing this
island - made famous by Ulysses.
Photo:
Villas amongst the palms, Djerba
According to Greek
mythology, Djerba was the home of the seductive
lotus eaters. In Homer's Odyssey, Ulysses almost
lost his men when the beautiful maidens of the
island fed them the lotus flower. The men were so
pleasantly intoxicated by the lotus that Ulysses
found it almost impossible to make them return to
their ships.
Yet, even if this
story is only a fable, Djerba has, for many
centuries, enraptured travelers who have been lucky
enough to land on its shores. A veritable floating
garden, rising from the sea like a mirage, the
island's spell of forgetfulness which supposedly
entrapped visitors in ancient times, has not faded
with the passing centuries. It is said that Djerba
is a land of dreams, created by nature to enchant
the imagination of the human soul.
In Djerba's
Phoenician and Roman periods, the island and its
principal town were known by the Phoenician name of
Meninx whose ruins are to be found near the 6 km (4
mi) Phoenician based Roman causeway, which joins
the island to the mainland. After the Muslim
conquest, Djerba became the haven for an Islamic
sect, known as Kharidjite, which today, in its
present form, only exists on this
island.
During the Middle
Ages, the inhabitants withstood the most powerful
and ruthless rulers of Mediterranean Europe. From
the 12th to the 16th centuries, the people of this
Isle of forgetfulness fought almost continuously,
usually against the Spaniards, but at times against
the united kings of Christendom.
Djerba is a 614 sq
km (238 sq mi) flat island situated off the
southern coast of Tunisia, not far from the Libyan
border. It is joined to the mainland with a 6 km
(3.6 mi) causeway built on a Roman foundation. More
than 145,000 inhabitants, mostly of Berber origin,
live on this isle of mythology. Its 133 km (83 mi)
shoreline abounds with sandy-white beaches, gently
lapped by the warm-azure waters of the
Mediterranean
Covered with trees
and flowers, the island is in reality one huge
oasis covered with more than 1,000,000 date palms
and 700,000 olive trees, some over 3000 years old.
In between, small fields of apricots, carobs, figs,
grapes, grenadines, lemons, mandarins, oranges and
pomegranates cover almost every empty space. Only
travelers dreaming of Djerba's mythology are
usually disappointed, nowhere is the fabled lotus
fruit to be found.
Here and there
amid these fields, watered from some 2700 wells,
are the breathtaking white, small villages and
isolated homes. The striking white houses, known as
menzels, and their architecture, unique to the
island, appear like white jewels, sprinkled between
the greenery. Their rounded domes and bright snowy
color, embellished by sky-blue wrought iron
trimmings, sparkle in the sunlight and give the
buildings an appealing charm. Inside, there are
clean courtyards filled with trees and flowers. Set
amid these fairy tale buildings are to be found the
some eye-catching 200 small mosques - many of the
older ones built as fortresses to ward off
invaders.
Houmt-Souk, which
means market center, with a population of 45,000,
is the capital of the island and one of the most
picturesque urban centers in Tunisia. It is a
well-kept bright town centered around the souk
area, overflowing with handicraft products.
Traditional clothing, blankets woven since the time
of Hannibal, beautifully wrought gold and silver
jewelry, leather goods, straw mats and beautiful
pottery saturate the markets.
In town, two of
the most important usual stopovers for visitors are
the Museum of Folklore and Popular Art, displaying
traditional costumes and jewelry; and the historic
fortress of Borj el-Kebir, a 15th century Arab
citadel. Interesting to many tourists is the plaque
nearby marking the spot where once 5000 skulls of a
Spanish defeat were once piled pyramid
style.
Even though
overpowered by Houmt-Souk, each of the other tiny
towns on the island, is noted for some specialty in
its artisan's handiwork or is a place of historic
importance. Ajim, from where a ferry can be taken
to the mainland, is a sponge fishing town; El- May
has a colorful market; Fatou produces fine
hand-woven baskets and rush mats; Guellala has been
the center for the hand manufacture of exquisite
ceramics and pottery since the time King Midas; La
Ghriba is noted for its synagogue and adjoining
monastery whose foundations were laid in 584 B.C.;
Mahboubine is famous for its backyard gardens;
Midoun is celebrated for its Gougou dancers; and
Sedouikech is well-known for its handmade camel
muzzles, fishing baskets and straw hats.
Enhancing these
and other villages, are Djerba's annual 300 days of
sunshine and warm blue waters with their cooling
breezes, edged glittering sands, embellished by the
many attractive and comfortable modern hotels with
the most up-to-date tourist facilities. Without
disturbing the calm and peace, 125 of these
eye-catching tourist palaces - the largest Dar
Djerba with 2,500 beds - built in traditional
menzel style, fit neatly into the palm-saturated
landscape. Nature and the edifices built by man
have merged together to strengthen the island's
magic spell.
These attractive
and comfortable hotels, hospitable and friendly
people with a slow-moving lifestyle, breathtaking
countryside, mild winters, cool summers and
tantalizing sea, make Djerba one of Tunisia's most
popular tourist spots. Located on Europe's
doorsteps, the island which some call the 'Little
Mediterranean Polynesia' has since the time of
Ulysses been drawing travelers. Annually, it hosts
some 600,000 visitors - 50% of these
Germans.
With the softness
of its sweet-serene air, perfumed with the flowers
of the many fruit trees, overshadowed by clear blue
sky and ringed by golden sands, this paradise isle
entraps even the most skeptical visitor. Our guide
had a point when he remarked as we climbed the
ferry at Ajim for the mainland, "I always think of
Djerba as Tunisia's isle of
forgetfulness."
IF YOU
GO
How To Get
There:
There are good bus
connections between Djerba and all the large urban
centers in Tunisia. Djerba also, has an airport
through which most of the tourists are processed
and has good connections to the city of Tunis and
some centers in Europe. When driving, to reach the
island, cross from the mainland on the causeway or
take a ferry
Facts About Djerba
and Tunisia:
1) To enter
Tunisia, no visas are necessary for travelers from
Western Europe, Japan, U.S.A. and
Canada.
2) It is best to
travel to Djerba in spring or autumn. In summer,
the island teems with tourists.
3) The currency
used in Tunisia is the dinar - one US dollar is
worth1.25 dinar. Tunisia is one of the few
countries in the world where hotels give a better
exchange rate than the banks.
4) To tour the
island, 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 75
dinars per day, fully insured; tour companies offer
excursions; but the best way to relish Djerba's
atmosphere is to hire a bicycle - the island is
flat and very easy to navigate.
5) Hotels on the
island are very reasonably priced. However, it is
best to book through a tour company. They can offer
even better prices. A good hotel to stay in on
Djerba is Hotel Melia Djerba Menzel - cost for
double room from $30. - $68., depending on
season.
6) Try Tunisian
food. It's very tasty. Three 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. Also, Djerba is noted
for its fresh seafood dishes. One will not be
disappointed when dining on these fruits of the
sea.
7) There is less
crime in Tunisia than in Western Europe or North
America, but beware of pick- pockets, 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 travelers are very safe when
traveling 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:
Tunisian National
Tourist Office
1515 Massachusetts Avenue N.W., Washington, DC
20005
Tel : (202) 466-2546. Fax : (202) 466-2553. E-mail
: tourism@tunisiaaccess.com
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:
info@tourismtunisia.com
|