Things to see and do East Coast

It is the largest Roman building in the country, registered on the Unesco World Heritage list: a must-see site! The amphitheater of El Jem is an exceptional testimony of the Roman architecture, in particular that of the monuments built for show purposes, in Africa. This amphitheater, built entirely of stone, is neither dug nor leaning against a hill. It is based on the model of the Colosseum in Rome, but it is not a simple copy of the Flavian building. Its dimensions (large axis of 148 m and small axis of 122 m) and its capacity (estimated at 35 000 spectators) classify it unquestionably among the largest amphitheatres of the world. Its facade has three floors of arcades in Corinthian or composite style. Inside, the monument has retained most of the infrastructure supporting the stands. The podium wall, the arena and the underground passages are practically intact. This architectural and artistic work, erected around 238 AD, is an important milestone in the understanding of the history of Roman Africa. The amphitheater of El Jem also testifies to the prosperity of the small city of Thysdrus (the present El Jem) during the Roman Empire.

Street vendors are numerous on the spot. Once in the amphitheater, you can take a tour with a guide or just walk around. You will be asked for an extra dinar to take pictures. At the exit (which is also the entrance), a small souvenir store.

The museum has superb mosaics, from neighboring sites: the first two versions of the Colosseum (two smaller amphitheaters) on the road to Sfax, still visible, have provided many mosaics presenting the shows of the circus. All the more interesting that one has the feeling to be able to compare the draft and the final version, rare fact in these architectural proportions. About thirty Roman villas, brought to light behind the site of the museum, brought testimonies of the prosperity of the merchants of the ancient Thysdrus.

The ribat, on which a large paved square opens, dates back to the 8th century. Designed for military purposes, but also for religious studies, it presents a sober architecture with small cells distributed around an interior courtyard. Dominated by a nador and several towers at each corner, it also includes a prayer room. The whole is in good condition. From the top of the ribat, superb view on the city and on the courtyard of the great mosque! Even if this ribat is smaller than the one of Monastir, it remains charming despite everything!

We love this superb site on the Mediterranean coast! Remember to visit the small museum before starting your visit of the site: it reveals thanks to numerous objects found during excavations many aspects of the daily life, the spiritual life and the economic and commercial activities of the Punic period. Among them, a wooden sarcophagus discovered 500 m from the coast in the necropolis, whose carved top represents the princess Kerkouane who watches over the dead. The mask represents Astarte. Discovered in 1952, the ruins belong to a city whose name has not been determined. The first organized excavations began in 1953, but most of the city was exhumed between 1958 and 1959. This charming site has been inscribed by Unesco on the World Heritage List since 1986. These Punic ruins of the 6th century BC are precious because they respect the original layout of the Punic cadastre. Unlike the other Punic sites, the plan of this one was not modified by the Romans, who abandoned the city after having destroyed it in the second century BC. The scientific community agrees that this is the only preserved Punic city. The urbanistic facies, visible today on the ground, is situated between the end of the 4th century BC and the first half of the 3rd century BC. The urban space is divided between the citizens, the deities and the dead. Excavations show that Kerkouane lived mainly from the manufacture of purple. Traders, glassmakers, potters and jewelers who exported their products to the Mediterranean world were also present. Highly prized in Carthage and Rome (where it became the imperial color, the gowns of the imperial families were dyed with it), the purple comes from a shell, the murex, which abounded on the coasts of the Cape. The population, estimated at 2,100 inhabitants for 7 hectares within the city walls, had all the comforts of an advanced city life. The ruins, numerous and scattered, allow us to distinguish ancient dwellings, recognizable by the low boundary walls. Very comfortable for the time, these houses were equipped with elaborate bathrooms. We also find in Kerkouane a Carthaginian mosaic representing Tanit, the goddess of fertility, protector of the city. During a recent excavation, one of the most important temples of the Mediterranean dating from the Punic period was discovered.

This beach is known for the clarity of its waters and the finesse of its white sand. It attracts a large number of visitors who come to bathe and spend the day. 

Located on the seaside, the medina of Hammamet is a beautiful set of alleys where it is good to stroll. It is surrounded by ramparts, pierced by three entrances. Even if the medina is occupied by many "tourist" stores, you can find peace and quiet by going deeper into the alleys. You will be surprised by the bright whiteness of its houses, by beautiful doors painted with bright colors or by scenes of daily life. Located west of the medina, the fort was built in 1474. Don't hesitate to go up to enjoy the view!

Built in 1963 and enlarged several times, this monument has housed the remains of the former president under a vast golden dome since 2000. On the sides of the main building, two other smaller domes, green in color, and dominated by two minarets 25 m high, house the graves of the parents of the president and that of his first wife. On the right, one can see the small marabout of Sidi Bou Zid, whose dome is made of clay tubes. The vast esplanade in front of the mausoleum is a pleasant place for family and popular gatherings.

Today the main mosque of the city, its construction was completed in 1963. It represents an attempt to renew religious art in Tunisia: the prayer room is square, the capitals of hafside style. Starting from a fairly traditional architectural base, it incorporates materials of high quality: columns of pink marble or onyx, golden mosaics, glass chandeliers, etc.. The mosque includes three courtyards paved with white marble. Non-Muslims will have to be content with admiring its high octagonal minaret, as access is forbidden to them.

This fort is a citadel built on a rocky promontory of 150 m which dominates the Mediterranean Sea and the city of Kélibia. The citadel was built in the 16th century but its oldest parts date back to the Punic and Roman periods. Its high ramparts protect the city under the reign of the Spaniards and the Turks. The view is breathtaking: it offers a panorama embracing the port, the village and the sandy beaches and up to the coast of Sicily. Take advantage of the view to sip a mint tea at the Café du Fort: a nice moment of relaxation.

Built between 838 and 841 by Bou Ftâta, the affranchi of the Amir El Aghlab Abu Iqâl, who gave her his name, is characterized by her simplicity and a great recount. The prayer room is square. Its dimensions are relatively modest, which implies that it was reserved for the Amir. But she does not visit…

Built by the Aghlabid emir, Abu El Abbas, in 850, it owes its massive and severe architecture as well as its eccentric location in relation to the city to its defensive function. In some respects, it is reminiscent of the Okba mosque in Kairouan. One can read a paleochristian influence, especially in the decoration of the mihrab. Divided into 13 naves, the prayer room is elongated. The mosque has the originality to be without minaret. The building stones, often uneven, give an archaic and charming aspect to the building.

The El Kobba museum is known for its zigzag pleated dome, unique in Tunisia. In the nineteenth century, this house housed the caravanserai of the French, before becoming an inn until the 1960s. Its frontage is decorated with niches and sumptuous arcades of times, this monument also has a central atrium. The architectural particularity of the place allows to maintain a pleasant temperature inside. Nowadays, the museum of Arts and Popular Traditions offers from its terrace a nice view on the souks and their maze of alleys.

Listed since 1988 as a Unesco World Heritage Site, the medina of Sousse is considered a typical example of the cities of the first centuries of Islam in the Maghreb. It retains its kasbah and its ramparts but also its Great Mosque, its ribat and the mosque Bou Ftata, a military and religious building. On the tower of Khalef is also a lighthouse since 1890. Without any doubt, you will go up and down its numerous alleys to discover the monuments of great importance which are still there today.

With its kitsch look of a pasteboard village and the huge sculptures of guards on elephants' backs that stand in front of the entrance, it is hard to miss this amusement park! In a spirit of discovery through entertainment, a multitude of rides and animations walk visitors through the history of Tunisia. Since January 2018, the park has two new attractions: King Kong, which is 13 m high and can move alone, and a Big Eight! Why not, to spend a pleasant moment with the children.

She attracts many visitors. It is close to the ruins of Borj el Jami fortress, built in the th century.

In a very beautiful location close to the sea, surrounded by forests of olive trees. Play rooms, rides, but the most important part of the park remains go. 950 m track for adults, approved with international standards, a 1 400 m track for competitions and another 600 m for children aged 8 to 12.

These 240 galleries, which run for 5 kilometers but can only be visited for about 40 meters, were used as tombs for some 25,000 Christians from the 2nd to the 4th century. There are four of them, three of which have been completely excavated, the catacombs of the Good Shepherd, Hermes and Severus. They are very well preserved when they were discovered, but they deteriorate rapidly once the earth is removed. The catacombs of Sousse are certainly less rich, but better preserved than those of Rome. The entrance is by the street of 25-July-57, near the station of hirings.

Just superb. To spend a pleasant time.

Beyond being paradise islands, the Kuriat islands are the place of a successful collaboration between the Tunisian authorities and the civil society. This island is indeed co-managed by the State and by the NGO Notre Grand Bleu carried by environmental activists. The objective? To allow man and nature to cohabit in a unique environment, particularly prized by loggerhead turtles.

Located at about 20 km from the mainland, the big island, which has the same name as the archipelago, covers about 270 ha. 2 km further, the small island, the Conigliera island, covers about 70 ha. The islands are flat and low (maximum 5 m above sea level). In the northern and rocky part of both islands, and at very shallow depths, there are maerl bottom formations considered very rare and vulnerable on a Mediterranean scale.

On the island, it is not uncommon to see a sign and stakes indicating a turtle nest. When the baby loggerheads leave their shells, volunteers escort them to the sea, under the amazed eye of the tourists. Here everything is done to protect the loggerhead turtle(Caretta caretta), a species long threatened and now considered vulnerable. These two islands, which are in the process of being classified as a marine and coastal protected area, are the westernmost stable loggerhead nesting site on the southern Mediterranean coast. The two islets are prized by loggerheads because they are spared from pollution and enjoy total darkness at night - the time when turtles lay their eggs - unlike most of the Tunisian coast. The females, which become fertile only from about 20 years, return to lay eggs in the place of their birth. But only one turtle out of 1000 survives long enough to reproduce.

Awareness huts, hiking trails of 800 m with explanatory panels, presence of volunteers on site during the summer season: everything is set up to protect the turtles, especially during the laying. A kayak circuit has been created: it is 200 m wide and covers all the different shallow water habitats found in the Kuriat islands (posidonia meadows, rocks, drop-offs, etc.). Along the route, 5 markers inform the public about the fauna and flora present. Each marker is equipped with a submerged information panel to carry out educational swims with the accompaniment of an eco-guide of underwater excursion.

On the land side, during the season, volunteers take turns to spot the new nests. When the nests approach maturity, after 50 days, the co-managers and volunteers watch over them, before accompanying the little loggerheads to the sea, sharing these moments of wonder with the summer visitors. The baby turtles, barely 5 cm long, make their way through the sand. They are then taken out to sea, away from the bathers, and released near underwater fields of posidonia, where they can shelter and feed.

In addition to the rare opportunity to see these baby turtles, a visit to the Kuriat islands is an opportunity to understand the impact of global warming or the catastrophic consequences of plastic, which is not recycled in Tunisia, for marine animals.

The NGO Notre Grand Bleu has set itself the goal of protecting, managing, raising awareness and discovering the natural terrestrial and marine environment of the bay of Monastir and the Kuriat Islands. Successful bet with this unique experimentation!