Monuments to visit Tunisia

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.

If you had to see only one archaeological site of Carthage, it would be this one! The Baths of Antonin are of great beauty. You first enter the site by crossing a large park planted with trees. Just after, the view on the thermal baths and the high preserved column is breathtaking, with the turquoise of the sea in the background. These baths date back to the 2nd century AD. By their size, they are the most impressive remains of Roman Carthage and the third in the Roman world after those of Caracalla and Diocletian in Rome. Only the underground part and some remains remain today. The column of the frigidarium (15 m high), one of the twelve that once supported the ceilings of the baths themselves, has been straightened, allowing us to appreciate the splendor and grandeur of the thermal building. The site covered 16,000 square meters and, when in use, the baths could accommodate up to 200 to 300 people at a time. One can imagine the Romans coming here to take their baths, but also to take advantage of the many amenities on site. Around the thermal baths were located in particular stores. This site today in ruin was a great center of leisure, relaxation but also of business. The Romans came there once a week and stayed from one hour to half a day. The Baths of Antonin were a place of hygiene but also and especially of daily life. A visit not to be missed during your trip to Tunisia!

A vast and luxurious residence, once belonging to the Bey and now housing a carpet temple. Even just for the pleasure of the eyes, the visit is recommended. You can see all kinds of handmade carpets, with various patterns. You will learn that the quality and price vary according to the number of knots in the carpets: it can go from 10 000 to 250 000 knots! The more knots, the more delicate the work and therefore the more expensive the carpet.

The theater, which was built during the reign of Hadrian (2nd century), occupies a basin at the foot of the hill. It was damaged and restored many times. Several statues, of which a colossal one of Apollo, today exposed to the museum of Bardo, were discovered during excavations. Today it hosts the famous international festival of Carthage (every year in July and August). Outside the festival, the site is less interesting because it is totally rebuilt, but it gives a good impression of the dimensions of the site at that time.

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!

This museum, also called "the palace of Baron d'Erlanger", is a must-see. Following the road of the cornice, above the bridge, one discovers the former property of Baron Rodolphe d'Erlanger, musicologist and benefactor of the village. It is a white and square palace, quite sober, whose construction occupied the baron for twenty years. This British dignitary did a lot for the fame of Sidi Bou Saïd, where he settled in 1912 in the house of his dreams, well in line with the Bou-Saïdian spirit: a fine architecture, integrating stucco and ceramics, Moorish motifs and luminous contrasts. Surrounded by a beautiful park with cypress and pine trees, and with the most beautiful view, it now houses a center and a museum dedicated to music.

Built between 1912 and 1922, the Enneima Ezzahra Palace ("the shining star") is considered an important monument of the Tunisian architectural heritage, where local influences and Andalusian-Maghrebian decorative elements are mixed.

Installed in the palace, the Center for Arab and Mediterranean Music (CMAM) is a multidisciplinary cultural complex dedicated to music and the various fields of musical activity. In addition to the exhibition rooms of exceptional quality, a study and research center has been opened on the premises and an animation (concerts, violin making workshop) gives even more life to the palace. The exhibition presents the most complete collection of musical instruments used in Tunisia to date. It is divided into five main groups: stringed instruments, wind instruments, percussion instruments, keyboards, and the Baron's private collection of rare Arab, European and African musical instruments.

Rodolphe d'Erlanger acquired several beautiful houses in the village in order to restore them to their former glory. One of them, Dar Mohsen, became the town hall.

The palace itself is extraordinary: all the objects are arranged in such a way that one can quite imagine what life was like when it was still occupied. The palace houses a rich collection of Arabic manuscripts, art objects of Muslim handicrafts and paintings, including works of the baron himself, because not only was he a musician, he was also a painter. In addition the visit offers a beautiful view of the city of Sidi Bou Said and the port. Not to be missed!

Built on the hillside, it is part of the national heritage, as is the Café des Mats or the Chaabane. In the shopping street there are craftsmen and souvenir merchants, restaurants and pizzerias. To reach the village, you will have to leave your car on the parking lot, already attacked by the souvenir shops. Paved streets climb along beautiful houses for moucharabiehs purposes, graceful iron arabesques, and where all shades of bougainvilleas attract a happy eye.

The Chammakhi brothers decided one day to revive the family home. It was the first to open its doors to the public, a sort of free living museum. The family, of Djerbian and Berber origin, settled in the medina at the end of the 15th century. Just a stone's throw from the Great Mosque, the land was tiny. It was unthinkable to build an Arabo-Andalusian building with a patio, etc. So they erected an elaborate house, high up on five levels. The house is now converted into a boutique-museum... where everything is for sale!

The medina of Tunis is rich in history... and stories. It is an opportunity to travel back in time through a maze of alleys, between light and shadow. The pleasures of the labyrinth, the happiness of the souks, everything is there. Once past the Gate of France (1848), a vestige of the Hafsid enclosure that enclosed the medina, you enter the historic heart of Tunis, listed by UNESCO as a cultural heritage of humanity. Ancient city, founded thirteen centuries ago by the conquerors of the Byzantine Carthage, the medina is ordered around a great spiritual center, the great Ez-Zitouna mosque. Two arteries start from the door: the street of the Kasbah and the street Jamaa-Ez-Zitouna, both very animated, lined with very picturesque shops. There is everything according to the districts..

The surroundings of the mosque were reserved for the so-called "noble" crafts, while the more polluting trades, forges and tanneries, were confined to the periphery. Today still, quality craftsmen, gathered by corporations, perpetuate this tradition. Originally, the Great Mosque was the politico-religious center where commercial agreements and transactions were also negotiated. Very soon, it lost its secular role and acquired a more and more pronounced sacred character. Its fame as a center of teaching of legal sciences and religious thought attracted, in addition to Tunisian students, many students from the interior of the country and from abroad (Maghreb and Africa). To these students, the medersas offered free accommodation. Relayed today by the modern zeïtounienne university, it continues to dispense a religious teaching and to gather the faithful for the prayer. It is in the morning that the animation is the most lively. Dreamers will find all the charms of the Orient in these souks overflowing with fabrics, carpets, jewelry, leather bags and copper trays. Behind anonymous facades, the aesthetes will discover the splendor of the palaces with walls decorated with superb ceramics and immense domes of finely chiseled stucco. The merchants of the souks still attract passers-by as they did travelers in the Middle Ages. They always offer the most varied goods of Tunisian crafts and trade. One discusses, one haggles, but one is not obliged to buy, even at the end of the longest palavers. Always be kind when someone insists... A small smile and a polite refusal accompanied by an "aichek" (thank you) will touch the seller who will not insist any longer.

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 at the end of the 18th century. The grandfather of Mr. Annabi, the current owner, was a mufti and people came to consult him at any time. Embellished and refurbished as a summer residence during the 20th century, this house is now a museum. The patio, in Andalusian style, has a fountain in its center. Some of the rooms are real museums showing the life of the past. There is still a prayer room, a library, a handicraft store and a large exotic garden. The reception is cold and it's a pity.

Set of aristocratic villas. One of them, named the Volière because of a beautiful mosaic that paved the courtyard, is a peristyle villa with a splendid view of the beach. A stone path following the ancient Roman streets will lead you there. Below it, another villa called "de la Rotonde" has a similar layout and, on the other side of the street, another house called "du cryptoportico" with its beautiful garden has been restored. They are a testimony of the luxury in which the aristocrats of the city lived.

Built around 860, these basins were then part of a fifteen basins intended to supply the city with water. The ingenuity of the system earned Kairouan the name of "city of cisterns". Originally, the supply of the basins was ensured by a drainage system. The construction of an aqueduct (around 961) then brought the water from the springs of Cherichira, located 40 km away. The work consists of a small settling basin, a large basin for storing water and two tanks for drawing water, with a total capacity of 68 800^m3.

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.

It is a beautiful fish market with a very typical atmosphere that really deserves a visit. The Sfaxians come here to get fish for the preparation of the marqa, a dish that is eaten with a barley cake. During Ramadan, salted fish is also sold at the auction, it serves as a complement to the charmoula, a sweet sauce with marmalade raisins and onions, the essential dish to celebrate the Eid. The fish market of Sfax will be an interesting step for your understanding of the Tunisian gastronomy!

This old mill is out of service. Little return 50 years earlier… 40 kg of olives are deposited on the stone base to be mixed with about 4 litres of hot water. With blindfolded eyes, a donkey or a little slug causes the 150 kg mineral to grind the olives. The mixture is then deposited in traps in braided fins. Stacked, the traps are compressed by a lever system. The oil thus obtained ends in terracotta jars.

Located at the corner of the Rue des Libraires and the souk El Karachine and close to the Great Mosque, this medersa was founded in 1754, also by Ali Pasha, who gave it the name of his son Suleimane, murdered by one of his brothers. It is distinguished by a very interesting porch, supported by Ottoman-style columns and topped by a cornice of green tiles. In the courtyard, whose entrance is decorated with earthenware tiles, there is a beautiful colonnaded gallery. This medersa is today occupied by a medical association.

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.

This is the central market of the city, which is also called "Fondouk al Ghalla", which literally means "fruit inn". This is where you will find everything that can be eaten in a market, in terms of fruits and vegetables, but also fish. The central market is particularly lively in the morning. So, trust your senses, sight and smell in mind, and stroll among the stalls to get an idea of the flavor of the Tunisian capital!

This splendid residence was built at the end of the 16th century by the wealthy Othman Dey, who wanted a quiet place to live in peace, and occupied it until his death in 1610. Dar Othman has a facade with marble columns, a patio surrounded by porticoes with two-colored pointed arches and Moorish-style colonnades. Both sober and magnificent, the decoration borrows the most beautiful materials (marble, ceramics) without being ostentatious. An interior garden replaced the paving of the courtyard in 1936. The site is unfortunately not always open.