Tunisia
Chapter five
Tetour, the Roman ruins of Dougga, and the holy city of Kairouan.
Bouthine meets me downstairs at 0800. We’re to drive to Dougga to visit the Roman ruins there before continuing on to Kairouan, the fourth-holiest city in Islam after Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem. We’ll overnight there.
It’s about two hours to Dougga and she tells me to settle in for the ride. Our driver today is the same as yesterday, but in Kairouan we’ll be swapping for the remainder of our trip.
About halfway to our first destination we take a break in Testour, situated situated in the mouth of Siliana valley. The Romans knew it as Tichilla, which means the green grass given that location.
We hop out of the car and Bouthine leads me to a rest room before we take a minute to stretch our legs.
She leads me down a street and spots a beautiful door. Curious, she peeks into the courtyard and is greeted by a man. It’s a new cafe and guesthouse he’s just opened and Bouthine asks for his card so that she can keep it in mind for future excursions.
She leads me further down the street to show me the minaret of the mosque, an eight-sided tower watching over the neighborhood. Turning back, we walk through a tree-lined square back to the main road and then continue walking through the heart of the town.
She stops before a shop selling pomegranate juice and asks for two cups. The man reaches for a pomegranate and then proceeds to squeeze the juice with a manual press. She hands one cup to me and takes the second for herself. It’s delicious.
It’s market day and the street is busy. At another store Bouthine buys bread and then cheese and makes us sandwiches. We continue walking as I juggle the sandwich and the juice and capturing the scenes before me.
A man approaches with a box of bread. Bouthine negotiates a price with him and buys a loaf. She pinches me off a piece. It’s still warm.
Our driver meets us at the other end of the commercial area of the street. It’s about another hour to Dougga and I sit back to enjoy the view.
Olive oil is one of Tunisia’s main exports, and we often pass groves stretching from the road towards the horizon. It’s a scene I’ll see throughout our travels.
We are among the first to arrive in Dougga, and Bouthine eschews the amphitheater in favor of leading me first through the ruins of the town.
She leads me down a path towards the base of the ruins from where I can see the fields and the valley below. Olive trees grow in neat rows across patches of earth. She points out the prickly pear that grow along our path, telling me that their fruit is commonly found in the markets.
We start our explorations, and Bouthine shows me mosaics and latrines (for men) and aqueducts that brought water into the settlement.
Entering the city she shows me the ruins of the most beautiful home I’ve seen, with a fountain and pool in the courtyard. I imagine what life must have been like for the inhabitants and the bustle around them.
From there Bouthine leads me up a broad avenue heading deeper into the town. She’ll show me a carved out spot in the rock. Ropes once ran through the holes, running the length of the wall. Something to tie your animals up to.
She shows me the original location of mosaics we had seen in the Bardo Museum. As we stand before one mpty space she tells me the three cyclops one resided there.
At various points I stop to take in the landscape. In the distance I hear sheep bleat. I hear bells.
She leads me into an Antonian Bath, along a dark passageway that leads further into the city. It reminds me of a similarly dark path my friend Ed and I once passed through when exploring the churches of Lalibela in Ethiopia. The guide had told us to stick to one side; a gaping chasm lay on the other. He told us not to use our flashlights. He told the reason (a legend) that is now lost to the far reaches of my mind.
As we make our way around the ruins, we play peek-a-boo with the Capitol of Dougga, the most impressive standing monument on the hill. Bouthine is purposely leaving it to last, pointing it out from various vantage points as we wind our way around the different buildings and pathways.
I stop to take a photo of the Capitol, waiting for a group of visitors who have arrived to move. Bouthine has moved on and then comes back to find me. I tell her I’m waiting for the people to move. They’re not going to move, she tells me. I watch them settle in. She’s right.
She leads me to another baths in the complex, having me turn around to see the Capitol framed through the arches the stand. Through smaller passageways I can see the landscape, the green hills a verdant painting within a stone frame.
It’s a maze of alleys and paths and Bouthine keeps teasing the Capitol. On the drive to the complex, Bouthine had pointed out where we’re to have lunch. A replica of the Capitol marked the entrance to the hotel. She told me we’d be visiting the inspiration.
She leads me into a courtyard ever closer to the Capitol to show me mosaics that have been left in place. I try to picture the entire floor covered in art.
She leads me through a standing doorway to an expansive open space, the ruins of a former temple. I can’t imagine how impressive a sight it would have been in its heyday.
Before passing back through the doorway I take a photo of the Capitol through the frame. Bouthine urgest others to do the same, pointing out he best place to stand in order to frame their own photos.
Bouthine leads me up a road heading straight towards the Capitol. We enter the forum and she points out some inscriptions and relief sculptures. A number of students have arrived and Bouthine stops to talk to one of them. She tells me they’re part of a program that has brought students from around Tunisia to study together.
She gives me time to wander around the Capitol now that we’ve arrived. The area is suddenly teeming with people as busloads of visitors have arrived. Somehow, given how quiet it was when we arrived, I had thought it wouldn’t be so crowded. I was surprised that such an impressive destination would be so sparesely attended. I hadn’t realized we were merely early.
One of the students scrambles up the ruins for a photo. Bouthine is not enthused. It’s dangerous and we should work to continue to preserve the monuments. She sets off to find a guard. They should be doing more to protect their history and the people who come to visit it.
When she comes back she leads me to the Pl. de la Rose des Vents and points out a compass etched into the stone. She then takes me phone and has me stand behind a free-standing piece of stone. She takes a picture then shows it to me. You’re an emporer, she tells me. She’s posed me behind a statue like at a state fair.
Finally, we return to the amphitheater next to where everyone has parked. She gives me the explication and then leaves me to explore the theater on my own. I climb to the top for the views and then come halfway down to sit upon the stone and imagine watching a play. A family arrives and the two children climb the steps on their own, one helping the other down after they arrive at the top. Their parents call out to them, take a photo when they turn to pose.
Bouthine asks me how I like Dougga. I tell her I love it; I could spend the day there.
We drive back towards town and the hotel where we are to have our dinner. Bouthine orders wild boar for me, a speciality of the area. It’s one of the few places where one can get wild boar in the country. They hunt it in the nearby surroundings. It’s surprisingly tender and tasty. The sauce in which it’s cooked full of flavor.
I ask Bouthine about her family. She tells me she has a brother in IT. He’s currently in Paris; his job offered him the opportunity and he took it. He went to make money, but wants to return to Tunisia. His children love it here. They visit during the summers and cry when they have to leave.
From Dougga we head to Kairouan. I gaze out the window at the passing landscape, taking the occasional photograph like a snapshot of my mind.
Bouthine tells me Kairouan is the fourht-most holy city in Islam after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. As we reach the town, she points out scupltures placed at the roundabouts leading into the city. One celebrates the rugs for which the town is also known, one is a sculpture of the Koran.
She buys us mille-feuille from a vendor with a cart just inside. It’s delicious and starts me on a path of trying them now and again when I see one that looks promising.
She takes me to the original well where a camel is used to draw water up from the depths. Every morning the camel is brought up the steps and every night brought back down to rest. She buys me a cup of juice and we sit in a small cafe next to the well to drink.
We finish our juices and continue walking through the medina. Passing a sweets shop, we duck inside. The offer us samples and I decide to buy a box for the road. The man fills it with an assortment for 10 dinars.
We continue wandering through the medina, window shopping along the way. At another stand she stops and buys me a sandwich to try. I tell her I can’t keep eating all this food. I’m spoiling my dinner!
We walk to the other side of the medina. It’s a lot smaller than the one in Tunis. She wants to show me something before we head to the hotel.
She’s a little miffed when we arrive. People have stored various carts and shelves in the space. She tells me to stand at a particular place and take a photo. She’ll show me later a picture of why. It turns out that it’s a shooting location for Raiders of the Lost Ark. The location doubles for Cairo in a scene of Indiana Jones and Marion walking through the city.
We pass out of the medina and Bouthine has me take a photo of a minaret through one of the gates.
The hotel is not far. Our driver has gone on ahead and my bags are in the lobby. Bouthine helps me check in and tells me that they have a nice hamam and spa. She encourages me to book an appointment (I do for 20h) and tells me she’ll see me in the morning. I thank her and bid her good night.
I retire to my room to relax before dinner. I’m thinking of taking a nap when the phone rings. It’s the spa. Is now ok? They ask. Sure, I tell them and dress to head down.
The hamam and massage are great. I don’t want to leave after the massage. I thank the attendants and head back upstairs to change for dinner. That night, I’ll have an amazing night’s sleep. 🇹🇳
—26 December 2024
