Welcome back everyone and welcome to my first solo trip for 2026! Living the retired life ain't half bad ya know.
Ok, shocking as it seems, I can step out of my comfort zone. Those of you that know me know that I hate connecting flights. Something about depending on an airline to get me somewhere in time to catch another ✈️ has always worried me so I've avoided it like a Liverpool fan at Emirates Stadium (football joke for those that love watching 90 minutes of a game to have it end in a draw 😂). So, with anxiety almost in control, I boarded an ITA flight from LHR to Rome. BTW, ITA used to be Alitalia...who knew they changed 🤔 Surprisingly, they got me to Rome in time...I did book a connecting flight 2 hours later to be safe. Funny thing, my connecting flight was late anyway.
Back to day 1. I'm staying at the Ibis Tunis which is about 20 kilometers South of Carthage so I hired a guide to drive me around and explain the history. So, pick up at 9am by Noureddine Boukari (here's the plug... WhatsApp (+216) 24 332 451 and boukari.noureddine@gmail.com).
First stop was the highest point in Carthage, the location of the Cathedral of St Louis IX who died in 1270 and was buried in Carthage. His body was disinterred in the 1800's when Tunisia was a French colony. Fun fact, well interesting maybe not fun, Louis led the seventh crusade. You know, those pesky little escapades organised by the church and European nobles!
Back to the Cathedral. The site is impressive as there are three levels of history. The first being the Punic. This ran from approximately 814BC to 146BC and included the three Punic wars (with Rome) and the General who marched troops and elephants across the Alps, Hannibal. The second was the Roman which ran from 146BC, when Carthage lost the third Punic war, to approximately 533AD. This coincides with downfall of the Western Roman Empire and a period of dominance of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman based in Constantinople. The final period lasted until 698AD when the Arabs conquered Carthage. The pictures below show the different levels, the level I am standing on is Byzantine and the last is the Punic. Unfortunately, not much remains of the Punic as a lot was vandalised and reused.
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| View from the Byzantine level |
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| Looking down to the Punic layer |
If you walk to the rear of the Cathedral you'll find a sort of relic garden where they have collected ruins. There's also a statue of St Louis IX and his, now empty, sarcophagus. I've attached a photo of the sarcophagus and a picture of a tiny version. So, horrible history time, the tiny ones were used for the ashes of the first born son. Apparently, the Phoenicians required that first born sons be sacrificed. This continued until a general refused, he sacrificed a slave which led to his son growing up to be Hannibal!
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| St Louis IX sarcophagus |
While I didn't visit to see buildings that are only a few hundred years old, I did think the Cathedral was beautiful so here's a few pictures.
Travelers hint: You'll find a lot of stalls at the bigger sites all selling the same things... small mosaics, mini statues, the normal fare. Be wary as they charge a lot and expect you to haggle. Some take offence if you don't. Also, don't believe everything you hear. An example, stalls were selling Punic coins. I doubt that authentic 2500 year old coins are going for 40DT.
Second stop...a short drive to a Roman amphitheatre used for the execution of criminals. The site was built around 1st-2nd century AD and is famous for the martyrdom of Christians most notably, Saints Perpetual and Felicity who were killed by wild animals in 203AD. The site, like many in Carthage, was buried until the last century. The gateway in the center of the first photo was where they kept the prisoner.
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| The center is where the animals were kept |
Ok, continuing on to the next stop which is the remaining sections of the Roman aquaduct. Most people know that the Romans were master builders and engineers and quite a few examples still exist in Europe of their aquaducts. I bet most people don't know how complex they actually were. In Tunisia, this particular aquaduct was 134kms long and included a three level cistern that fed water through a system to satisfy 30,000 people. The last picture is a few of the cisterns.
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| Aquaduct cistern |
By now, it was starting to get a tad warm which shouldn't be a surprise given it is North Africa! On to stop four which was a theatre. Now the Romans being excellent planners had two theatres, a winter one which is smaller and is located just below the Cathedral and a summer one which is bigger and is aligned so the seats are in the shade in the afternoon. So, trivia fans take note, the theatre is still in use although only a few of the seats and the stage are original and has seen the likes of Kool and Gang play there. Also, for WW2 history buffs, Churchill gave a speech to the 8th Army there in 1943.
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| Stunning view from the theatre |
Great views!
Continuing with my whirlwind tour of Carthage meant a visit to the second largest Roman baths in the world. The site was built on part of a Punic necropolis, again not much survives from the Punic period so this was amazing! The baths though, they were massive, much bigger footprint than the one in Bath, England. FYI, Roman baths consisted of four chambers. The first is the Apodyterium, this was the entrance and changing rooms. The second was the Tepidarium which was warm and designed to prepare the body for heat... I believe the Romans exercised there. The final area was the Frigidarium which was a large, unheated, cold pool. Now we know why fridges are called fridges 😂.
The Antoine baths were started by Hadrian, he of the wall fame in 117AD and finished by Antonius in 165AD only to be ruined by vandals around 439AD.
