Damnatio ad bestias

 The title means "sentenced to beast" literally. And it meant you were to be killed by being torn apart by wild animals. This was reserved for the worst enemies of the roman empire. Among those were christians. Who were blamed for all kinds of misfortunes. So they were often sentenced to "damnatio ad bestias". The end their lives as saturday entertainment at the Colosseum in Rome or other places.
But there is one thing that is a big myth. The gladiator fights. In movies they are often portrayed as bloody and gruesome. In reality, it was a staged act where they enacted famous battles. So one might liken it to modern day american wrestling. And the fights that were competitions, ended by one of the parties giving up. If someone was killed or injured, it was more by accident than on purpose. A gladiator took years to train and the "owner" wouldn't want to see his investment killed or injured.
So the only gruesome acts in the circus, were those who were sentenced to be torn apart by beasts.
I found while looking for places to visit in and around Tunis, that there was a small "Colosseum" just outside of the small town of Oudna. About 30 km out of Tunis. I rented a taxi that drove me there. We also passed another giant structure known from the roman era. The aquaduct. My driver told me that it was originally 80 km long. Most of it was gone now. But there were enough left to see the magnificence of the structure.
But I didn't have much time, so I opted to not stop there as I needed to be back by 11 to check out of my room. And with some rush-hour traffic, in addition to ordinary traffic, meant I needed some spare time just in case. I just shot a few images as we passed.

 

When we arrived, the wind was strong. Very strong. I had to be careful not to be knocked over by the gusts. And the direction of the winds meant that when walking through the gates, the winds blew extra hard.
I walked through the main gates for the audiences. Down through the entrance and onto the seating area. It was definitely smaller than the one in Rome, but I guess it would still hold many hundreds of spectators. The place was relatively well preserved. And I could sit there and imagine how it would be to watch. This close to the "action".
I also walked through the gates where I guess the gladiators and the doomed walked. Onto the stage. Ready to either act their part, or waiting for the wild animals to enter to tear them apart.
It is truly astonishing how humans have always found ways to be entertained by other peoples suffering. Or by violence.

 

After spending some time are the site, my driver took me back to my hotel. I checked out and took another taxi to the airport. I was going south. To the place I have planned to go since I first thought about going to Tunisia 15 years ago. To check out the Star Wars sites.
At the airport, it took a while to figure out where the domestic terminal was. But after some hand gestures by different people at the airport, and some instructions in arabic, french and other languages I don't know, I finally found it tucked away far into the end of a long hall at the "arrivals" level of the airport.
I checked in my bags. And it was at this stage I realuzed my plane would be an ATR-72 turboprop. I hadn't flown one of those since the time I had to "flee" Laos in 2004 due to curfew for foreigners. It took me from Luang Prabang to Chang Mai. I liked the plane. It is more quiet than the DASH-8 used in Norway. 

 

When we were boarding, I was first in line. Then this guy came up to me. "Police paper?" I showed him my passport. "No sir! Police papers!". Argh! There was a piece of paper I had to fill out. Got out of the line and found the "paper" in one of the counters. Filled it in. And got back in the line. At the rear this time... Oh well. We went through "Police paper" check and one of those security checks where you drop your bag through a machine and yourself through a beeper gate. But I'm not sure it did anything. Because the guy behind me made the gate flash up and beep like a cheap christmas decoration, but still the security woman waved him on. Ok. Nevermind...
After a while, we were allowed to board. In Laos, they sent a buddhist munk out first to bless the plane. No such thing here. We boarded and the engines roared into life. And instead of being pushed back by a vehicle, they did something I have never experience before. A turboprop can reverse the blades to break the speed, so technically it is possible for it to reverse the thrust and thereby go backwards. And so it did here. They revved the engines and pushed us backwards about 100 yards before they started going forwards and taxied onto the tarmac. A few short minutes later, the roar of the engines filled the cabin and we were pushed back into our seats. Soon we were zooming into the clouds above. When they throttled back the engines, it was surprisingly quiet.
The rest of the flight was eventless and just over 1 hour later, we touched down at Tozeur Airport. After collecting my backpack, I opted to walk the 2.3 km to my hotel, the El Mouradi. It was a nice walk in not to warm weather.
My hotel was nice. I got a room at the 6th floor. And I assumed it would have great view. But to my surprise, we were already at the 6th floor. The other floors were below. And from the standard of the room and everything, it was the El Crapo floor of the hotel. Not that it was bad. By no means. It was better than most of the rooms I have stayed in on my journeys. But the other floors were nicer. But this was much cheaper.
After settling in, I booked a trip to the Star Wars sites for tomorrow morning. And I ended the day at a restaurant that served tunisian food. I was offered the "ramadan menu". And it was truly very good. And filling. But I regretfully cannot say the names of the courses. But it was a soup, slightly spicy, some dates, something called a Brik (i think), and a dish with chicken, fried onion and something tasting like potato pancakes. And for drink, something I think was youghurt with spices. Slightly salty and refreshing. Delicious! Perfect ending of a long day.

Dates, soup, and Brik (?), and a youghurt drink in a cup.

Tomorrow, I will go to a galaxy far, far away. In a desert very, very close.

Ragnar
Desert dweller