On the train to Carthage

 "Furthermore, I consider that Carthage must be destroyed" Cato the Censor
When I was in school, I remember this line from history class. The roman senator concluded all his speeches with that line. As a young boy, I thought the expression was so stupid, it stuck in my head. And today, I got to visit the Carthage he wanted destroyed.
I decided to try the TGM. No, not the TGV, the TGM. Short for Tunis-Goulette-Marsa. A train service. Since I love trains, and I think they are a great way to travel like the locals. I opted for that this time. I also found that the roman ruins I was going to look at today, were within walking distance from the Hannibal station.
I walked down to Tunis Marina station, which is the end of the line on the Tunis side. I paid a staggering 25 cents for the ticket (...) and boarded the train. A simple car with wooden seats. The train leaves every 15 minutes, and I just missed the last one. So I spent the waiting time taking images of the train. Trying not to take photos of people. I know some don't like to have their photos taken.

 

Accidental selfie

After a while, the train started moving. It was a beautiful ride across the bay on what almost seems like an artificial land bridge. I just sat by the window and enjoyed the view of the sea, and after a while, neighbourhoods and nature. Watching people coming and going.
Eventually, we arrived at Hannibal station. I got off and started walking. I had downloaded the map of Carthage, so I managed to find the amphitheatre. Not much left of it, unfortunately. But that is to be expected. It has either fallen apart, or nature has taken over. I did take a lot of images, but being far from a modern Cartier-Bresson, I included only a couple here. In black and white. It did feel appropriate.

 

After checking my map, I found that the next site, a roman theatre was a short walk away. I had to check the map a few times, as my memory is starting to fade. Like the rest of my body... But eventually I got there. The roman theatre was much better preserved, and it seems like it is being used today as well. With a stage for live performances. It was obviously not the season for tourism, since the place(s) were mostly empty, save for a few weird ones like me. Travelling at this odd time of the year. I didn't know how many angles I could shoot of the theatre. And besides, in places like these, I love to sit down and just try to imagine what is must have been like in its glory days. Arriving here and watching performances. What was it like? What plays did they put on? How was being an audience like?

 

 

After sitting there for a while, I decided to go to the last of the sites, the roman villas. Another short walk. As I approached the site, a guy called me over. He had some artifacts to sell. Old coins from roman era and earlier. I always feel weary when being offered this. If they are fake, they aren't worth the price. And if they are genuine, it is illegal to bring them home. It's a reason why the British Museum is called the worlds biggest collection of loot... At one point they realized that maybe removing artifacts from a country wasn't such a great idea...
The villas were also mostly ruins. But with the usual collection of beheaded statues, and some very nice and original mosaics on the floors.

 

Yesterday, I got a message from a friend who said she was in Tunisia. And she recommended goind to Sidi Bou Said. I knew of the place, but in my head it was way out of my way to go there. But as I checked out my map of Carthage, I realized it was just a short walk! So I thought "why not?". So I walked the 3 km to the town. And it was well worth it. It is nicknamed "the blue city" because all the houses have whitewashed walls, but all the doors and windows and any other details are painted in one particular blue color. So everywhere you went, you saw this :

Blue mosque?

In case you didn't know : Blue!

 

Except for this one. What some people do to stand out...

 

And this orange tree...

 

After the short walk through the blue city, I walked to the Sidi Bou Said train station, paid my 25 cents and enjoyed the long ride back to Tunis. At this time of day, a lot of teens rode the train. And teens are teens everywhere. Making noise. Taking selfies. Laughing and maybe flirting with that special girl or boy? I smiled as I sat there.

 

Now there was just one more item on my list. And...you can probably guess what it is. Yup. Another roman era ruin. This is the "colosseum" of Tunis. Actually, it is about 30 km from the city center, so I would need to take a taxi for this one. But after checking with the receptionist at my hotel, I found the site was closed for the day. So I will try to get it early tomorrow. We will see.
So I spent the rest of the day walking around in streets. Getting lost as always. In one street, a group of teenage boys walked behind me. Suddenly there are a loud bang. The laughter and the smell of gunpower was a telltale. They had lit a firecracker. An elderly man walked up to them and yelled at them for a while. They just laughed. Sigh! Teens!
I also spent some time in the medina. I loved it. Packed to the rafters with small shop popping out of every hole in the walls. I just love the sight and the smells. Especially from the spice stalls. I can smell it from a long distance. Cumin, curry, and other lovely smells fills my nostrils. I can walk past these stalls a hundred times. 

 

I didn't take so many pictures from these walks. And there is a reason for that. I am trying to make it my priority to "stay in it", instead of putting a camera in front of me all the time. Even though this means less photos in my blog, it means more in my mind.
There is a scene in the movie "The secret life of Walter Mitty" (which I highly recommend if you haven't seen it) that points this out in such a great way. And after I had thought about that scene for a while, I decided that is how I want it to be. So many moments have been lost to me because I was too preoccupied with capturing them with my camera. You can watch the clip here : https://youtu.be/_jxbLj_Px_M
So therefore, only a couple of images from the medina. I just wanted to enjoy it. Without the distraction of a camera.
I ended the day the same eating place as yesterday. But this time with a chicken meal. And I got the same soup as yesterday as starter. But somehow, it didn't feel as spicy as yesterday. Maybe I am already getting used to it? I don't know.
Tomorrow, I leave Tunis. It has been a great first few days. And I am looking forward to the rest.

Ragnar
Staying in it