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Published: September 11th 2006
El Jem
World Heritage Listed Roman Colosseum at El Jem thought to be built between AD230 and 238.Bonjour! Today we left Tunis for our big drive down to Djerba via El Jem, which is a big old colosseum 138m x 114m approx and 30m high and was the film set for Gladiator, seated 30,000 people in its hay day! Pretty incredible actually....also was where Amazing Race teams had to collect a clue so would be famimiar to those Amazing Race fans out there!! We headed off to Djerba via Gabes, which was nothing exciting, walked through their souq, lots of baskets in this region and also spices, but we were not up for a purchase of either of those things, so a quick bite to eat at the Minaret Cafe before we drove to our final destination for the day, Djerba or Jerba, an island off the coast of Tunisia which is famous for its white washed buildings and beach holidays for Europeans escaping to the sun!
We took a ferry across to Djerba and a family sitting next to us had a 3yr old little girl who was scared of the ferry ride and crying so Iain collected one of the small Koala Bear toys that we purchased at Brissie Airport
El Jem II
El Jem towers above the modern town below before departing. It was quite funny; but worked a treat the little girls tears were gone as she was facinated by this little koala!
Djerba is extremely laid back town, we are staying in the medina in an old funduq where the caravanserai traders would stay when coming through to trade their wears/goods etc. The men here wear straw hats and sit around in the courtyards playing cards, smoking sheeshah or cigerettes and gasbagging for hours. The souq here has and interesting mix of your typical souqs with carpets, berber silver jewellery and if you look hard enough hidden behind small doors that look like you are entering a tunnel, you find the shops open up into big courtyards full of interesting antiques and carpets etc, of course we could spend hours looking in these places!
We headed off to the beach on the second day here to see what all the fuss was about, but I think our idea of a great beach is somewhat different to the Europeans. Had a swim in the Mediterranean - you can't fly all this way and not - then headed back into Houmt Souk to meet our driver to take
Where Gladiators tred
Lower levels of the Colesseum. The movie "Gladiator" is said to have been partly filmed here in El Jem. us on a tour of the island. We visited El Ghriba Synagogue in Erriadh which is the oldest Synogogue in North Africa, and one could say with the best Security in North Africa too! Then off to Guellala famous for its pottery, of course I looked in every shop and came out with nothing.......those who know me well will undertstand this! Spent the rest of our time in Djerba enjoying the lazy pace of town and eating, drinking and people watching in the old whitewashed courtyards filled with Bouganvillea. Signing off for Djerba!
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