Bulla Regia and Dougga, Tunisia

It was now time for the ultimate in Tunisia’s Roman sites (other than the El Djem Amphitheatre) – Bulla Regia and Dougga. Dougga, in particular, is an extremely famous Roman site.

Bulla Regia was first mentioned by Latin sources in 81 BC. More than three quarters of the site is still underground and the houses with an underground level is what most visitors come to see. The Bulla houses are the site’s distinctive feature – the only city to have two-story dwellings with one floor underground. This feature protected against the heat in the summer and cold in the winter. We climbed down crumbly steps to see the beautiful mosaics still remaining in the underground portions of the houses – one house named “House of the Fisherman.” Some of the mosaics have been removed to the Bardo Museum in Tunis. …View image…

Dougga was completely different. Originally a fortified Berber village (the name meant “pastures”), the Romans occupied the city in the late 2nd century BC. We had the most wonderful local guide who made Dougga’s history come alive. There was an amphitheatre, cisterns fed by aquaducts, the compass based inscription in the “Square of the Winds” (showing the 12 winds cut into the pavement) … View image… and, the town brothel. Every Roman town had a brothel and they made in simple to find – a person just had to look for the distinctive sign…

the definite indicator that this was the brothel

The group perked up when our guide related the brothel details about how it had been a luxurious, two-story house, with baths and probably very costly.

…it was also fun sitting on the ancient “toilets” (or latrines) beside the Cyclops Baths….constantly flowing water underneath the latrines would wash away the waste.

Dougga map

Dougga was not only one of the most incredibly stupendous Roman sites we’ve ever seen but one of the most interesting. You could still see the chariot ruts cut into the stone streets. History really came alive in a modern way for us all and there were animals grazing in between the wildflowers and ruins. …View image… The guide may have told us that Dougga also has more than 80% (some unbelievable statistic) of the site still unexcavated. The city must have been unimaginable in its glory days spread over 162 ACRES! …View image…

With this, and a Farewell Dinner, the group portiion of our “Ancient Carthage” tour was over. Goodbyes to everyone….thanks to guides….and Explore….Tunisia was fabulous…and now we were heading to Jerba for some R&R…

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