El Jem of a colosseum

What do Billy Ray Cyrus, Right Said Fred, the guys who sang "the Macarena" and the Tunisian city of El Jem have in common? Easy! They're all 'one hit wonders'. While the first three might warrant their own blog entry, I'll stick with El Jem.

Sitting on the southern edge of the former Roman empire, Tunisia is full of ancient Roman ruins. Perhaps the most stunning of all of these is the Colosseum (some call it an amphitheatre) about 1 hour south of Sousse in central Tunisia. The amphitheatre at El Jem was built by the Romans under proconsul Gordian who was acclaimed Emperor at Thysdrus, around 238 AD. However seeing as it was built near the end of the empire, it never really got much use. Oddly, it could fit over 35,000 people, although the population of the town itself was estimated to be much lower that. I personally found this one much more fun that it's more famous cousin in Rome. You are allowed to clamber over everything, crawl anywhere and ascend or descend as you please. And best of all, it's infinitely less crowded that the one in Italy.

There is a surprisingly good mosaic museum associated with the Colosseum. But as for the town, that's it. The 8 TD entrance (1 TD for a camera, though i wasn't charged) is worth it. Getting here is simple. El Jem lies on the main train line from northern to southern Tunisia. And the Colosseum is in view of the station. Luages (shared taxis) and buses also arrive here from various local destination. The station isn't far away either. I guess having one hit is better than none. And the one at El Jem is a whopper. If you're into ruins, the Colosseum here is definitely worth a trip, it even possible on a long day trip from the capital, Tunis.