Hammamet Beach I visited on the same day I visited Dougga and is about an hour and a half south of Tunis. The beach which in Tripadvisor and elsewhere is described as one of the best beaches in Tunisia and in other locations as one of the best in the world was far short of the expectations created by those printings. I guess its a “clean” beach for Africa as I’ve been on worse in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa but it is a literal dumpster compared to American beaches. Watching mothers handhold their 6 year olds as they defecate in the sand is not an advertisement for visiting, nor are the heaps of bottles and assorted refuse that line every waterline. The water itself? Warm and pretty clear given its the Med but I sure wouldn’t want to test what is in the water.
El Jem was the first stop on my three day wandering around other parts of Tunisia with a guide and driver. It is the third largest Roman colosseum in the world and the best preserved despite 1/3 of it having been blown away by cannons in conflict long after the Romans had departed. It is also the location for the filming of many Gladiator scenes that should look familiar. Reportedly capable of holding some 30,000 spectators it is a wonder of the ancient world with cages for the animals and gladiators under the floor of the colosseum and stairways leading up to the 90+ foot heights where the poor would be relegated to watch the spectacles. It, like Dougga, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Unfortunately this site is far more well known and visited and the Tunisians do it no favors. In the West, such a resource and monument would be protected and cared for and visitors would treat it with a sense of respect (at least generally, yes there are knuckleheads who deface things and leave trash behind, but are of a far more rare event). Here? Again…every knock and cranny is filled with trash…every reachable sandstone block is defaced with carvings and modern scrawl etched into the soft stone. It was disgraceful and materially ruined my feelings. Its monumentally impressive…there is nothing like it and stands as another testament to the brilliance of Rome some 2000 years ago…but is being destroyed by those who should benefit the most from its continuing existence.
The ACAB photo here? From the streets leading to Hammamet beach showing that ANTIFA is just glomming on to old communist, socialist, terrorist garbage…The ACAB graffiti was common throughout Tunisia and all dating to well before the Arab Spring events as this photo indicates. In America, our educated but idiot class is not even original in their stupidity…they just copy from other global morons and call it their own.
