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IN
TUNISIA, THE AURA OF CARTHAGE AND HANNIBAL STILL LIVE
ON by Habeeb
Salloum Standing
atop Mount Byrsa, the acropolis of both Punic and Roman
Carthage, I surveyed the panorama of the modern spread-out
urban centre covering the historic ruins which, without
doubt, form an important part of the heritage of humankind.
After having a short time before explored the few Punic,
also known as Phoenician or Carthaginian, and Roman remains,
so far uncovered, it was easy to fantasize about the
Punic/Roman wars and their most renowned hero, Hannibal -
one of the greatest army commanders in the ancient world and
Carthage's most illustrious son. Among its once splendid
villas and richly adorned temples, he must have strolled,
planning his battles with mighty Rome. Leading his 59,000
men and 40 elephants over the Alps in an epic march, he kept
Rome for years under the threat of his troops. Even though
he won many battles, he was never able to occupy that city.
Eventually, he had to return to defend Carthage. At the
Battle of Zama near Carthage, his army was defeated in 202
B.C. and he fled to Asia Minor where, rather than be
captured by the Romans, he committed suicide. Today,
Hannibal and his city, of which only traces remain, are
remembered by modern day Tunisians with pride. Ancient
Carthage, once the richest city in the world, is marketed by
Tunisian Tourism as a 'storehouse of history'. Throughout
the country, hotels and businesses carry the name of its
courageous Carthaginian leader and his city. Modern Tunisia
owes a great deal to Hannibal in the building of its
national character. His city might be no more, but its
memory remains. Carthage,
derived from the Phoenician Kart Hadascht (new village), was
established in 814 B.C. by the Phoenician princess,
Elissa-Dido, who had fled Tyre, in present day Lebanon, to
escape the wrath of her brother Pygmalion. In the ensuing
centuries her descendants created a navy which ruled the
seas, guarding Carthage and its empire until, in 146 B.C.,
the city was destroyed by the Romans and their Berber
allies. They razed it to the ground and scattered salt on
the ruins to ensure that it would rise again. Roman
historians gleefully describe how thoroughly they demolished
the city. During the razing, its libraries were burned,
hence, all we know of Carthage was written by her
conquerors. Yet, only a
century later, the Romans built atop the Phoenician ruins,
New Carthage and made it the capital of their African
province. It quickly grew until it became a cultured and
cosmopolitan urban centre with a large university and the
second largest city in the empire. Subsequently, Christians
- Saint Augustine was born here - Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs
and Turks took over the city as it gradually declined.
According to Edward Gibbon, at the beginning of the 16th
century Carthage had only a mosque, a college without
students, some thirty shops and five hundred ignorant
peasants. By the 19th
century, little of the city still stood. It almost became a
ghost town after its stones had been pillaged as building
materials for other towns. When the French occupied Tunisia
in 1881, they built a massive cathedral on the summit of
Mount Byrsa - known to its new conquerors as the hill of
Saint Louis. It was named after the Crusader King Louis IX
who was killed trying to conquer Tunisia and was believed to
have been buried here. After the
French occupation, his supposed bones were taken back to
France. Atop his burial spot, the Catholic Carmelite Order
decided to carry on his Crusade to Christianize North
Africa. They built the cathedral as a base for this modern
Crusade. Yet, it all came to naught. The French
left in the 1950s and today the cathedral is an empty
historic structure, edged by remnants of a Punic
neighbourhood. Beside it stands a museum where
archaeological finds from Carthage's past are exhibited,
relating to three major periods in Carthage's history -
Phoenicio-Punic, Romano-African and Arab-Islamic. The wide
range of objects from ceramics, mosaics, inscriptions and
pottery to sarcophagi, sculptures, and stelae reflect the
particular nature of each age. The museum
only houses a minuscule part of the remnants of ancient
Carthage. A modern sparkling-white town dotted with pine
trees and mimosa cover most of the ruins of the Punic and
Roman city. Only here and there have parts of the historic
metropolis been uncovered. Of these,
the most famous are the remains of the Antonine
[Antoine] Thermal Baths, covering 3 1/2 ha ( 8.6
ac). The third largest and the most imposing in the Roman
Empire, they were completed in 162 A.D. after 12 years of
work by thousands of slave laborers. A large drawing on a
plaque of the baths in their days of glory and a re-erected
granite column 15 m (49 ft) high, topped by a white capital
give visitors an idea of the luxury and the immense size of
the baths. Even the little that remains is quite
impressive. The 2nd
century Roman theatre was one of the largest in the empire,
but through the centuries it was almost totally razed to the
ground. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was
partially reconstructed. Today, it retains little from its
past, yet, as it did in Roman times, it still draws
visitors, providing an attractive setting in July and August
for the International Festival of Music, Singing and
Dancing. On the
Odeon plateau, facing Byrsa's twin hill, there is an entire
quarter of Roman villas, a number partially excavated - the
most notable being called 'Villa de la Volière'. It
is positioned around a courtyard colonnade and from its
terrace there is a marvelous view of the sea. As to Punic
Carthage, the Magon Quarter near Antonie Thermal Baths was
originally Phoenician but rebuilt by the Romans. The Punic
Quarter, edging the cathedral is largely preserved because
the Romans used the site as a dumping ground during their
building of New Carthage. Dating from the 3rd and 2nd
centuries B.C., excavation has revealed a collection of
carefully built and laid-out houses on a regular grid
system. These were endowed in their time with all the
conveniences and comforts of that age which included
plastered walls, sewers, tiled floors and water tanks. In
the ensuing centuries, the Romans inherited these Punic
building features and they came down to us as a legacy of
Rome. Opposite
the Roman theatre stands the tophet - a Punic cemetery,
appearing like a shrub-filled elegant garden. In it, a Punic
crematorium and many small stone coffins with carvings of
children on their face have been unearthed. Guides point to
these as indication of child sacrifice. Yet, it has never
been proven that the Carthaginians practiced this form of
offering to the gods. Only the Romans, Carthage's mortal
enemies, have accused them of this cruel
practice. As I
wandered through Carthage's scattered ruins, I thought of
how our world would be today if Hannibal had occupied Rome.
No doubt, instead of the Roman gods, the Phoenician god
Baal-Hammon and the goddess Tanit would have been the
supreme beings of the pre-Christian Mediterranean lands. Who
knows what would have come thereafter. Yet, was Carthage
truly destroyed? Even though the Romans erased the Punic
city from the face of the earth, its renown is imprinted on
the soul of modern day Tunisia. IF YOU
GO How To
Get There: Carthage is
only a suburb of Tunis - tramway costs less than $1. and
taxis about $5. Facts About
Tunisia: 1) To enter
Tunisia, no visas are necessary for travellers from western
Europe, Japan, the U.S.A. and Canada. 2) It is
best to travel to southern Tunisia in spring or autumn. In
summer it is very hot. 3) The
currency used in Tunisia is the dinar - one US dollar is
worth1.25 dinars. Tunisia is one of the few countries in the
world where hotels give a better exchange rate than the
banks. 4) In all
of Tunisia, taxis are metered and very reasonable; buses and
shared taxis (louages) connect all towns and villages; tour
companies offer excursions; autos can be rented - small ones
for about $60. per day, fully insured. 5) Hotels
in Tunisia are very reasonably priced. However, it is to
best book through a tour company. They can offer even better
prices. 6) Try
Tunisian food. It's very tasty. Four of the best dishes are:
couscous - prepared in seemingly hundreds of different ways
- from sweet to very hot; briq - a thin pastry which comes
with a variety of fillings, but always includes an egg;
chakchouka - a ratatouille which is offered in many types;
and spaghetti cooked Tunisian style - for me the epitome of
Spaghetti dishes. 7) There is
less crime in Tunisia than in western Europe or North
America, but beware of pick- pocketers, especially in
crowded trains, buses and souks. 8) When
taking tours, make sure the guide speaks English. If you do
not ask, French will be the language spoken. 9) Tunisia
is the most sophisticated, relaxed and tolerant state in
North Africa. Women travellers are very safe when travelling
alone. 10) With
the exception of its capital, Tunis, Tunisia is geared up
for tourism. The most up-to-date touristic facilities are
found in all its resorts. Note: All
prices quoted are in US dollars. For Further
Information, Contact: Tunisia
National Tourist Office, 1253 Ave. McGill College, Suite
655, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3B 2Y5.
Tel:514/397-1182/0403. Fax: 514/397-1647. E-mail:
tunisinfo@qc.aira.com or Tunisian
Tourism Office, 1515 Massachusetts Avenue N.W.,Washington,
DC 20005 Tel : (202) 466-2546. Fax : (202) 466-2553. or Web:
www.tunisiaonline.com and www.tourismtunisia.com Habeeb
Salloum
