Tunisia: Ancient City of Carthage to World War II Cemetery

Day 29, 2024 Ultimate Mediterranean

Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024; Tunis, Tunisia.

A new country for me! Tunisia is my first and only new country on this Mediterranean cruise, although as I haven’t been to the Med in more than 10 years, a lot of it seems new, including several new ports.

And what a delight. We visited old ruins (like really old – Punic and Roman eras), a beautiful tourist town on the coast (reminiscent of Santorini) and a solemn American cemetery honoring those who died in North Africa during World War II (on Pearl Harbor day).

I actually never made it into the capital city of Tunis, where several tours spent the day. We docked in the port city of La Gaulette and headed the other way, to the ruins of Carthage, one of the most important ancient cities of the Mediterranean. During the first millennial BC, Phoenicians founded the city, and from 264 to 146 BC, they fought the Romans during three Punic Wars, ending with a Roman victory.

Our first stop was the ruins of the Roman baths. All that is left is the basement and two tall columns that only reach halfway as high as the original columns and arches.

These were extensive public baths – the really rich lived in nearby villas with their own baths – our next stop. We could still see the beautiful small mosaic tiles in the ruins of the villas. The blues in the mosaics came to life when our guide poured water over them.

As we walked to the sites, vendors hoped to sell us pottery, textiles and other trinkets. In one small booth, I spied three adorable kittens hiding in the corner. He offered to give me one, and I was tempted, but it would be hard to hide on the ship. And which would I pick?

Our next stop was Sidi Bou Said, a picturesque village perched on a promontory just north of Carthage. On a restaurant’s shaded terrace we enjoyed beverages and Tunisian sweets. Most of the group went to a nearby shop to browse (and for some, to buy) quality ceramics, paintings and other souvenirs. I took advantage of the 45-minute stop to climb up the steep narrow roads and paths to find a typical scene to sketch and later paint.

Like Santorini, this village has white buildings sparkling in the sunlight with bright cobalt blue doors, shutters and sometimes roofs. I realized after finishing my watercolor back on the ship that I should have kept the blue lighter, and what was obviously a shadow in reality looks more like the bow of the Titanic in my painting. Perhaps I’ll try again during our eight sea days back across the Atlantic next week.

The Romans also built their second-largest amphitheater, or colosseum, in Carthage – capable of holding more than 35,000 spectators. Only the base level remains. We visited the waiting room for gladiators about to face lions and a chapel dedicated to Perpetua and Felicity, two early Christian female martyrs put to death here for refusing to deny their beliefs.

We passed by a section of Roman aqueduct and large covered holding tanks built to prevent evaporation after bringing water from the distant Atlas Mountains.

Our final stop was the North Africa American Cemetery, where the flag flew at half-staff, commemorating the Pearl Harbor attack. There are more than 2,800 graves and a tablet for the 3,700 missing in service in the region.

Back on the ship, signs of Christmas have been appearing for the last week. Some sections of the ship are decorated in red and gold, others in red and green and the atrium in blue and silver. Christmas trees are everywhere.

Several trains are running on tracks in the atrium through a village of gingerbread houses made by the ship’s pastry chefs.