Delving into Dougga: the Highlight of a Tunisia TripCategory: Travel & Holidays
Article added by: Paul Collins
The sun beat down mercilessly from a cloudless blue sky. From out of nowhere, a gust of hot wind stirred the dust up, making clouds of it twist and writhe momentarily, before settling down again almost as suddenly.
My Spanish companion and I had left Tunis early that morning, to cover the 110km drive to Dougga; the heat had slowly mounted throughout the morning, and now all around us, crumbling ruins quivered in the haze created by the withering sun.
Setting Off
We’d set out together on several viajes Tunez (or Tunisia trips) from Spain, but had, for one reason or another, never managed to make it to Dougga. And now we were here, we set about exploring what would turn out to be one of the undisputed highlights of this, or any other, Tunisia trip.
Back in 1997, UNESCO decided to assign to World Heritage Site status to Dougga, as "the best preserved Roman small town in North Africa.” The site itself stretches over 65 hectares and at the height of its power and influence, the provincial capital probably had somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 inhabitants.
The theater is probably the site’s centerpiece, its well preserved columns and arc of seats still see regular performances (only a couple of thousand years after its construction!) in the form of summer concerts. Sitting on the hot stone steps, it’s easy to imagine the scenes that once took place there.
Extensive Remains
Aside from the theater, though, there was plenty more for us to investigate: The Capitol (dedicated to the holy trinity of Minerva, Juno and Jupiter) is extraordinary; the market stalls, houses and streets, meanwhile, provide a pleasingly domestic counterpoint to all the grandeur.
Elsewhere, the Lycinian Baths have yet more columns (again in excellent condition), which serve to frame a photo of the views across the valley very nicely. Down in the bowels of the building, gloomy tunnels show how the slaves who operated the baths would have got around it.
As we strolled around the site, we discussed exactly what it was that made Dougga such a special place. The sense of detachment – isolation, even – that its inhabitants must have felt from the heart of the Roman Empire is very tangible. High up in the Tunisian hills, it’s an awfully long way from Rome, and indeed, well, pretty much anywhere.
Remarkable State of Preservation
It’s not just the remarkable state of preservation of the major buildings that lend the site its undoubted poignancy; we were struck instead by the little day-to-day details. The grooves carved out of the flagstones by countless chariots down through the years, the gymnasiums, bathhouses, houses, markets and latrines; it’s the human details that give Dougga its peculiarly intimate feeling.
But another thing that makes Dougga so special is the patchwork of historical influences that can be seen, felt or imagined there. Set aside from the rest of the site, there’s a fantastic Punic monument. Built in 3BC, its pyramid-shaped top is a total anachronism, unlike anything else from the period to be seen in the region.
Stretching back before that even (to a total perhaps of 6,000 years ago) the site was a fortified Berber settlement. And that, really, is the crux of it: Like everything else about a Tunisia trip, it’s the layer upon layer of gripping historical influence that makes it so uniquely enthralling.
Posted By: Paul Collins
Contact: e-mail
| About the Author: |
| Author biog:
Paul Collins is an English travel writer who specializes in Tunisia. Whenever possible, he tries to use his Spanish to get the best deals on viajes Tunez (or Tunisia trips!). |
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