Chapter VII: Tunisia (2)

At the W. end of the spice-market, to the left, opposite the Rue Sidi
Ben-Arous (see below), is the =Souk des Etoffes=, on the W. side of
the mosque, with its display of silk and woollen stuffs, carpets from
Kairwan, and rugs from the Djerid (p. 386) and from Djerba (p. 393).

Adjoining the Souk des Etoffes is the busy _Souk des Femmes_, the only
one frequented by Mohammedan women, where female apparel, trinkets,
and slippers of Saffian leather (p. 109) are sold.

Between these two souks the _Souk el-Leffa_ (Pl. C, 5), off which, on
the right, is the _Souk el-Kebabdjia_ (lace), leads to the *=Souk
Sekajine=, the saddle-market, where, among gorgeous caparisons
embroidered in gold and silver, we are specially struck with the
ornaments worn by horses at the fantasias (p. 99).

We return to the Souk el-Leffa. Thence, to the left, we follow the
short _Souk ed-Dziria_, past the _Hôpital Sadiki_ (Pl. B, C, 5),
destined for natives, to the—

Rue Sidi Ben-Ziad, on the S. side of the Dâr el-Bey (p. 336). The
small _Sidi Youssef Mosque_ (‘Mosquée’; Pl. C, 5), belonging to the
Hanefites (p. 445), with the handsome tomb of the founder and an
octagonal minaret, dates from 1610–37.—At the lower end of the street,
where the Souk el-Bey branches off to the left to the Place de la
Kasba, we turn to the right into the—

=Souk el-Berka=, the slave-market, which was abolished only in 1842.
Down to 1816 Christians captured by the pirates were sold here by
auction. This is now the seat of the silversmiths, goldsmiths, and
dealers in antiquities, mostly Jews. The best of their gold trinkets
are from Paris; the fine silver filigree is Genoese or Maltese; the
ancient coins are often spurious.

From the Souk el-Berka the _Souk el-Trouk_, the street of the tailors,
almost all Jews, who make the rich costumes of the Moslems, leads back
to the Souk el-Attârîn.

From the N.W. angle of the Zitouna Mosque the Rue Sidi Ben-Arous leads into the Rue de la Kasba (p. 334). At the junction of these streets, adjoining the burial-chapel of _Mohammed Murad Bey_ (d. 1705), is the Hanefite _Mosque of Sidi ben-Arous_ (Pl. C, 5), of 1654, similar in plan to that of Sidi Youssef (p. 335), with an elegant minaret.

The Rue de la Kasba ends at the PLACE DE LA KASBA (Pl. B, C, 5), with its charming grounds.

On the S. side of this square rises the =Dâr el-Bey= (Pl. B, C, 5), the largest pile of buildings in the Medina, erected in 1810 on the foundations of a Roman theatre(?) by Moroccan architects under Hamuda Bey as his town-palace. It is now the seat of the French secretary-general and other authorities. The Bey usually comes hither on Monday mornings from La Marsa (p. 351) for the transaction of business. Admittance, see p. 331. The entrance is by the portal where a sentry is posted.

The covered quadrangle (patio) on the first floor forms the centre of
the palace. The fine timber ceiling in the dining-room is the only
object of interest in the state apartments. The council-chamber of the
ministers has a dome with remarkably fine stucco-work. Here, as in the
Bardo and at Kassar-Saïd, the effect is marred by European gewgaws.

Fine *View from the flat roof over the white houses of the town, the
Zitouna and many smaller mosques. Best light at and after noon.

To the W. of the Place de la Kasba, at the junction of the two upper boulevards Bab-Benat (Pl. B, 4; p. 337) and Bab-Menara (Pl. B, C, 5, 6), the old town culminates in the =Kasba= (Pl. B, 5), an extensive group of barracks on the site of the palace of the Hafsides and the Turkish citadel. The _Kasba Mosque_, with its fine minaret, well restored in 1904, dates from 1231–5.

Near the old Bab-Menara, where the Souk des Sacs diverges to the reservoir of the waterworks (p. 339), is the small _Mosquée el-Ksar_ (Pl. C, 5), the oldest in Tunis, said to have been founded by Hassan ibn en-Nôman (p. 322). The handsome minaret (1545) is an addition of the Turkish period.

On the N. side of the mosque runs the Rue du Château. No. 3 is the DIVISION D’OCCUPATION (Pl. C, 5), the seat of the French commandant, formerly the *_Dâr-Hussein_ (18th cent.; well restored in 1876), one of the finest Mauro-Turkish palaces in Tunis. (Adm. by special introduction only.)

The _Rue des Andalous_ (Pl. C, 5), which begins here, and its side-street Rue du Riche are the aristocratic streets of the Medina. Many of the houses have elegant marble portals and artistically grated windows. Parallel, on the E., leading to the Avenue de Bab-Djedid, runs the long Rue Tourbet el-Bey, in which at No. 62, at the corner of the Rue Sidi-Zamouhl, rises the _Tourbet el-Bey_ (Pl. C, 6), the domed tomb of the Husseinites (p. 323; ladies sometimes admitted).

The Rue Sidi Kassem, the next side-street on the left, leads to the _Djamâa Djedid_ (‘new mosque’), or _Mosquée des Teinturiers_ (Pl. C, 5, 6), founded by Hussein Ali ben-Turki (p. 323). The modern minaret is by Si Slîmân Ennigro (p. 334).

The open space near the dilapidated _Bab Djedid_ (Pl. C, 6), dating from 1277, is an afternoon haunt of snake-charmers and story-tellers (5–10 c. to the boy soliciting money).

Between the Bab Djedid and the Place aux Chevaux (Pl. B, 6; p. 339) is the =Market Quarter= of _Rebat Bab-Djazira_ (p. 332), containing the _Souk el-Aâssar_, the _Souk des Armes_, and the _Marché-au-Blé_.

From the Bab Djedid we return to the Place de la Kasba (p. 336; tramway No. 2, see p. 330).

In the BOULEVARD BAB-BENAT, in an old Moslem cemetery on the right, is the _Tekia_ (Pl. B, 4, 5), a home for the aged (1905). On the left, founded in 1876, is the _Collège Sadiki_ (Pl. B, 4), a high school for Moslems. Farther on rises the handsome _Palais de Justice_ (Pl. B, 4; 1901). These two buildings are in the neo-Moorish style.

We may now proceed direct to the Place Bab-Souika (see below; tramway No. 3, p. 330); but it is better to take the less direct route through the N.W. part of the Medina, by the Rue du Lutteur (diverging to the right from Boul. Bab-Benat, a little before the Palais de Justice), Rue du Pacha (Pl. B, 4), Rue de la Hafsia (Pl. B, C, 4), Rue Achour (Pl. C, B, 4, 3; with the Hanefite _Mosque of Sidi Mohammed Bey_ on the left), Rue el-Monastiri, and Rue Sidi-Mahrez.

On the left, in the last-named street, rises the *=Mosque of Sidi Mahrez= (Pl. B, 3), with several domes in the Turkish style, built in the latter half of the 17th cent., resembling in the interior the Ahmed Mosque of Constantinople (p. 550). The square minaret was added early in the 19th century.—On the right is the school or _Zaouïa Sidi Mahrez_.

The picturesque PLACE BAB-SOUIKA (Pl. B, C, 3) lies between the Medina and the poor _Rebat Bab-Souika_ (p. 332). Executions took place here in the Turkish period. The Rue el-Halfaouine (‘alfa street’), partly vaulted over, and lined with butchers’ shops, leads hence to the lively and industrious—

PLACE EL-HALFAOUINE (Pl. B, 2), with its numerous Arab cafés, where on Mohammedan festivals, such as Ramadan (p. 447) and Bairam, the evenings and nights are spent in mirth and frolic. On the W. side is the _Djamâa Sahab et-Taba_ (Pl. B, 2), one of the largest mosques in Tunis, founded on blocks of stone from Carthage. The _Souk el-Djedid_ on the N. side is for silk wares.

Time permitting, we may glance at the _Rue des Potiers_ (Pl. C, 3), seat of the once noted pottery of Tunis, or at the =Jewish Quarter= (_Hara_; Pl. C, 3, 4), in the N.E. part of the Medina. The chief _Synagogues_ (visitors admitted) are in the Impasse es-Snadli, at the corner of Rue Sidi-Mardoun, in Rue Zarkoun (Pl. C, D, 4), etc.

The interesting _Old Jewish Cemetery_ (Pl. D, E, 3), just outside the old town, is entered from the Rue du Cimetière-Israélite.

c. Environs.

=1.= About 1¼ M. to the N. of Tunis lies the *=Jardin du Belvédère=, laid out in 1892, the most popular promenade in the environs, well shaded with palm-trees, but still unfinished. The grounds cover 250 acres on the slope of _Belvedere Hill_ (269 ft.), which was fortified in the Turkish period. The chief entrance is at the Rond Point at the end of the Ave. de Paris (p. 333; tramway No. 7, p. 330), and there is a side-entrance (tramway No. 6) in the Ave. Carnot, near the _Pépinière Municipale_ (nursery-ground) and the _Cimetière Municipal_ (opened in 1883).

Halfway up, above the main entrance, rises the _Pavillon du Belvédère_ (café; fine view from the terrace). On the S. slope of the hill, ¼ M. from the Avenue Carnot and concealed amid the thick vegetation, is the _Mida_, the ruin of a mosque-court brought from the souks of the Medina. Farther up is the *_Pavillon de la Manouba_, a freely restored Moorish garden-pavilion from the Palais de la Manouba (pp. 342, 343), with fine ornamentation in stucco and a charming view. The top of the hill affords a splendid *Panorama, especially towards evening. To the S. is the old town with the Kasba, the Manoubia Hill, and Fort Sidi Bel-Hassen; more to the right, beyond the Sebkha es-Sedjoumi, rise the distant hills of Zaghouan; to the E. lies Lake Bahira with the island of Chikly, the Ship Canal, and the little towns of Goletta and Rades, backed by the Gulf of Tunis and Cape Bon; then, more to the N.E., rise the hills of Carthage, with the cathedral and Sidi Bou-Saïd; a little to the left, in the plain, lie La Marsa and the Sebkha er-Riana; to the W. are seen the Bardo and the two aqueducts.

Adjoining the _Institut Pasteur_ (1904), on the N. side of the
Rond-Point, is the entrance to the =Jardin d’Essais= (adm., see p.
331), opened in 1892, with many tropical and subtropical plants.
Connected with it is the _Ecole Coloniale d’Agriculture_, founded in
1898.

The tramway (No. 7) runs on through olive-groves to (3 M.) the village
of _El-Ariana_, once famed for its Hafside palace of _Abu Fehr_, and
now noteworthy for its beautiful roses. It is a favourite resort of
the Jews of Tunis, especially on Saturday afternoons, when Jewish
musicians and dancers perform at the cafés.

=2.= A less extensive but more picturesque *View than that from the Belvedere is obtained from the hill, to the W. of the old town, on which lie the decayed Turkish forts of =Bordj Flifel= and =Bordj Rabta= (193 ft.). The shortest way to the hill is by the Rue Bab el-Allouch (Pl. B, 3; see tramway No. 3, p. 330) and through the gate of that name. We then follow the Bardo road (comp. p. 339), straight on, between the garden of the _Hôpital Civil_ (Pl. A, 3, 4), on the right, and the _Ecole Professionnelle Loubet_ (Pl. A, 4), a technical school, on the left. About 6 min. from the gate we diverge to the right by a field-road, and we reach the top in 6 min. more. Near the forts are numerous dilapidated _Silos_ (rabta), once the bey’s granaries.

The Bardo is about 1 M. farther on, but we now return to the crossroads (see above) and follow another road to the S., leaving the village of _Mélassine_ on the right, to the _Bab Sidi Abdallah_ (Pl. A, 5). Close to this gate is the _Château d’Eau_ or _Reservoir_ (Pl. A, B, 5; visitors admitted) of the waterworks of Tunis, which was substituted in 1859–62 for the Roman aqueduct of Carthage (p. 348). It is supplied by the main conduit from Zaghouan (p. 359), 58½ M. long, by an auxiliary branch from the Aïn Djouggar (1276 ft.), 23 M. distant, and (since 1905) by a new branch, 50 M. long, from Djebel Bargou, which flows partly through a tunnel 4 M. in length.

=3.= The =Manoubia Hill= (240 ft.) may be reached in ¼ hr. by a road to the S. from the _Bab Sidi Kassem_ (Pl. A, 6), a town-gate 3 min. to the S. of the reservoir. Or we may start from the Place aux Chevaux (Pl. B, 6; p. 337), whence, near the _Collège Alaoui_ (seminary for teachers), we have a good view of the city and of Lake Bahira, and then follow the Rue Bab el-Gorjani (Pl. B, C, 7). The hill offers a fine view, especially in the morning, of the city, Lake Bahira, the hills of Carthage and Cape Bon; at our feet lies the Sebkha es-Sedjoumi; to the S. rise the hills of La Mohamédia and Oudna, backed by the jagged mountains of Zaghouan.

=4.= From the _Bab Alleoua_ (Pl. E, 7; station of tramway No. 8, p. 330) diverge the roads to Rades (p. 363), Hammam-Lif (p. 363), and the Mornag (p. 358). We ascend across the _Cimetière Sidi Bel-Hassen_ (Pl. E, 7), the largest Mohammedan cemetery of Tunis, now desecrated and therefore open to ‘unbelievers’, to the (12 min.) _Zaouïa Sidi Bel-Hassen_, where we enjoy a charming view of the city and Lake Bahira. The mosque, where many of the former beys’ wives are buried, stands on the site of a cavern which was for many years inhabited by the Moroccan saint Sidi Bel-Hassen ech-Chadly, the founder of the Chadlya brotherhood. The beautiful view from the top of the hill (240 ft.), a little apart from the small _Fort Sidi Bel-Hassen_, resembles that from the Manoubia Hill.

=5.= The =Bardo=, the former winter-residence of the beys, lies in the fertile plain to the W. of Tunis, 1¼ M. from Bab Bou-Saâdoun (Pl. A, 2), and 2 M. from Bab el-Allouch (Pl. A, B, 3, 4; see p. 338) or from Bab Sidi Abdallah (Pl. A, 5). Starting from the Porte de France, we may go by tramway No. 3 (p. 330; 5 c.) to Place Bab-Souika, and thence by tramway No. 5 (15 c.) to the Bardo. About halfway we cross the _Aqueduc du Bardo_, originally Roman, a branch of the Carthage aqueduct (p. 348), restored by Andalusian Moors in the 16th century.—Those who prefer to go by carriage should drive out past the Reservoir (see above), and return round the N. side of the old town, past the _Feskia_ or _Ancien Réservoir_ (Pl. A, 1, 2; for rain-water) and the Mohammedan _Cimetière el-Bsili_ (Pl. B, C, 1, 2), to _Bab el-Khadra_ (Pl. C, 2).

During the Turkish period the Bardo, like the Moroccan palaces of the present day, formed a little town by itself. It included several palaces of the beys and of the widows of deceased princes, a treasury, dwellings of the court officials, a mosque, baths, barracks, and a prison (zendala), and the whole group was enclosed by a massive rectangular wall. Most of the sadly ruined buildings have been utilized since 1900 as material for the new harbour-works. At the S. end the outer wall has disappeared. From the tramway station we enter the pretty grounds (1903) to the right. Immediately to the left is the way to the remains of the chief palace of the beys, and beyond it, on the left, to the Museum. Straight ahead rises the ruin of a domed building; beyond it are the mosque and the prison (now a reformatory for natives).

The =Palace of the Beys=, erected after 1782 by Hamuda Bey (p. 336), contains several objects of interest, apart from its tasteless European furniture and poor pictures. Adm., see p. 331.

We enter by a flight of steps, adorned with marble lions of mediocre
Italian workmanship, and through a vestibule with delicate decoration
in stucco. The anterior colonnaded court is adjoined on the right by
the hall of justice, where the beys used to pronounce sentences of
death which were immediately carried out close by; opposite to it is
the reception-room. A passage to the left brings us to a second
colonnaded court. A tasteful marble portal (Italian) leads thence into
the Salle des Glaces, which has a fine ceiling and a valuable Kairwan
carpet. We then mount the staircase to the First Floor, where the
large festal hall is on the right.

The old _Palace of the Harem_, a creation of the extravagant bey Sidi Mohammed (1855–9), rivalling the Alcázar of Seville (p. 61) in its wealth of decoration, was carefully restored in 1885–1888 and converted into a national museum.

The *=Musée du Bardo=, or _Musée Alaoui_, named after Bey Ali Pasha (1882–1902), containing the rich yield of excavations in every part of Tunisia, is now the finest collection in Barbary. The Moorish and Turkish antiquities were arranged in 1900 in a pretty little adjoining palace under the name of _Musée Arabe_. Adm., see p. 331; catalogue (1897) 10 fr., supplement (1906–10) 27 fr.; director, M. Merlin.

=Ground Floor.= The ENTRANCE ROOM contains Roman mosaics from Henchir
Sidi Djedidi, etc.; family tombstone of the imperial slave Optatus,
from the burial-ground of the Officiales (p. 348). Also, on the right,
votive stones from the temples of Saturn at Aïn-Tounga and on Jebel
Bou-Kornin (p. 363), Roman milestones from the Tebessa road, etc.; on
the left, Roman tomb-cippi and inscriptions. Then two altars bearing
regulations in favour of farmers on the imperial estates: D441. from
Henchir-Mettich near Testour (time of Trajan), and D 442. from
Aïn-Ouassel (time of Septimius Severus); C 1030. Statue of Concordia
from Djorf Bou-Grara (p. 392). At the end of the room, a much damaged
Roman sarcophagus with the Muses.—On the right is—

ROOM I (Pre-Roman Room). Along the walls are Punic and neo-Punic
votive stones dedicated to Baal, Tanit (p. 356), and other deities;
then tomb-stelæ, catapult-balls from an arsenal at Carthage, etc.—At
the back-wall of the side-room is a stela from Maktar, nearly 7 ft.
high, with a Libyan and neo-Punic inscription.—On the left of the
Entrance Room is—

ROOM III (Early-Christian Room). In the centre, B 53. Font from
El-Kantara (p. 394). Along the walls are mosaics from Tabarca and
other places, and sarcophagi. In the show-case, lamps and vessels in
clay from Oudna (5–6th cent.).—In the passage to R. IV, terracotta
slabs with reliefs, once the mural decoration of churches.

ROOM IV (Bulla Regia Room), containing finds from Hammam-Darradji (p.
326): Roman sculptures of the time of Antoninus Pius (138–161), incl.
C 1017. A Minerva Polias in the style of a Parthenos with the
cornucopia of Bonus Eventus and a mural crown; *C 1018. Torso of
Athena; C 1014. Æsculapius, after a Greek original of the 4th cent.; C
1013. Colossal statue of Apollo, after the school of Scopas; C 1015.
Ceres; Roman inscriptions.—In the adjoining Room V, terracotta figures
from the temples of Baal and Tanit at Bir Bou-Rekba.

On the STAIRCASE, C 1033. Head of Hercules, Roman mosaics, etc.; on
the upper landing, C 939. Statue of Apollo from the theatre at
Carthage.

=First Floor.= ROOM VI, the old inner court (patio) of the palace. In
the centre are two large Roman mosaics from Oudna (2nd cent. A. D.): A
103. Bacchus presenting the vine to the Attic king Icarius (A 104.
Hare and fox hunt, in front); A 105. Representation of a country
estate, with hunting scenes. Between the columns of the portico are
Roman statues in marble from Carthage (C 944. Ganymede; C 979.
Bacchus; C 924. Juno; C 982. Isis; and others). Along the walls are
marble busts and heads, most of them from Carthage.—Adjoining this
room on the N. is—

ROOM VII, formerly the banqueting-room, with superb *Dome carved in
wood. In the centre, A 1 Mosaic pavement, about 150 sq. yds., from a
Roman villa near Susa (‘Cortège de Neptune’). By the end-walls, A
25–27. Three semicircular mosaics from Tabarca (beginning of the 4th
cent. A.D.) representing a country seat with park, stable, granary,
sheds, and cellar. By the left side-wall are two Roman mosaics (A 7.
Fishing; A 12. Head of Oceanus); A 19. Early-Christian relief with
circus-scenes; old Christian *Sarcophagus Mosaics from Tabarca, mostly
representing the deceased in the attitude of prayer, between two
candles. The wall-presses contain Punic, Rhodian, Roman, and
early-Christian lamps. By the back-wall are Roman pottery, and
implements in bronze, ivory, and bone. Also a fine bust of Athena from
Carthage.—Next comes—

ROOM VIII. In the centre, bronze armour of Campanian origin (end of
3rd cent. B.C.), found in a Punic tomb at Ksour-Essaf (p. 370): *E 3.
A silver-gilt patera (sacrificial bowl) from Bizerta, weighing nearly
24 lbs., with reliefs (contest of Apollo and Marsyas, sacrifice to
Dionysus, Bacchic scene).—In the side-cases are gold trinkets and cut
gems, mostly from Carthage. In the window-cases are Mauretanian,
Roman, and Byzantine coins. Along the walls are Roman mosaics from
Dougga and from *Chebba (A 292. Neptune and the Four Seasons; A 293.
Orpheus among the animals); C 1115. The Graces and the Four Seasons
(front of a fine marble sarcophagus).

ROOM IX. In the centre, A 287. The Procession of Bacchus, a large
mosaic from El-Djem. Along the walls are Roman mosaics from El-Djem (A
288. Hare-hunt; A 289. Nine Muses; etc.), from Thina (Thænæ), from
Susa (A 6. Boat with quaint representation of the water), and from
Djorf Bou-Grara (A 301, A 301 bis. Wrestlers). In the corners, C 1026.
Torso of a draped woman, perhaps a Victoria, in black marble; C 72.
Head of Augustus; C 1027. Head of Hercules (all from El-Djem). In the
press on the left, three leaden urns and six admirably preserved glass
cinerary urns from the burial-ground of the Officiales at Carthage (p.
348). In the press on the right, bronze utensils. In the wall-cases,
leaden and bronze objects from Carthage and Hammam Darradji; also
so-called ‘tabellæ defixionum’, rolls of lead with curses directed
against enemies in the circus (found in tombs at Susa). Detached, C
16. Torso of a Bacchante from El-Djem.—We return to R. VI and thence,
to the left, enter—

ROOM XI, formerly the concert-room, containing Roman mosaics. In the
centre, A 166. Mosaic pavement from Medeïna, showing the different
kinds of Roman trading vessels; also the heads of a river-god and of
Oceanus. By the entrance-wall, A 171. Temple (containing statues of
Apollo and Diana, and hunting scenes) from Carthage. By the wall
opposite, A 162. A seriously damaged representation of a banquet (4th
cent. A.D.) from Carthage.—The opposite—

ROOM XII was formerly the dining-room. The presses contain relics from
Punic tombs (some of them imported, Egyptian, Greek, and Etruscan). In
the two central cases, terracotta-masks (to avert evil spirits), which
also were among the objects buried with the dead.—A door on the same
(W.) side of R. VI as that to R. XII gives access to three rooms
(XIV-XVI) containing objects discovered at the bottom of the sea near
Mehdia (see p. 370) in 1907–10.

ROOM XIV. A bronze *Hermes of Dionysus, in an archaic style, by
Boëthus of Chalcedon (according to the inscription; 2nd cent. B.C.).
On a shelf are remains of a large bronze capital with two female
heads. In the glass-cases are two bronze lamps with the figure of a
runner; numerous bronze statuettes, among others an Eros playing a
lyre, two female dancers, a buffoon, Satyr, and actors; bronze
utensils.

ROOM XV. In the centre, a bronze *Statue of a winged Eros (4½ ft.
high). Along the walls, a leaden anchor; terracotta amphoræ, bars of
lead with stamps in Latin, flour-mills; in the glass-case, a
terracotta lamp with its wick still preserved.

ROOM XVI (marble objects). Large mixing bowls (‘crateræ’), adorned
with Bacchic subjects; candelabra in the neo-Attic style; capitals;
Greek inscriptions; busts and heads, among which should be noted, in
the middle, a well-preserved Aphrodite; torsos and statuettes.

We return to R. VI and descend five steps into—

ROOM XIII, an octagonal *Domed Chamber (formerly the bey’s bedroom),
with four side-rooms richly adorned with stucco and tiles (once
occupied by his four favourite wives). In the centre, A 10. Roman
mosaic from Bir-Chana, with the gods of the seven days of the week and
the signs of the zodiac. In the right wing, *A 266. Roman mosaic from
Susa, Virgil writing the Æneid. In the wing opposite the entrance, C
4. Torso of a Satyr pouring out wine (after Praxiteles). In the left
wing, *C 969. Ceres, from Carthage, with traces of painting; also C
970, C 971. Two draped female statues.—In the corner-room on the
right, without number, Large alabaster vase from Carthage with
haut-relief (head of Bacchus with vine-wreath).—In the corner-room on
the left are terracotta figurines from Susa.

In the GALLERY of R. VI (p. 341) are a relief-map of Carthage, models
of buildings in Carthage, Dougga, Le Kef, Oudna, Sbeïtla, and Djorf
Bou-Grara; also photographs of Tunisian monuments.

From the staircase (p. 341) we enter the =Musée Arabe=. In ROOM I,
tastefully decorated in stucco, are mural tiles from Tunis, Nabeul (p.
365), and Morocco, and knotted carpets from Kairwan. The side-rooms
contain metal-work, enamelled vessels, wood-carving, weapons, etc.

In the COURT (patio) are mural tiles; in the small side-rooms on the
left, costumed figures, national garbs, and models in stucco.

In ROOM II, furniture (incl. a sumptuous bed) and embroidery (incl.
haïtis, velvet hangings with gold and silver embroidery). In the
side-rooms are Tunisian (from Djerba and Moknine) and Algerian
trinkets; also beautiful Kairwan carpets.

Behind the Bardo is =Kassar-Saïd=, a château of the bey (no admittance). Here, in 1881, was concluded the Bardo Treaty, which ended the independence of Tunisia.

The highroad goes on, past the _Hippodrome of Kassar-Saïd_ (races in spring), to (2½ M.) =La Manouba= (rail. station, see p. 329; tramway No. 5, see p. 330), a group of decayed Moorish country-houses with fine orange-gardens. The _Palais de la Manouba_ (now cavalry-barracks) was once the country-seat of Hamuda Bey (p. 336). The kubba of _Lalla Manouba_ attracts many pilgrims.

From Tunis to _Dougga_, see R. 55; to _Zaghouan_, _Le Kef_, and
_Kalaâ-Djerda_, see R. 56; to _Rades_, _Hammam Lif_, and _Susa_, see
R. 57; to _Bizerta_, see R. 54; to _Malta_, see R. 63; to _Tripoli_
(_Syracuse_), see R. 64.

53. Carthage.

An ELECTRIC TRAMWAY starts from Tunis Terminus, Ave. Jules-Ferry (Pl.
E, 4), near the Casino, for Carthage and (¾ hr.) Marsa-Plage. The
chief stations on this line are _La Goulette_, for the little town of
Goletta; _Carthage_, for the castle-hill (St. Louis de Carthage), for
the plateau of the Odéon, and for the cisterns at the Bordj el-Djedid;
_Ste. Monique_, for Damous el-Karita; and _Sidi Bou-Saïd_, for the
lighthouse. The terminus, _Marsa-Plage_, close to the shore, is
connected by a branch-line (½ M.) with _Marsa-Ville_, which is the
terminus of another electric tramway running from the Ave. de Paris
(Pl. E, 3) at Tunis viâ El-Aouina.—Uniform fares from Tunis to
Goletta, Carthage, Marsa-Plage, or Marsa-Ville single 1 fr. 20 or 65
c., return 1 fr. 75 c. or 1 fr.

A DRIVE (carr. 15 fr.) from Tunis to Sidi-Daoud, La Malga
(amphitheatre and cisterns), La Marsa, Sidi Bou-Saïd, Carthage
(cisterns at Bordj el-Djedid, theatre, and museum), Goletta,
Maxula-Rades (p. 363), and back to Tunis is recommended. Luncheon
(brought from Tunis) may be taken beside the lighthouse at Sidi
Bou-Saïd or at Carthage. Good carriages are to be had also at Goletta
and the stations of Carthage and Marsa-Ville (2 fr. per hr.; but the
fare should be fixed beforehand).—In cool weather, especially in the
forenoon, the WALK from La Marsa viâ Sidi Bou-Saïd to Carthage is very
enjoyable.

HOTELS at Carthage: _Hôt. St. Louis de Carthage_, on the castle-hill,
tolerable, déj. or D. 3–3½ fr., wine dear; _Pavillon Beau-Séjour_, R.
3, B. 1¼, déj. 2½, D. 3 fr.; _Hôt. des Citernes Romaines_, near the
cisterns of Bordj el-Djedid (p. 350), plain but good.

For a short visit to the ruins the following description will suffice.
For further study the traveller is referred to the Carte archéologique
et topographique des Ruines de Carthage (Paris, 1907; three sheets,
scale 1 : 5000) and to ‘Carthage autrefois, Carthage aujourd’hui’ (2½
fr.; to be had at the Musée Lavigerie), a full description, but partly
out of date. Comp. also the chapters on Carthage in _Cagnat’s_ book
mentioned at p. 289.—The guides and beggars are very importunate.
Native vendors offer spurious antiquities (cameos, coins, etc.), ‘just
dug up’. It should be noted that the ruins abound in awkward cavities
and fissures, and that, in summer especially, scorpions lurk under the
loose stones.

The ELECTRIC TRAMWAY (see above) to Carthage and Marsa-Plage runs to the _Harbour_ (p. 333), crosses its N. entrance by an embankment, and follows the N. bank of the ship-canal across Lake Bahira (comp. p. 129), skirting the passing-place of the steamers. On the left is the islet of _Chikly_ (p. 129).

6¼ M. _Arrêt du Bac_, station for the Goletta steam-ferry mentioned at p. 363.—7 M. _La Goulette_, on the W. side of the little town of—

=Goletta=, or _La Goulette_ (Hôt. de la Gare, unpretending; pop. 5000, chiefly Sicilian and Maltese fisher-folk), the former little harbour of Tunis, deserted since the opening of the ship-canal. It was strongly fortified by Kheireddin (p. 221) in 1534 and transformed into a great naval station, but was soon captured by the Spaniards and formed the base whence they kept Tunis in check (1535–74).

On the island between the ship-canal and the two narrow inlets to the harbour are the _Dâr el-Bey_, an old palace of the beys, and the disused _Marine Arsenal_ founded by Ahmed Bey (1837–55). On the shore, beyond the old harbour-mouth, which is only 6½ ft. deep, rises the _Kasba_, now barracks.

From Goletta to Maxula-Rades, see p. 363.

Between old Goletta and the ancient harbour of Carthage stretches a tongue of land, the ancient _Taenia_ or _Ligula_, between Lake Bahira and the open sea, where bathing-places abound: 7¼ M. _La Goulette Neuve_, with a long row of humble lodging-houses, chiefly patronized by the poorer Jewish families from Tunis; 8 M. _Khéreddine_, where the old palace of Khéreddine, once the all-powerful minister of Bey Mohammed es-Saddok (1859–82), is now a casino; 9 M. _Le Kram_, another favourite Jewish resort, on the small _Baie du Kram_.

The next station is (9¾ M.) _Salambo_, a new colony of villas named after Flaubert’s novel; near it is the ‘_Lazaret_‘, an old palace of the beys’ harem, on the shore, between the two ancient harbours of Carthage (p. 345), used as a cholera hospital in 1884 (now barracks). 10 M. _Douar ech-Chott_, on the E. side of this picturesque native village (comp. p. 345).

10¼ M. _Dermèche_, station for _El-Kheraïb_ (‘the ruins’), supposed to have been once the market-place of Carthage (p. 345), on the S. side of the Kothon, and also for the _Palais de Dermèche_, once the palace of the minister Mustapha ben-Ismaïl, and now the property of the bey.

10½ M. =Carthage= (hotels, see p. 343), station for the road to the castle-hill and abbey-hill of Carthage (pp. 346, 349). 11¼ M. _Ste. Monique_, between the convent of that name on the right and Damous el-Karita (p. 349) on the left.

Passing _Briqueterie_, we ascend to (13 M.) _Sidi Bou-Saïd_ (p. 351).

13¾ M. _Arrêt de l’Archevêché_, for the archiepiscopal palace; _Arrêt de la Corniche_, the last halt. We then descend to the N.W. to (14½ M.) _La Marsa-Plage_ (p. 351).

* * * * *

=Carthage=, once the proud queen of the seas, lay 10 M. to the E. of Tunis on a low range of hills culminating in _Cape Carthage_ (p. 351). The cape was originally an island, but was probably united with the mainland by the deposits of the Medjerda before the foundation of the city (comp. p. 129). The neck of land between Lake Bahira on the S. and the _Sebkha er-Riana_ on the N., where the army of Regulus was annihilated in 255 and where Scipio encamped in 146, was, according to Polybius, only 3000 paces (ca. 1½ M.) wide, but is now 3 M. at the narrowest part. In the middle ages Douar ech-Chott (p. 344; ‘village on the salt-lake’) lay on Lake Bahira. Carthage possessed two harbours. The outer or commercial harbour lay between the Baie du Kram (p. 344) and Bordj el-Djedid (p. 350), where considerable remains of its quays are preserved for a distance of nearly a mile. The inner or naval harbour (Kothon) was an artificial inland basin, probably on the same site as the two modern lagoons, with a rectangular entrance-basin and a circular main harbour. On an islet in the latter lay the naval arsenal.

Between the two harbours ran the triple town-wall, which on one side extended from the Bordj el-Djedid to the plateau between the Odeon and Damous el-Karita (p. 349), and on the other side enclosed the castle-hill (see below) on the S. and W. sides. The market-place (p. 344), on the N. side of the naval harbour, was connected with the castle-hill by three narrow streets, the chief scene of contest during the storming by Scipio. To the N.W. of the city-wall, as early as the Punic period, lay the villa-suburb of _Megara_ or _Magalia_ (now La Malga).

HISTORY. Carthage was founded about 880 B. C. by Phœnicians from Tyre,
under the leadership, according to tradition, of Dido, adjacent to
_Kambe_, a colony from Sidon. Under the name of _Kart-hadasht_ (‘new
town’) it extended gradually from the dale on the N.E. side of the
Bordj el-Djedid up to the castle-hill. Thanks to its most advantageous
site near the Sicilian straits and on the sea-route between Egypt and
Spain, and to its proximity to the valleys of the Medjerda and the
Oued Miliane (p. 363), the richest in the land, it soon surpassed
Utica (p. 353) and the smaller Phœnician seaports in wealth and power.
From the 6th cent. onwards Carthaginian fleets contended with the
Greeks and with the Etruscans, from whom they wrested Corsica and
Sardinia, for the mastery of the W. Mediterranean, and in 480 their
army of mercenaries, in alliance with Xerxes, even attacked the Greeks
of Sicily. After a great struggle of more than two centuries for the
possession of Sicily, during which Agathocles (p. 163) carried the war
into his enemies’ country (310–307), the intervention of Rome led to
the three Punic wars (264–241, 218–201, and 149–146), to the
occupation of Spain by the Carthaginians, and to the capture and
destruction of Carthage, after a heroic resistance, by Scipio in 146
B. C. On its ruins, in 122, C. Gracchus attempted to found a Roman
colony, but it was not till the year 44 that the far-seeing policy of
Cæsar led to the firm establishment of the _Colonia Julia Carthago_.
The despatch by Augustus of a colony of veterans and the erection of
the city into the capital of the province in place of Utica (29 B. C.)
paved the way for the renewed glory of Carthage, which soon became the
greatest Mediterranean seaport next to Alexandria and the
third-greatest city in the Roman empire. Far and wide its schools of
rhetoric and philosophy were famous. Passionate champions of
Christianity, like Tertullian (160 to about 245), founder of the sect
called after him, and Cyprian (d. 258), who protested against the
claim of Rome to precedence in the church, were residents in Carthage,
the chief bishopric in N. Africa. In numerous councils (from 393
onwards) the dogmas of the Catholic church were here discussed and
settled, and at the synod of the Gargilian Thermæ in 411 St. Augustine
with fiery eloquence combated the doctrines of the Donatists (p. 322)
and the Tertullianists.

Genseric (p. 322) converted the old palace of the proconsuls into his
royal residence and made Carthage the capital of the Vandal empire,
and a little later the city became the residence of the Byzantine
governors. After Hassan ibn en-Nôman (p. 322) had destroyed the city
in 698, almost as completely as Scipio had done, and after he had even
caused the harbours to be filled up, the ruins were used for centuries
as a quarry for the building of Kairwan (p. 372), Tunis, Goletta, and
the small towns around, while many of the Roman and Byzantine columns
were carried off by the Moors to Cordova and by the Italians to
Palermo, Amalfi, Pisa, and Genoa. The attempts of the Hafsides (p.
323) to resuscitate Carthage met with little success. To that dynasty
belonged El-Mostanser-Billah, against whom Louis IX., the Saint,
directed his last crusade. It was on the castle-hill of Carthage that
Louis died of the plague in 1270, and it was from Carthage that Emp.
Charles V. led his expedition against Tunis in 1535. Modern builders
have again been busy, at the cost of the ancient ruins, since the time
of Card. Lavigerie (1825–92), who made the Missions d’Afrique (see
below) the centre of the catholic missions in N. Africa and succeeded
in 1884 in obtaining the restoration of the old archbishopric.

After all this endless havoc, and owing to constant alterations in the
earth’s surface, it is now very difficult to trace the plan either of
the Punic or of the Roman Carthage, which seems to have been laid out
in chessboard fashion. Yet the beauty of the scenery and the wealth of
historical memories amply compensates for the deplorable state of the
ruins. The valuable yield of recent excavations is now preserved in
the Musée Lavigerie (see below), in the Bardo Museum (p. 340), and in
the Louvre.

The =Byrsa= (194 ft.), the ancient castle-hill of Carthage, 660 yds. from the sea, was the site in the Punic period of a temple of Eshmun, and in the Roman period of a temple of Æsculapius and of the palace of the proconsul. It is now called the _Colline de St. Louis de Carthage_ and is occupied by the chapel of St. Louis, the seminary, and the archiepiscopal cathedral. The terrace on the side next the sea, adjoining the Hôtel St. Louis de Carthage (p. 343), commands a delightful *View of the gulf of Tunis and the site of ancient Carthage.

The _Grand Séminaire de Carthage_, founded in 1875 by Card. Lavigerie as a mission-house and seminary for the Pères Missionnaires d’Afrique (commonly called Pères Blancs from their white semi-Arab garb), contains the *=Musée Lavigerie=, dating from 1875, where the yield of the excavations made by Père Delattre, the learned principal of the seminary, is preserved. Adm. on Mon., Thurs., Frid., and Sat., 2 to 5.30; on Sun. and holidays 2–3 and 4 to 5.30; probably also before 11, and on other afternoons, on application (closed in Holy Week after Wed.). Visitors make a donation to the offertory-box. No catalogue.

In the SEMINARY GARDEN, below the small _Chapelle de St. Louis_, built
in 1845 to the memory of King Louis the Saint (see above), are
preserved eight barrel-vaults, with semicircular niches, relics of
some ancient edifice of unknown character. On the terrace in front of
the chapel is a large Roman sarcophagus in marble. Around it are
placed numerous Punic cinerary urns. In the grounds lie fragments of
ancient buildings. Along the garden-walls are ranged Roman mosaics,
inscriptions, and fragments of sculpture.

The COLONNADE of the seminary is adorned with three colossal figures
of Victory in high-relief, of the time of the proconsul Q. Aurelius
Symmachus (373–5), one of the last champions of expiring paganism.—The
VESTIBULE contains two sadly mutilated early-Christian reliefs, the
Annunciation to the Shepherds and the Adoration of the Magi, from
Damous el-Karita (p. 349).—To the left, in the SALLE DE LA CROISADE,
are Punic, Roman, and early-Christian inscriptions.—On the right is
the—

PUNIC ROOM, containing the most valuable collection, almost
exclusively from Punic rock-tombs (8th–2nd cent. B.C.), unrivalled
except in the museum of Iviza. In the 1st Case in the middle of the
room are Egyptian scarabs and amulets, trinkets (some Egyptian), and
weights. 2nd Case: lamps and vases in clay, gold trinkets, beautiful
Greek ivory carving (swan bearing a goddess), an Etruscan inscription
(the only one yet found in Africa), Egyptian signet-rings, etc. 3rd
Case: necklaces composed of amulets, glass amulets with faces of
iridescent glass, gold signet-rings with engraved figures, fragments
of painted ostrich-eggs, toilet articles in lead, Cupid in terracotta
resembling the Tanagra figurines, a Greek work. 4th Case: bronze
mirrors and ‘little axes’ or razors, probably amulets.—In the
wall-presses, on the left of the entrance, Punic vases and terracotta
masks, iron and bronze weapons. By the left side-wall are statuettes
in clay in the Egyptian and Cyprian style, Corinthian and Attic vases,
an Etruscan vase (toilet scene), two bronze jugs with fine figures as
handles. By the back-wall are terracottas.—At the end of the right
side-wall, in the window-niche, cinerary urn of the priest Baalchelek,
also that of another priest with a beautiful relief of the deceased.
By the last window but one, on the right side, are five cinerary urns;
in front of them stands a sarcophagus with two skeletons. Then, at the
end of the room, are four anthropoid *Sarcophagi in the Greek style
(end of 4th cent. B.C.); two bearded priests in the attitude of prayer
(one of them a cast); a priestess, with remarkably well-preserved
painting, holding a dove and a situla.

Lastly we enter the ROMAN-CHRISTIAN ROOM from the garden. By the
end-wall on the left are early-Christian mosaics and lamps. By the
back-wall, Roman mosaics (incl. Autumn and Winter); marble sculptures
(Ceres, bust of Apollo, etc.). By the right end-wall are Roman
terracottas, *Lamps with figure-compositions, and three reliefs in
stucco from the tomb of a lady of rank. By the entrance-wall, Roman
and Byzantine weights.—The 1st Case in the middle of the room contains
early-Christian relics from the abbey-hill (p. 349), mostly of the
Vandal period. 2nd Case: a bronze lamp and the clay statuette of an
organ-player (upper part broken off). 3rd Case: Roman bronzes and
glasses; rolls of lead inscribed with curses, from the burial-ground
of the Officiales (p. 348); Byzantine and mediæval coins. 4th Case:
coins of the Phœnician down to the Byzantine periods.

The =Cathedral= (_Primatiale de St. Cyprien et de St. Louis_), a basilica with nave and two aisles, built in 1884–90 by _Abbé Pougnet_, in the Byzantine-Moorish style, contains (in the choir) the archiepiscopal throne and the tomb of Card. Lavigerie (p. 346). Over the high-altar is the valuable reliquary of St. Louis, executed by Armand Caillat, a goldsmith of Lyons. Adm. from 5 to 11.15 and 12.30 to 5.30 (in summer 6.45).

The limestone blocks on the S.W. side of the cathedral, near the small eucalyptus grove, are remains of the stylobate of a _Roman Temple_. From the brow of the hill we obtain a good survey of the site of the ancient naval harbour (p. 345) and of the Roman circus (see below). The view of Lake Bahira is charming at sunset.

Between the brow of the hill and the road descending to Douar ech-Chott (p. 344) Père Delattre’s excavations have brought to light a number of buildings a thousand years apart in date. Above, on the margin of the hill, is an interesting _Punic Necropolis_ with rock-tombs; lower down are remains of the _Town Walls_, hastily restored under Theodosius II. (p. 541) in 424, and traces of the _Roman Road_ leading to the harbour; then Punic tombs again, and below them the foundations of a _Byzantine Dwelling House_ (a room here contains early-Moorish tombs).

Below the S. angle of the castle-hill we come upon ancient
fortifications. Farther down is a wall or buttress composed of
thousands of early-Roman earthenware amphoræ; also a rock-hewn
_Chapel_ (key at the Seminary) with remains of wall-paintings (saint
bestowing a blessing) in the style of the catacomb frescoes.

Time permitting, we follow the Sidi-Daoud road to the N.W. from the castle-hill, cross the Goletta and La Marsa highroad, and reach (¼ hr.) the Roman =Amphitheatre=, which has been broken up only since the 16th cent., and which Edrisi, the geographer (1154), has described as one of almost matchless splendour. All that is left of it consists of a few remains of substructures deeply imbedded in rubbish, several underground passages, and in the centre of the arena (where a chapel with a cross recalls the martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas, p. 350) three underground chambers, probably for the machinery used in theatrical performances.

To the S., not far from Douar ech-Chott (p. 344), are a few vestiges
of the Roman _Circus_. It measured 770 by 110 yds.; the Spina, or
partition round which the racing chariots passed, was 380 yds. long.

Scarcely a hundred paces to the N.W. of the amphitheatre, near a farm-building, is a _Burial Ground of the Officiales_ (1st–2nd cent.), the imperial freedmen and slaves employed in the proconsul’s office (tabularium).—Beyond the amphitheatre the road passes a second _Burial Ground_ of the same kind on the right and the foundations of the _Villa of Scorpianus_ (identified by the inscription ‘Scorpianus in adamatu’) on the left.

To the W. of the highroad, 12 min. from the castle-hill, lies the dirty village of =La Malga= (82 ft.), which swarms with begging children. On the N.E. side of the village are scanty ruins of Roman _Thermae_. The CISTERNS in the middle of the village, 15 (originally 24) barrel-vaults now in a very ruinous condition and partly used by the natives as dwellings or stables, once formed the chief reservoir fed by the _Roman Aqueduct_ (pp. 329, 353, 358), begun under Hadrian in 117, but not completed till 163. The whole city was supplied thence by means of leaden pipes.

A _Roman Road_ leads almost in a straight line from La Malga, to the
N.E., close past Damous el-Karita (p. 349) and past the Basilica
Maiorum (p. 350), to the Arrêt de la Briqueterie (p. 344).

From La Malga we follow the road to the S.E., past the _Croix de St. Cyprien_, a memorial of the famous bishop (pp. 345, 346), along the course of the old ‘Conduit Souterrain’, to the =Abbey Hill= (171 ft.), often groundlessly called _Colline de Junon_, rising to the N.E. of the castle-hill. Here are situated the _Monastère du Carmel_, a Carmelite nunnery, and the _Petit Séminaire_, the original mission-house of the White Fathers, now an orphanage presided over by the Sœurs Missionnaires d’Afrique, a sisterhood also instituted by Card. Lavigerie. On the roadside, between these buildings, remains of _Roman Houses_ and _Cisterns_ have been excavated.

On the slope of the =Odeon Plateau= (181 ft.), the N.E. continuation of the abbey-hill, near the bridge of the electric tramway, and 3 min. to the left of the upper Carthage and Sidi Bou-Saïd road (p. 350), are relics of the _Roman Theatre_, including several rows of the seats of the cavea (p. 293) and parts of the stage-building. After the partial restoration of the theatre a grand performance took place here in 1908 and similar representations will be occasionally repeated.—A few paces to the S.W. of the stage we come to the foundations of a small Roman _Temple Circulaire_. To the N.E. of the theatre, on the S.E. slope of the plateau, are the more considerable remains of _Roman Houses_, but these have recently been threatened with demolition.

On the plateau itself, about a hundred paces above the theatre, in the midst of a _Punic Necropolis_ (3rd cent. B.C.), are relics of pavement and several underground passages marking the site of the _Odeon_, a roofed theatre (theatrum tectum) for concerts, built under the proconsul Vigellius Saturninus (about 212 A.D.). Both the theatre and the odeon are said to have been destroyed by the Vandals in 439.

Outside the old town-wall (p. 345), about 135 yds. to the N. of the Odeon, and 3 min. to the W. of station Ste. Monique (p. 344), lies an extensive early-Christian cemetery, in the centre of which lie the ruins of =Damous el-Karita= (domus caritatis?), a great basilica. This church, 71 by 49 yds., was built at different periods. The oldest basilica with its ten aisles (4th cent.) was orientated to the S.E., and the second, with eight aisles, probably of the Vandal period, was turned towards the S.W. A third building, again with ten aisles, evidenced by its reduced size the decline of Carthage in the Byzantine period, as it consisted only of the old transept converted into a nave and of the four N.W. aisles of the second basilica. Within the oldest nave, in the axis of the first choir-recess, a new apse was erected. The =⟙=-shaped building thus resulting, with its very short and many-aisled body, seems to have been the model on which Hassan ibn en-Nôman built the Kairwan mosque, as well as the source of much of its material (comp. pp. 374, 376).

Adjoining the basilica on the N.E. is a vast semicircular _Atrium_ (see p. 316), belonging to one of the two earlier churches, with remains of the fountain of purification and of a trefoil-shaped memorial-chapel (comp. p. 317) built into the colonnade. On the S.W. side of the basilica lie the foundations of a _Baptistery_ with an octagonal font.

On the outskirts of a small olive-grove, reached either across the
fields from Damous el-Karita (in 8 min.) or to the W. from the Arrêt
de la Briqueterie (2 min.; p. 344), is the =Basilica Maiorum=,
excavated in 1907. In the Vandal period this was the church of the
Arian bishop. In the Confessio (10½ by 10¼ ft.), according to an
inscription, the martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas (d. 203; see also
below and p. 348) were buried. In the contiguous early-Christian
cemetery bishops’ tombs and a cistern have been discovered.

We conclude our visit with a glance at the ruins in the PLAIN by the sea.

On the slope of the Odeon plateau, between the two roads to Sidi Bou-Saïd, extends a large =Punic Necropolis= (_Nécropole de Douïmès_), containing many rock-tombs of the 7–5th centuries. Near it are remains of _Punic Pottery Kilns_ and the foundations of the _Basilica of Dermèche_, a Byzantine church with double aisles and traces of a baptistery with its octagonal font. A few paces to the N. we come to a _Roman Cistern_, 85 ft. deep, and vestiges of an _Early Christian Monastery_ (St. Stephen’s?).

Close by are the *=Cisterns of Bordj el-Djedid=, on a side-branch of the lower road, the largest in the ancient city after those of La Malga, whence they were supplied. They were restored in 1887 and utilized for the new waterworks of Tunis (p. 339). The building, once dreaded by the natives as the ‘devil’s cavern’ (Douames ech-Chiatinn), forms a rectangle of 147 by 44 yds., with seventeen parallel barrel-vaults of 33 by 8 yds., two filtering basins, and broad side-passages (keeper ½ fr.).

Close to the sea, a little to the S.E., perhaps on the site of the harbour of Kambe (p. 345), lie the shapeless ruins of the =Thermes d’Antonin=, or _Baths of Dermèche_, re-erected under Antoninus Pius about 145, once perhaps the largest at Carthage.

Between the baths and the ruinous Turkish fort _Bordj el-Djedid_ (49 ft.) lie the foundations of the superb _Roman Stairs_ (Escalier Monumental) which once ascended from the quay to the Platea Nova, one of the largest squares in Roman Carthage. Their marble blocks were used in the building of the cathedral in 1884.

An underground Roman building, with a flight of twenty-five steps, to
the N.E. of the Bordj el-Djedid, formerly called Fanum Cereris, but
now termed _Carcer Castrensis_, is said to have been the prison of the
martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas (see above).—Near it is a _Roman Tower_
resembling a bastion, half in the sea.

On the new road from Bordj el-Djedid to station Ste. Monique (p. 344)
is the ‘_Kubba Bent el-Re_‘, a number of underground chambers of
unknown object, formerly called ‘Baths of Dido’.

A picturesque rock-path skirting the abrupt coast, besides the two roads named on p. 350, leads from Carthage to =Sidi Bou-Saïd=, about 2¼ M. from the Byrsa. This wealthy and highly picturesque village, almost entirely Mohammedan, with the bey’s summer residence, a fine beach for bathing, and the shrine of the local saint (much frequented on Fridays), lies at the E. end of _Cape Carthage_ or _Cartagena_ (423 ft.; Arabic _Râs Sluguia_), which has kept its Punic name throughout the ages. From the entrance to the village (station and cab-stand) we ascend straight to a small square with several Arab cafés, then by a path in steps to the left, again to the left, and lastly to the right, to the round lighthouse (_Phare_; ½–1 fr.). From the top we enjoy an exquisite *View, which is finest by morning light, of the site of Carthage, the whole of the bay stretching to Cape Farina (p. 129), and Lake Bahira with its mountain background.

From the lighthouse a beautiful path leads past the _Poste Optique_ and behind the vineyards of the _Archiepiscopal Palace_, to the Arrêt de la Corniche (p. 344) and (½ hr.) =La Marsa= (Hôt. de la Régence), a village in the fertile plain between Cape Carthage and Jebel Khaoui (see below), with many country-houses and a bathing beach (dangerous currents). About halfway between the two stations (p. 343) is the _Palais du Bey_, where the present prince (p. 323) usually resides. (Adm. to the stables only, containing the state-carriages; fee 1 fr.)