“Ave, Imperator, morituri te salutant (Hail, Emperor, those who are about to die salute you).” These were the immortal greetings of the ancient Roman gladiators, as captured by ancient Roman writer, Suetonius (De viata Caeserum, The Life of the Caesars). With these immortal words, the ancient Roman gladiators enter the amphitheater for mortal combat, and you feel the foreboding resignation of a fight to death. Most of them die, few survive to become heroes, and possibly their exploits in the coliseum might just become a pathway to becoming freed slaves.
These are the silent echoes that played inside as one saw the El Jem Colosseum. It dominates the skyline of El Jem city in Tunisia and can be seen from different parts of the city.
El Jem might have been a very important city more than a thousand years ago, but it is now just a modest city that has seen other cities in the country like Tunis and Souse relegate it to the background.
Driving from Tunis to El Jem allows one to feel the pulse of Tunisia’s rural countryside: typical North African cum Middle East setting. They are laid back and unhurried. Occasionally a camel or more passes by, trudging along in the extremely hot sun. Here most activities are slow and gradually pick up as the sun makes its way down in the evening.
Samy, our amiable tour guide, had given us a brief history of El Jem. Before then, he explained Tunisians are very protective of their rich history and culture. Even before the Islamic era in 621 AD, Tunisia had had a very rich history. They are mostly Berbers descendants of Hannibal, the fearsome King of Carthage that almost brought the ancient Roman Empire’s army to its knees.
Speaking about El Jem Colosseum, he explained that it was the second largest ancient Roman amphitheatre with a capacity of 35,000 seats. He challenged everybody to use Google and find out.
The tour bus carrying Nigerian tourists parked in the parking area a few metres from the coliseum. All around were craft shops that sought to make brisk business from thousands of tourists that flock daily to El Jem to visit the coliseum. They were also selling some old ceramics probably picked from ancient settlements around El Jem.
The amphitheatre of El Jem is a testament to Roman architecture, and probably the most notable built for spectator events in Africa. It is built in a plain in the centre of Tunisia from stone blocks, with no foundations, and is free-standing. The El Jem Coliseum was modelled after the one in Rome without being an exact copy of the Flavian construction.
Its size makes it one of the biggest amphitheatres in the world. It has three levels of arcades of Corinthian or composite style. Inside, the monument has conserved most of the supporting infrastructure for seating. The wall of the podium, the arena, and the underground passages are still intact. This architectural and artistic creation, which was built around 238 AD, constitutes an important milestone in the history of Roman Africa. The amphitheatre of El Jem also bears witness to the prosperity of the small city of Thysdrus (current El Jem) at the time of the Roman Empire.
To enter the coliseum, one had to obtain a ticket from the entrance, Samy obtained our tickets and we filed into the coliseum. The government created a fence in and around the coliseum to protect it from encroachment and also protect the structure from degradation as a result of human activities.
The entrance area has wide walking steps that could take about five to six persons to climb simultaneously. It busts into a hollow walkway. All around are bare stones that were used in the construction. However, one must praise the architect(s) that designed and built the place. In the hollow walk way, on one side are different entry points that lead to the gallery while on the other side are spaces where one could see El Jem, especially the craft shops.
Climbing to the gallery, there is a clear view of the gladiator arena, bare and intimidating. To explore, we climbed down from the gallery, down to the underground area where the gladiators or wild animals were kept. The gates burst directly into the arena with a short staircase from the underground dungeon-like enclosure to the fight arena.
Even though the El Jem Coliseum is almost 2,000 years old, the structure is very much in good condition.
It takes close to an hour to tour round the coliseum. The climbing and descending were physically taxing, but the excitement and adrenaline of being in such a historical place that one had neither read about nor seen before relegated the tiredness to the background.
After touring the underground dungeon and the three levels of the coliseum, the body became tired. Resting to regain one’s breath, suddenly the breeze floated the Afrobeat sound of one Nigerian musician into the coliseum. It was like a kind of audio-mirage. Were the ears playing a game? The trail of the sound led to the craft shops all around the coliseum. Trust Nigerians. Some of the ladies in the tour group had invaded one of the craft shops and cajoled the shop attendant to play Nigerian music. Play he did and loud. The Nigerian ladies, despite being in a strange and rather conservative city, took to the dance floor right there on the street of El Jem beside the coliseum. ‘Nigeria no dey carry last.’
Suddenly, the coliseum was no longer the attraction but the ladies.
In all, there are historical sites and after visiting, it is etched somewhere in one’s memory forever. It is difficult to visit the Roman coliseum in El Jem and ever forget the experience. This writer won’t!
Saturday Sun Travel Nuggets: Five essentials to check before booking hotels
Most travellers and tourists travelling out of the country book hotels in the destinations they are visiting online. To an average traveller, the biggest factor in the choice of hotel is usually cost. For one to have a good experience while on holiday, there are certain things to look out for while searching for a suitable hotel to stay.
1, Stay close to the places you intend visiting. It is important a traveller in a foreign country either on leisure or business tourism stays close to the places he intends visiting. It saves time and reduces cost.
2, Check the review of the hotel you plan staying in. Most good hotels, including budget hotels have sections for review of the hotel by past visitors. Before booking and staying in a hotel, it is important to read the review by past lodgers.
3, Accessibility to attractions. Most leisure travellers have lists of places and tourist sites they want to visit while on vacation in the foreign land. It is best to book a hotel close to these sites.
4, Note that if one is paying a very low price for a hotel accommodation, one should not expect some facilities one could enjoy in medium size hotels.
5, To avoid disappointments, it is important for a traveller to have an idea of what a budget hotel is offering before lodging there.
