Tunis, Carthage, American Cemetery, Sidi Bou Said

26 October 2008- Sunday

We were told that all tours would start at 0800 so my alarm clock stayed set for 0600 for the whole trip- but today went down to breakfast at 0700 and found the place empty except for a couple of waiters setting up. Took me a while to figure out that we had just gotten off daylight savings time, so I could have slept another hour.
At 8 sharp we left the city to drive around a salt lake that is on the east side of Tunis on the other side of which is the port. Drove along the coast to our first stop at The remains of a Phoenician (Punic) temple. There was a fenced in area with lots of headstones inscribed with their deity. It was alleged that they practiced child sacrifice but some say it was Roman propaganda. Then on through an upscale neighborhood where we could see the president's mansion on a promontory, but no photos allowed. We passed a circular waterway that allowed the Phoenician navy easy exit and then arrived at the Antonine Baths- a ruin from the time the Romans finally defeated the Carthaginians. The reason there aren't Carthaginian ruins is because the Romans dismantled the town and are built their own. The Baths were huge but as in many places the marble has been "recycled" for other buildings.