North Africa Morocco Tunisia Tour (18) "North African Pompeii" - Dougga

North Africa Morocco Tunisia Tour (18) "North African Pompeii" - Dougga Tunis - Dougga - Kairouan December 22, 2024 Weather: Rain turning to sunny to cloudy, 5-15°C. After a good night's rest, I woke up in the morning to fresh air after the rain, which was refreshing. Tunis is the northernmost point of the Tunisia tour, and today we head south, first inland and then along the coast, returning to the capital in a week. After two weeks of travel, we encountered rain and strong winds for the first time, but fortunately, it was only occasional light rain, so the tour was not too affected. In the morning, we drove for two hours to the second stop - Dougga. Dougga, a World Heritage Site, was prosperous as far back as the Carthaginian period and became the empire's granary during Roman rule. The site is well preserved and resembles the famous Pompeii in Italy. Dougga, located on a mountain at an altitude of 600 meters, has a good strategic location. In the 2nd century BC, it was the base of Masinissa, who helped the Romans against Carthage. The site covers 25 hectares, with all public buildings and private residences stretching across the hills. From the name and location of the construction, it can be seen that Dougga is different from the typical Roman cities built on the plains, so it can be seen that Dougga existed before the Romans arrived in the 2nd century AD. In fact, records of Dougga date back to the 4th century BC. The site is large, and the tour takes more than an hour. The architectural forms and styles on the site are familiar. Ancient Roman theater (Figures 1-3), Temple of Zeus (Figures 4-5), Roman triumphal arch (Figure 6), Roman house (Figure 7), public toilet (Figure 8), nightclub (Figure 9), etc. After another three hours of driving, we arrived at the third stop - Kairouan in the evening.