Le Sud - day 3

The extra hour in bed due to the clocks going back and a relatively late start refreshed us for the long journey back to Monastir. There was a lot of sightseeing still to be done on the way, however.
Our first stop, Metlaoui, is the centre of Tunisia’s profitable phosphate mining industry. Tunisia is third only to Russia and Morocco in the quantity of the mineral extracted, initially in the 19th century by underground mining but now by open faced extraction. The spoil heaps are as big as the mountains from which they come. Talk about moving mountains – it is done here!
The main reason for our visit to this place is not the Phosphates at all but a ride on the ‘Le Lezard Rouge’, a narrow gauged railway line opened in 1899 through the Seldja Gorge in the Tell Atlas mountains. The carriages with a variety of comfortable armchairs as seats are those from the Bey of Tunis’s early 20th century train that took him from his Palace in the north of Tunis to his summer residence in the South of the City. The Bey was, even during the French Protectorate, King of Tunisia, albeit a nominal ruler. By the time we boarded the train half an hour before the 1030 departure all the seats were taken. Those in the favoured armchairs must have put their towels on them at daybreak and not a German amongst them! Our fellow passengers included a newly wed young Berber couple.
The old fashioned charm of the train and the dramatic scene of the vertical sides of the Gorge and the muddy waters created by the mining cascading down the valley were exceptional.
Back on the road past Gafsa, where evidence of Berber presence in 3,500BC was discovered, the flat plains of the heartland of the Country are fertile with crops of a variety of fruits and vegetables being grown amongst and between the ever present olive groves surrounded by prickly pears.
It was fitting that we should end our tour, as we started it, with a Roman theme. Close to the modern town of Sbeitla lies the Roman site of Sufetula. Built mainly during the 2nd to 5th centuries, it became a Roman colony wherein the citizens had equal rights to those of Rome. In the 3rd century Christians settled here and most of the churches date from that period. The ruins of this large town that have been excavated to date are very well preserved despite the fact that the Arab Muslims demolished and carted away many stones to build the Great Mosque in their Islamic city of Kairouan some 150 km away.
The foremost attractions are the stunning Forum and Capital, containing temples to Juno, Jupiter and Minerva, the St Vitalis Basilica and its mosaic clad baptistery, the Great Baths with mosaic floors almost intact and the Theatre that has been extensively renovated for use today.
Amongst the other ruins the Bellator Basilica, the Vendor’s Stalls near the Capital, the Church of St Servus and the main paved streets are striking as are the remarkably intact and intricate mosaics throughout the site.
There was little time to pay a meaningful visit to Kairouan, Tunisia’s religious heart, as the light was fading and the interesting sites were closed. We did, however, witness the Muezzin’s sunset call to prayer from the minaret of the Great Mosque, the most holy of places in the Country. We will return to this City for a comprehensive tour later in the year.
During the past three days we have travelled over 1000 km to the edge of the Sahara Desert and back. We have seen the architecture and the way of life of civilisations from 3,500BC to the current day and, in the case of the Berbers, have experienced to some small degree that existence. It has been a monumental experience the memory of which will remain with us forever.