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Place in Sfax Governorate, Tunisia
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
El Jem is a town of 22,000 people (2014) in the east of Tunisia that holds the remains of a UNESCO World Heritage listed Roman amphitheater.
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The amphitheater dominates the modern town, and was also featured in several scenes of the film Gladiator. The amphitheater is best seen at dawn or sunset, and this is also the best time for taking photographs. While the grounds may be closed during sunrise or sunset, photographs of the site from the surrounding streets are certainly possible.
It has a large selection of mosaics and one restored Roman Villa, which has all the mosaics in place and gives a real feel for their style of living. Adjoining this is the rest of this area of Roman Thysdrus, with the streets and floor plans laid out over a large area showing the variations to the house and villa plan.
A place where locals hang out to play cards, watch the streets, do nothing and enjoy tea and coffee.
Reception 24 hours, with multilingual personnel. Café, free Wifi at the reception, outdoor freshwater swimming pool, car rental.
By train
A return ticket from Sfax should be around 10 DT, and take approx. 45 minutes.
By louage
Louages depart for El Jem from Sousse louage station (around 6 DT, ~1 hour). There is no direct public transport between Kairouan and El Jem, you'd need to change in Sousse.
By taxi
One of the most expensive options, this gives you the most flexibility. Either arrange a time for your driver to return or ask him to wait for you.
By car
Head south from Sousse (north from Sfax) for about 1 hour; the amphitheater is clearly visible as you approach the town and the turn off well signed.
El Jem is a small town and everything that may be of interest to the visitor can be reached on foot.
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Articles and travel topics about El Jem and Tunisia.
Culture & historyAn archaeological site (or archeological site) is any place with physical evidence of past human activity. Such sites might be from pre-history as well as history, and the oldest sites can be considered paleontology.
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