TUSNIA - PART ONE

 CARTHAGE AND THE PUNICS 

When my father was around 10 - 12 years old he had an accident while sliding on the ice in Chicago. The way he told it always reminded me of the opening scene in "It's a Wonderful Life" when Harry slides on a shovel into a pond and is saved by George.  It was probably about the same era.  However, instead of a pond, dad crashed into others or an obstacle, his legs bent backwards and broke both his knees.  He was not a robust child being in the womb while his older brother was still nursing taking most of the calcium.  I tell you this because during his months bedridden he read all volumes of World Book of Knowledge set several times.  Because of this he had a great knowledge and love of history and would regale us with stories of the past.  One such story was when Rome defeated Carthage after two previous wars.  Rome wanted to assure the city would never rise again, and after defeating them salted the earth so nothing could grow there for decades.  The first scorched earth policy.  

Since then I've been inspired to know more about ancient history and to see this site.  Carthage was located on the African coast at its closest point to Europe after Gibraltar, just outside today's Tunis, Tunisia.  It was originally settled in 1200 BCE as a trading colony by the Phoenicians from today's Lebanon.  As western Mediterranean Phoenicians developed their own culture, they were called Punic. The Punics settled western colonies in Sicily (only 147 miles away), southern Iberian peninsula, Sardinia, and Libyan shores to their east.  Carthage became one of the most important trading hubs of the ancient Mediterranean, and richest city of the Classical world.

As Rome came to power and began its imperial ambitions, the cliche "this sea isn't big enough for the both of us" was true before our western movies.  For over 100 years, from 264 BCE to 146 BCE, there were three Punic wars between Rome and Carthage.  The First Punic war was was fought as a naval battle around Sicily as Rome expanded.  

The Second Punic War is the most memorable when Hannibal invaded Rome by entering Iberia, crossed the Alps with elephants, and laid siege to Rome.  His elephants died, soldiers deserted, and he became stalemated outside the city.  To counter the move, Rome directly attacked Carthage, and Hannibal was recalled home to defend the city. His strategy is still studied today in military academies.  

In 146 BCE Rome contrived to finally do away with their rival.  The Third Punic war was fought entirely in today's Tunisia.  The Romans invaded Carthage, slaughtered their entire population, completed destroyed the city leaving no two stones together, and plowed the remains under the soil.  Salting the earth only became apocryphal after 1863, and was probably popular when by dad read about it.  But scholars today doubt the final retribution.  Too bad, it's a good story of revenge.  

One hundred years after its oblivion, Julius Caesar rebuilt a Roman city on the site in 45 BCE.  Due to its strategic location, Roman Carthage became one of Rome's most military and elegant cities, with dry docks, trading port, baths, amphitheaters, and fabulous houses with mosaic floors for the wealthy.  These are the ruins we see today in Tunisia.

We left Cairo early in order to have a tour of Carthage on arrival.  Our Dar (house) was in the center of Tunis' old Medina, where no cars are allowed (or could fit).  Our host met us outside at a public plaza. She quickly walked with confidence and experience through all the twisting and turning streets, shops, donkey carts, and shoppers leaving us completely bewildered and confused as to where we were, or how to get out to meet our tour guide in only an hour or so.  

The Souk in the Medina. Lots of metal work, fabrics, households, and food.

Wandering through the labyrinth of the Souk.

Looking at our iPhone map, I found a much closer, and more easily navigated, rendezvous for our tour guide that was outside the main Bab (gate) on the other side of the Medina.  

Historic Bab (Gate) at entrance to Medina

Old hotel at Bab plaza where we met our guides.

Our first stop was the UNESCO Roman baths, the largest outside Rome.  Even with only a few columns and the hypocaust (sort-of a basement floor heating system) the site is impressive.  Imperial Rome was decadent.  There weren't many battles to fight anymore, the revenue from trading and conquered lands was excessive so the wealthy engaged in eating, drinking and spa treatments (sound familiar - early income inequality).  The emperors  Caligula, Nero, and Commodus are examples of "power corrupts", and "absolute power corrupts absolutely".  

Plan of the Carthage Baths and Spa.  Larger than the length of a football field.

Section showing the huge scale and elegance of the Baths. 

The platform "mushroom" caps was the main floor
with the hypocaust below heating all the floors and water.

Marble column, stone walls and brick arches

The carving on the marble freeze looks like it was carved yesterday.

Nearby the baths is what looks like a modern developed waterway to increase property values.  However, this was dug over 2000 years ago as a dry dock for the Roman navy behind their man-made trading port lagoon.  Around the circumference and the island they built covered dry-docks like spokes in a wheel. 

The island and waterway taken from the connection to the Port basin.

Illustration of the circular dry-dock basin and the trading port to the left.

Another ancient site not from Roman times, but 700 BCE during Carthage's early period, is Tophet, a children's burial ground.  There is renewed controversy about the reason for this cemetery.  Historically, the thought was that the Baal worshiping Carthaginians sacrificed children to their god.  However, recent explorations reveal that many of the children were fetuses or new born as they only had teeth buds.  At the time child mortality was about 50% so the sacrificial story seems like propaganda.  The records of the sacrificing of children was written by Carthage's enemies - early fake news.  Things never change?

2500 y.o. children's cemetery.  

Tombstone with carving to Baal.

Two more stops in the ancient Roman world near the ruins of Carthage, is the theater and cistern.  Marvels of Roman civic infrastructure and lifestyle.  

Classic Roman theater modeled on the Greeks
now used for modern concerts and performances

Roman Cistern about the size of a football field, fed by an aqueduct.  
Each half cylinder is a separate water storage facility in order to clean them in sequence.

After our visit to historic Carthage, about half hour from Tunis, we visited the "modern" suburb of Sidi Bou Said.  This is named after a twelfth century religious figure who is buried on this hill overlooking the Mediterranean.  In the eighteenth century, while under Ottoman rule, many Turkish wealthy and governors built houses here.  It is still a wealthy suburb and now a picturesque tourist attraction. Like Santorini it has white buildings with blue trim that cascade down the ridge line with artist shops lining the narrow paths between. 

Hillside town of Sidi Bou Said

Narrow residential street.

Picturesque and stunning view of the Mediterranean.

We returned to our Dar in the Medina and settled in after a non-stop day since leaving Cairo.  While charming, it was a bit rustic compared to our Dar in Fez Morocco.  That was owned by a London woman from the financial sector who retreated to Fez and lovingly and artistically renovated the Dar.  But that's an older story.  

Entry to our Dar in the old Medina.  No windows or indication of what's inside.

Interior court yard of Dar with all rooms facing inward.  

Our modest sleeping arrangement.  Felt like Dance of the Seven Veils.

Next Post:  TUNISIA - PART TWO

EGYPT - EPILOGUE

EGYPT'S LAST ACTIVITIES

QUEEN HATSHEPSUT'S TEMPLE

I wrote that I looked forward for decades to see the Pyramids and they exceeded expectations.  I also wrote that Luxor and Karnak impressed me in school maybe more than the Pyramids.  Now I have to say, that our final stop, Queen Hatshepsut's temple (try saying her name real fast), is favorite architectural wonder that we finally got to see.  How can all this inconsistency be? I think it's like when someone asks what's your favorite country to visit, or food to eat, or movie to see.  It depends.  For shear simplicity of form and power, the Pyramids can't be exceeded.  And the monumentality, beauty of carvings, and imposing structure that you can walk through is overwhelming in Karnak.  However, Hatshepsut's tomb takes architecture and design to another level - almost modernist in approach, over 3500 years ago.  

It has no grand form of the Pyramids, no lotus blossom capitals of Karnak, no pediment of classical Greek, no great civic improvements of Imperial Rome.  The building exterior could be located in Washington D.C. without the statues and it'd be a fine modern contribution as a Federal Office Building.  It settles into the cliff face in tiers like F. LL. Wrights Falling Water.  It is a break from both the past temples we've seen, as well as the architecture of the future in Greek and Roman times.  It's out of place and time, and entirely elegant.

The avenue to the ramp was lined with Sphinxes, and the site had multiple obelisks.
The stone for the temple was carved from the rock face around.

The temple location is now called Deir el-Bahri, which means "Northern Monastery".   As I mentioned in the Naxos blog, most ancient temples and churches that are preserved are because Christianity or Islam usurped them respectively and reused them for their own houses of worship.  Otherwise they were destroyed as pagan symbols or scrapped for parts.  The temple to Hatshepsut is the same.  A Christian monastery was built inside preserving most of the architecture.  However, Egyptian elements like the grand Avenue of the Sphinxes and obelisks were destroyed.  However, this was not just a modern religion problem.  Queen Hatshepsut used the temple to Montuhotep I next door as a quarry for her building material.  Only the foundation platform remains.

Model of Deir el-Bahri.  Note Avenue of Sphinx leading to 
Queen Hatshepsut's ramp and Montuhotep's temple to left quarried by Hatshepsut.

Her story is also interesting and could be told by almost any woman throughout history to today. It was unprecedented at the time for a woman to rule.  Because her father's Ka (life force) as Pharaoh she inherited his Ka and had the right to rule from 1505 BCE - 1284 BCE; before Tut Ankh Amun.  Of course many of the male courtiers and administrators, did not approve so she always struggled to maintain rule and avoid being over-thrown.  To maintain acceptance she had her images and statues made with a royal beard, but of course still with a bosom.  She was a very successful ruler and one of the most historically significant in Egypt. However, after her death, many of her carved images and cartouche were defaced in attempts to write her out of history.  

Statue of the Queen adorn the columns of the upper tier.

Queen Hatshepsut, with symbols of power:
a male beard and arms cross holding the Ankh and the Crook.  

The interior of the temple is finished like most Egyptian temples and tombs.  Walls are engraved and colored in stories of gods, her life, and deeds. And the exterior columns are adorned with statues of her. I won't show many interior carvings as they are similar to previous. 

 But I will highlight a couple new gods.

Anubis, the Black dog:  god of death, mummification, embalming, and the afterlife.

Hathor, the goddess with cow ears.
The goddess of the sky, of women, love, and fertility.  A counterpart to the male sun god Ra.   

BALLOONING

A few years ago when talking about travel with our daughter Teigan, I suggested Turkey. I was there in 1996 and loved it. A true travelers experience then. She thought that a great idea as she read about ballooning over Cappadocia in Anatolia, south central Turkey.  I was appalled, but said nothing.  When we went with friends, Cappadocia was not on the tourist path, a few adventure travelers went there but not many.  It is on a 3000' plateau covered with tufa, a loose rock of compressed stone, sand and gravel with little integrity.  You can carve it with a knife.  And the early Christians dug cave dwellings for safety from persecution, and carved Byzantine chapels within. When the muslims overtook the region they scratched out all the eyes of the icons in the chapels because they believed it was idolatry to show a human face. Back when we went we experienced a conservative muslim culture in the small towns. The thought of the sky covered with colorful balloons and whooping visitors seemed sacrilege to me and missed the entire point of travel.  

So when our guide offered us an optional sunrise balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings before our tour, my initial reaction was repugnance.  But soon all our group but one signed up and I realized the time had come to accept the new world.  (The guest who didn't sign up said it was because she did one over Angor Wat and felt she could never duplicate the emotional impact.)  So we signed up.  

While I may wish for the world to hold still awhile, and pine over lost places now inundated with hordes of tourists, I must repeat Desiderata and accept that which I cannot change.  I did and we had a great time.  

Predawn filling of flaccid leviathans 

The leviathans awake from their sleep and begin to rise.

Filled with hot air they rise fully and are ready to take off.

Our fellow aviators begin to take flight predawn, with ground crew preparing the next craft

It is truly an amazing sight.  And make no mistake, 

the pilots are as trained and licensed as any commercial pilot for their specific craft.

The basket carries the pilot plus 32 passengers in an ice-cube tray arrangement.
2 x 4 cubes on each side of the cockpit with four in each cube.  Everyone had a great view.  

Sunrise finally occurs over the mist covered Nile Valley.

Soaring at 1500' over The Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut.

As as we rose higher I said to one woman who commented nervously, 

"You're as dead falling from 50' as you are from 1500' ".  She was not comforted.

Our family of aeronauts.  The next day they canceled the flights due to lack of visibility.  

Looking down on homes being demolished to recreate the natural valley.  

Not dissimilar to the US emptying National Park sites.  

Queen Hatshepsut's temple and The Valley of the Kings over the ridge in shadow.  

One of many temples being restored. As our guide Ahmed said, 

"You can dig anywhere in Egypt and probably find a ruin."

The sharp edge between land irrigated by the Nile and consumed by the Sahara.
Between sea level rise and urban encroachment into farmland,
Egypt has lost a large percentage of arable land.
They used to be a food exporter, now they import.  

Traditional Egyptian farm land

Our ground crew helps guide to appropriate landing spot.

Passengers shall check for all belongings before departing.

THE SINAI

In planning our trip I considered that after two weeks of intense touring in Egypt, and absorbing all that we saw and learned, we would probably enjoy reflective time at a beach resort, though we are typically not beach people.  In addition, since moss doesn't grow on a rolling stone, I had a self-interest.  The southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula has world class diving sites.  I got certified while in college, but after a couple years got tired diving in the cold water of Puget Sound with limited visibility; and I couldn't afford the expense of regular trips to warmer climes so I gave it up.  When good friends had a sabbatical in Australia in 2016, we all decided to go the Great Barrier Reef and Fiji.  He, like I, hadn't been diving in about 40 years, but we got re-certified, and the gals did an intro to diving which allowed them to join us to a limited depth.  It was a very three dimensional experience; them hovering 30' - 60' above us, back lit by the sun, while we looked down into the inky depths.  We all thoroughly enjoyed it.  Since then another friend took it up and we've been going once a year since.  

The Sinai Peninsula with the mountainous south,
including Mt. Sinai of the burning bush and ten commandments fame.

 

The Sinai has had problems with terrorists attacking tourists, including a mosque in 2017 and in Sharm el Sheikh in 2005.  Therefore, the government isolated the southern region with the army, and visitors are not allowed outside the protected area.  We arrived from Cairo at the Sharm el Sheikh international airport and the hotel picked us up for a 20 minute drive to the resort.  There must have been a recent wind storm as the air was quite hazy surrounded by desert.  

Not too distant mountains in the arid Sinai.

View across the bay on our daily walk down from our unit to breakfast.

I scheduled a two tank dive for each of the following two days.  Through all Egypt I had been struggling with a chest cold I got in London.  Before Covid there'd be no other diagnosis - it's a cold! I've had this before that lingers in my chest causing a great deal of coughing.  It probably annoyed Robin than me.  To assure us all though, I tested twice in the UK to confirm what I knew, it wasn't Covid.  I canceled the first day's dive because I was concerned about trying to breath through a regulator while coughing underwater.  Our second night I decided I had to try the next day since I came this far.  Robin wasn't too happy with me.  Never the less, the dive master, being informed and concerned as well, selected a shore dive rather than a boat dive, which is the site I wanted (why that would make a difference I don't know),  Whether it was my focus on the activity, the pressure, or what, but once under water I didn't cough once during the both 45 minute dives.   

Dive Master Mo, and some old grey haired guy.  

It wasn't the clearest visibility season for diving (that's October), and the shore dive didn't have the large fishes and sharks that the open water dive sites have.  Non-the-less, there were beautiful corals, and an underwater cliff or wall disappearing into the dark abyss.  However, due to my last minute cancelation the day before my rental equipment was still on the boat, so I got available used equipment.  The suit was old and too tight, the gauges were all in metric, and the Master did no pre-dive brief.  When I got out I felt like a had an hour body workout with Thera bands because of trying to move in the tight suit. 

Our last day was to just relax, and to out-gas nitrogen from the blood before we fly.  It is possible to get the "bends" by flying too soon after compression because nitrogen gas can "bubble" out of the blood in low pressure. Our Movenpick resort hotel was located away from the main tourist destination.  On our day off we walked the main promenade. It could be transplanted to just about to any sunshine resort.  Rows of umbrellas on the sand, restaurants lined the promenade, hawkers entreating you to their place, kiosks offering desert tours, boat rides, and hike up Mt Sinai. Very transactional, no real engagement with the population.  We walked out and back and decided it wasn't our place and returned to the hotel.  We finally got a decent margarita by the pool and at night went to the resort's India restaurant that we enjoyed the night before, as the other option was a buffet.  

View of main resort beach from our walk there.
(Taken on arrival so the air was filled with dust)

The nice section of the promenade.

Relaxing pool side of the Movenpick Resort.  

We flew back to Cairo Monday morning in mid-afternoon since there was no direct flight to Tunis from Sharm.  This time we stayed across the river from Tahir Square, site of the 2011 revolution.  We were told that apartments overlooking the square rented to international news stations for $10,000/day.  Besides its historic significance there is an unusable plaza in front of the Cairo museum and an obelisk in the center of a four lane round-about that is virtually inaccessible.  Even trying to cross the street with no underpass, crosswalks or lights is definitely taking a risk.  This is the one location where I allowed a local Egyptian to help us across. This is the fellow that then took us to his "sister's" art shop.  

View from our hotel across the Nile to the Hilton Ritz Carlson and Tahir Square.

The original Cairo Museum and the unusable plaza in front
with underground garage exhaust boxes.  

Obelisk in center of inaccessible Tahir Square round-about.

Next Post:  TUNISIA