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The beautiful amphitheatre
Oudna may very well become a great tourist attraction some time in the future at the level of Dougga and El Jem. Its location, between Tunis and Hammamet, makes it ideal for tour groups.
Although quite a lot have been well excavated, much still lies under rubble. But still, you may easily have the whole place to yourself.
Oudna's
amphitheatre is impressive even when compared with the larger one of El
Jem. It could seat as much as 16,000 spectators. It was actually the
3rd largest in North Africa in Roman times.
About
half of the seats have been restored. Even the iron fence between the
front seats and the field has been reconstructed. The restoration is of
a kind that will not appeal to all; most of what you see is not
original. Still, I will argue, that a total restoration has a purpose,
as it will give the most correct image of Romans themselves saw. A more
genuine version will of course always be the one at El Jem.
Capitol with underground vaults
The Capitol of Oudna looks like nothing else in Tunisia. Is it really a
capitol? Or is it a fortress? And the house on top of it all?
The
explanation is that the original Roman was expanded by the Byzantine,
and turned into something that was almost entirely a fortress. You can
quite easily see what is what if you enter the underground vaults.
The
most impressive thing about it all is, that it looks nowhere near its
real age of 1,500 years. I have been to hotels in Tunisia that looks
far older!
While
the underground chambers must have served as a mixture of prison
dungeon and hiding quarters for civilians. The upper quarters has a
Crusader touch, with dark, vaulted rooms with minimal decorations.
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