AI generatedEl Jem
Tunisia · Mahdia · 115 m
Short description of El Jem
The amphitheatre at El Jem (الجم) seated thirty five thousand people and is the third largest the Romans built, after the Colosseum and Capua, standing almost intact in a small town on a flat olive plain with nothing else near it. That contrast is most of its effect. It went up around 238 for a city grown rich on olive oil, was never finished, and later served as a fortress and a quarry. You can walk the underground passages where animals and fighters waited, which is not possible in Rome. UNESCO listed it in 1979.
AI edited
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Recommended length of stay
Travel seasons at a glance
Best time to visit: April – May or October – November
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All highlights and sightsBeta
- El Jem amphitheatre (UNESCO World Heritage)
- Underground passages beneath the arena
- Upper tiers and the view over the olive plain
- El Jem Archaeological Museum and its mosaics
- Roman villas of the ancient Thysdrus
- El Jem International Symphonic Music Festival (approx. July - August)
- Smaller second amphitheatre outside the town
- Olive groves of the Sahel plain