El Jem

14/4/2023

I was so excited to see my first amphitheatre in real life! It was as awesome as expected and it was so fun to try and imagine how it might have looked and been when it was new and full of people!

It was also really cool to see this merging of time periods and cultures between Rome and Islam, with the gorgeous Grand Mosque—and its green door—right next to the arena.

It's hard to capture the sheer scale of the amphitheatre, so a lot of these images or just glimpses at various parts of it.

Climbing all the levels was so! fun!!! We just kept going higher and higher and I kept marvelling at the architecture, how solid everything was but how light it felt, and marvelling at the craftsmanship to build something like this without any of the machines we now have! And that it's lasted for so long! Through wars and changing dynasties and sandstorms!