Page 26 - Off the Tourist Trail - 1000 Unexpected Travel Alternatives (Part 1 of 2)

22 ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL SIGHTS 6 MORE DRAMATIC AMPHITHEATERS TO RIVAL THE COLOSSEUM

Tiers of seating hewn into the rock at Leptis Magna’s amphitheater
Leptis Magna, Grassy slopes distinguish Trier’s unusual earthen amphitheater
Trier, Germany
Libya Grand-scale colonnades at the great amphitheater in El Djem
El Djem, Tunisia NEED TO KNOW

NEED TO KNOW
LOCATION Trier is located
NEED TO KNOW in the west German state of /PSUI
NEED TO KNOW
LOCATION The 4FB
amphitheater is 1.6 miles .FEJUFSSBOFBO Rhineland-Palatinate, near )BNCVSH
56/*4*" 4FB LOCATION The the Luxembourg border #FSMJO
(3 km) east of Leptis Magna, amphitheatre at El Djem is 5VOJT 10-"/%
and 120 miles (193 km) 5SJQPMJ -&15*4 ."(/" located 105 miles (170 km) CAPACITY /&5)&3-"/%4
east of Tripoli 4VSU south of Tunis, the capital 4PVTTF &- %+&. 25,000 %PSUNVOE
CAPACITY 16,000 of Tunisia "-(&3*" DAYTIME #&-(*6. (&3."/:
&(:15 .FEJUFSSBOFBO TEMPERATURES 'SBOLGVSU
$;&$)
DAYTIME -*#:" CAPACITY 30,000 (BCÒT 4FB -69&.#063( 53*&3 3&16#-*$
TEMPERATURES (IÈU DAYTIME Jan: 36°F (2°C); Apr: 48°F
Jan: 54°F (12°C); Apr: 64°F "M ,VGSBI TEMPERATURES 56/*4*" (9°C); Jul: 66°F (19°C); '3"/$& 4UVUUHBSU
(18°C); Jul: 81°F (27°C); Jan: 50°F (10°C); Apr: 59°F Oct: 50°F (10°C) "6453*"
Oct: 73°F (23°C) /*(&3 (15°C); Jul: 77°F (25°C); -*#:"
$)"%
Oct: 68°F (20°C)
The Romans did not build all their amphitheaters
The site of Leptis Magna, on the coast of Libya, out of stone. In Trier, the most important Roman
has some of the most impressive Roman remains The amphitheater in El Djem (Roman Thysdrus) city north of the Alps and once briefly capital of
in Africa (see p45). Two miles (3 km) east of the dominates the town, visible for miles from the the Western Roman Empire, they dug up a hill –
main site, by a beach where Greek and Roman surrounding desert. Rising three stories high, it using the slope itself to create one side, and
columns lie stranded like driftwood, stands a seems more like a fortress than a palace of heaping up the earth dug out of the arena to create
magnificent amphitheater, its honey-colored entertainment – and indeed it has been used as the other. The great basement beneath the arena
stone blending into its sandy surrounds in sharp one. It is the largest amphitheater outside Italy, has been fully excavated and is open to visitors.
contrast to the blue of the sea beyond. Created in and was probably the last to be built, in the late To descend into its dank, stygian gloom is to feel
the bowl of a former quarry that supplied much 3rd century AD. It is also wonderfully preserved, the chill that must have come over the animals,
of the stone for the ancient city’s buildings, it lies revealing clearly how the animals, gladiators, and contestants and martyrs who awaited their fate
below ground level, with tunnels and holding actors entered the arena, via passages that slope here. The arena’s acoustics remain impeccable
cells for animals carved out of the rock. Its down from outside to the underground galleries. and the space is now used for concerts and an
surrounding colonnade is long gone, leaving a Two lift shafts show where the stars of the show annual re-enactment of gladiatorial contests.
beautifully harmonious saucer of seats. were carried to their deadly moment of glory.

Practical Information
Practical Information Practical Information Getting There Trier is easily accessible by train or by car via Germany’s A1
Getting There British Airways and Lufthansa are among the airlines that Getting There Fly to Tunis, then travel to El Djem by train (3 hours) or taxi motorway.The closest international airport is Luxembourg, 25 miles (40 km)
fly to Tripoli. Leptis Magna is 1.6 miles (3 km) from the town of Al-Khums. (2 hours). It makes an easy day trip from Tunisia’s Mediterranean resorts. away; Frankfurt am Main airport is 95 miles (150 km) away. The arena itself
Domestic transfers must be arranged through a Libyan tour operator. When to Go Winter (Oct–Apr) is a good time to visit, though it can be is just outside the old city walls, and can be reached on foot or by bus.
When to Go Between October and June, to avoid the summer heat. Watch wet. Alternatively, catch the International Festival of Symphonic Music When to Go Any time, though November to March will be cold. Check the
for concerts staged in the Roman theater at Leptis Magna’s main site. (www.istc.org), which is held here each summer. tourist office (see website below) for events in the amphitheater.
Website www.libyaonline.com/tourism Website www.tourismtunisia.com Websites www.arena-trier.de; www.trier.de

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