15 M. =Oudna.= In the hill-country, ½ hr. to the S.E., is the large
Ferme Ducroquet, situated among the ruins of _Uthina_, one of the
wealthiest towns of N. Tunisia in the Roman age. Of the public buildings
nothing remains but the _Cisterns_ and scanty traces of the _Theatre_
and _Amphitheatre_. Among the ruins of private houses is the _Palace of
the Laberii_ (end of 3rd cent. A.D.), a fine specimen of a sumptuous
African-Roman dwelling, with a large peristyle as its centre (comp. p.
290) and numerous mosaics (now mostly in the Bardo Museum). The
adjoining Balineum (baths) was long used, from the 5th cent. onwards, as
a potter’s workshop. Fine view from the highest hill (407 ft.); on a
lower hill is a _Byzantine Fortress_.
Beyond Oudna the line intersects the Roman *_Aqueduct of Carthage_ (p.
359), in a landscape bright with flowers in spring.
17½ M. _Bou er-Rébia_, on the Tunis and Zaghouan road (p. 359).
22½ M. _Djebel-Oust_ lies at the N. base of _Jebel Oust_ (1800 ft.), on
which are noteworthy remains of two large piscinæ, Roman
irrigation-works, and marble quarries, worked since ancient times.
30½ M. _Smindja_ or _Depienne_ (450 ft.), a village of ‘colonists’ in
the _Plaine de Smindja_, a dale, containing numerous ruins, at the foot
of the Zaghouan hills.
BRANCH LINE TO ZAGHOUAN (8 M., in ½ hr.; fares 1 fr. 45, 1 fr. 10 c.,
75 c.; return-ticket from Tunis 9 fr. 75, 7 fr. 35, 5 fr. 20 c.). At
_Moghrane_ (525 ft.), the only intermediate station, the two Roman
aqueducts and the modern conduits (p. 339) from Jebel Zaghouan and
Jebel Djouggar unite.
The ROAD FROM TUNIS TO ZAGHOUAN (34½ M.) leads past the _Abattoirs_
(beyond Pl. E, 7) and the _Sebkha es-Sedjoumi_ (p. 332) to (8 M.) _La
Mohamédia_, a poor village, with the decayed residence of Ahmed Bey
(p. 344). It crosses the Oued Miliane near the arches of the Roman
aqueduct, here 66 ft. high, and beyond _Bou er-Rébia_ (p. 358) leads
along the E. slope of Jebel Oust to (34½ M.) Zaghouan. A branch of the
road from La Mohamédia, passing _Oudna_ (p. 358), also leads to
Zaghouan.
=Zaghouan= (821 ft.; Hôt. de France, déj. 3 fr., plain but quite good,
orders should be given in advance; pop. 1200, incl. 530 Europeans,
mostly Ital.), Arab. _Zaghwân_, a charming place, specially in spring,
lies amidst olives, oranges, and cypresses on a terrace at the foot of
Jebel Zaghouan (see below), ¼ hr. above the station. The Roman
_Triumphal Arch_, at the entrance to the village, is the sole relic of
the small town of _Onellana_ (_?_); the columns of the nymphæum now
adorn the _Chief Mosque_.
We may thence walk in ½ hr. to the _Prise d’Eau_ (902 ft.), the
reservoir of the new conduit which supplies both Zaghouan and Tunis
with water from the _Aïn Ayed_. The direct route leads from the
station past the barracks of the tirailleurs; or we may follow a rough
but romantic path from the little town, through a secluded valley,
where numerous nightingales nest among the oleander-bushes by the bed
of the stream. From the Prise d’Eau a rocky path leads to the S.W. to
the (12 min.) *NYMPHÆUM (_Temple des Eaux_; Arabic _Henchir
Aïn-Kasba_, ‘ruined castle of the fountain’), the well-house of the
Carthage aqueduct (p. 348), shaded by groups of splendid old trees.
Near the basin are two flights of steps leading to the semicircle of
the fountain-shrine, with its colonnade, twenty-four empty niches for
statues, and a domed central chamber, the ante-room of the cella.
*=Jebel Zaghouan= (4245 ft.), the ancient _Mons Ziquensis_, the finest
mountain in Tunisia, offers from the summit, called _Râs el-Kasa_, a
superb panorama of the greater part of N. Tunisia and of the E. coast
as far as Susa. It is ascended from the Nymphæum path in 4 hrs., past
the kubba of _Sidi Sala Bou-Ghobrin_ (2264 ft.) and the zinc-mines
(with their humble canteen), and lastly by rough and toilsome paths.
Less extensive, but also very grand, is the view near the _Poste
Optique_ (3199 ft.), 2 hrs. above the Prise d’Eau (bridle-path; mule
2–3 fr.).
Our train, running to the S.W. with a fine view of Jebel Zaghouan on the
left, now intersects the Smindja plain and reaches the _Fahs er-Riah_,
the fertile upper basin of the valley of the Oued Miliane, which is here
formed by the _Oued Jarabia_ and the _Oued el-Kébir_. Its inhabitants
are of the Riah tribe, descendants of the Beni Hilal (p. 323).
40 M. _Pont-du-Fahs_ (574 ft.). The village (Hôt. Calega, poor),
occupied by immigrants, lies ½ hr. to the N.E., on the left bank of the
Miliane. Behind it, on the spurs of _Jebel Djaffar_ (1185 ft.), are the
extensive ruins of _Henchir-Kasbat_ (702 ft.), the ancient _Thuburbo
Majus_; in the forum are two ruined temples, one of them, dedicated to
Mercury, dating from 211 A.D.; there are also triumphal arches, thermæ,
and a Byzantine fortress.
On the right rises the curiously shaped _Jebel Klab_ (1204 ft.). We
cross the Oued el-Kébir and run to the W. through the Jarabia valley to
(48½ M.) _Tarf ech-Chena_, 3 M. to the N.W. of _Apisa Majus_. Farther on
almost the only habitations visible are the tents and gourbis
(twig-huts) of nomadic tribes.
Beyond (55½ M.) _Bou-Arada_ we cross the watershed between the Oued
Miliane and the _Oued Siliana_ (p. 354).
65 M. _El-Aroussa_, station for _Ksar Hellal_, which has an
early-Christian chapel of trefoil form. 70 M. _Sidi-Ayed_, on the Oued
Siliana. We then ascend the winding valley to the S.W.
75 M. =Gaffour= (about 1080 ft.; Rail. Restaurant, with rooms), with its
railway-works, is the station for the large estate of the Société
Foncière de Tunisie, 72,500 acres in area, where extensive corn-fields
are seen in spring. From Gaffour a road, tolerably fit for driving in
dry weather, leads over _Jebel Sidi Abdalla Ben-Cheid_ (2070 ft.) to
_Teboursouk_ (Dougga; comp. p. 354).
82 M. _El-Akhouat_, in the valley of the _Oued Soufi_, near the
zinc-mines on _Jebel el-Akhouat_ (2061 ft.); 86½ M. _Le Krib_, on the S.
edge of the fertile _Plaine du Krib_.
93 M. _Sidi Bou-Rouis_, on the _Oued Tessa_ (p. 357), which here forms a
wide bend to the E. round _Jebel Maïza_ (2920 ft.). To the left rises
the chain of _Jebel Massouge_ (3019 ft.). 103 M. _Le Sers_, on the N.
margin of the broad dale of that name (Arabic _Bled es-Sers_), one of
the most fertile inland districts in Tunisia.
106 M. =Les Salines= (Rail. Restaurant), junction for Kalaâ-Djerda (see
p. 361), lies on the highroad from Le Kef to Souk et-Tléta and on a
rough road to (19 M.) Maktar.
=Maktar= (3117 ft.; inn), the _Maktarium_ of the Libyans and the _Ælia
Aurelia Augusta Mactaris_ of the Romans, to the W. of the richly
wooded _Hammada Kessera_, is now a small village of ‘colonists’ with a
fortified bordj (Contrôle Civil; containing an epigraphical
collection), and is the administrative centre for the district of the
Ouled Aoun and Ouled Ayar. Extensive orchards and Sunday market. Among
the antiquities are numerous dolmens, Roman ruins (arch of Trajan of
116 A.D., mausolea, an aqueduct, etc.), and an early-Christian
basilica.
The train next ascends to the N.W., between Jebel Maïza, on the right,
and _Jebel Lorbeus_ (2641 ft.), on the left, and crosses the _Oued
Lorbeus_, up whose valley once lay the Roman _Lares_, later _Lorbeus_, a
small town destroyed in 1048 by the Hilalides (p. 323).—118 M. _Zafran_,
on the spurs of _Jebel Zafran_. Traversing the bleak mountain plain of
_Bled Zafran_ we soon have a fine view of Le Kef and the barren _Dyr
el-Kef_ (p. 357).
125½ M. =Le Kef= (2477 ft.; Hôt. Dalban, Milano, etc., very plain; pop.
7000, incl. 1400 Europeans, 900 of them Italians), superbly situated
near an abrupt rocky slope, the S.W. spur of Dyr el-Kef, was down to
modern times the chief town in W. Tunisia. In its earliest period it was
famed for its temple of Astarte. After the first Punic war the
discontented mercenaries (p. 332) were banished hither. Under Augustus
the town became a Roman colony named _Sicca_, with the cognomen of
_Veneria_ derived from its temple of Venus. Under the later Roman empire
it was of great strategic importance, lying at the junction of the roads
to Thacia (p. 357), Theveste (Tebessa), Thagaste (p. 313), and Simitthu
(p. 326); by the Arabs it was even regarded as the key of Algeria.
During the Turkish period fierce battles were fought under its walls (in
1694, 1705, and 1807) between the beys of Tunisia and Algeria, and
during the French advance in 1881 Le Kef was hardly a less important
objective than Tunis itself. Since then the mosques have been open to
visitors (tickets at the Contrôle Civil).
From the station (omnibus) we ascend through the new European quarter,
with its red-tiled roofs, to (20 min.) the Boulevard de Tunis, once the
rampart on the N.W. side of the town, where we have an extensive view.
The only Roman ruins are the basin of _Aïn el-Kef_ and the _Thermae_ at
the W. angle of the old town.
The old town, still enclosed on three sides by the mouldering Turkish
wall, consists of narrow and irregular streets built partly out of Roman
and Byzantine ruins. The old _Dâr el-Bey_ is now the Hôtel de Ville. The
_Chief Mosque_ (Djamâa el-Kebîra) is built into the ruins of an
early-Christian basilica (?).
The early-Christian *CHURCH OF ST. PETER (Arabic _Dâr el-Kuss_) was a
small columnar basilica of the early 5th cent, with nave and aisles (23
by 10½ yds.); but the narthex (vestibule, now used as a church) and the
fine choir-recess have alone been left standing. Many Roman sculptures,
mostly from a temple, have been built into the walls of the aisles,
which were originally vaulted. The nave, which once had a timber roof,
retains relics of its old mosaic pavement.
The zaouïa of _Sidi Kaddour el-Mizouni_, one of the three largest
Tunisian establishments of the widely diffused Mohammedan brotherhood of
the Kadria (p. 183), enjoys a high reputation. The zaouïa of _Sidi Salah
ben-Aïssa_, belonging to the Rahmania, contains a fine modern cenotaph
of the saint.
Steep lanes and passages in steps connect the old town with the Turkish
_Kasba_ (now barracks).
Outside the town is a third early-Christian church, the so-called _Kasr
el-Ghûla_ (‘castle of ghosts’). The _Roman Cisterns_ to the N. of the
Kasba are still used.
From Le Kef to _Souk el-Arba_, see p. 326; to _Tunis_, see R. 55.
* * * * *
The RAILWAY TO KALAÂ-DJERDA runs to the S.W. from Les Salines (p. 360)
through the pass of _Khanguet Fras_ to (112 M. from Tunis) _Les
Zouarines_, in the plain of the _Bled Zouarine_.
119 M. _Ebba-Ksour_ is the station for the ruins of _Ebba_, the _Obba_
of the Carthaginians and Romans, destroyed by the Hilalides (p. 323) in
1048, and for the village of _Ksour_ (2164 ft.), on the N. edge of the
rocky upland plain of _Ouartane_, the site of a Libyan-Phœnician town.
We cross the _Oued Medeïna_ below the ruins of _Medeïna_, the Roman
_Althiburus_ (with theatre, capitol, triumphal arch, etc.). 125 M.
_Aïn-Mesria_; 128½ M. _Fedj el-Tameur_, junction for (19½ M.) the mines
of _Slata_.
The train next passes over the saddle between the lofty plateau of
_Khremensa_, rich in phosphates, on the right, and _Jebel Ayata_ (3480
ft.), on the left, and then descends past _Jebel Zrissa_, on the right,
with its iron-mines, into the valley of the _Oued Sarrath_, the chief
feeder of the Oued Mellègue (p. 327).
138½ M. _Oued-Sarrath_ (ca. 1900 ft.), on the right bank.
BRANCH LINE from Oued-Sarrath (18½ M., in 1¼–1¾ hr.) down the left
bank of the Sarrath viâ _Majouba_ to =Kalaât es-Senam= (Hôt. de
Jugurtha), the station for the great phosphate deposits of the Comp.
des Phosphates du Dyr on the _Jebel Kalaât es-Senam_ (4111 ft.). The
top of the huge mountain, conspicuous far and wide, consists of a
tableland, occupied by a deserted Berber village and an old Byzantine
fort, accessible only by steep paths with steps.
The train skirts the Sarrath and then ascends the side-valley of _Oued
Haidra_. On the left, _Jebel Bou el-Hanèche_ (4040 ft.).
146 M. =Kalaâ-Djerda= (about 2130 ft.; hotel), near the rich phosphate
mines of an Italian company on the hills of that name (2886 ft.).
A most interesting excursion may be taken to (11 M.) =Haidra= (about
2790 ft.), the Tunisian frontier custom-house, on the site of
_Ammaedara_ (_Colonia Augusta Emerita Ammaedara_), founded perhaps by
Vespasian as a Roman colony of veterans, and in the later Roman age no
less important than Tebessa. Originally a frontier-fortress it was,
like Timgad (p. 289), a model Roman camp. The Carthage and Tebessa
road formed the Decumanus Maximus and the Kasserine and Gafsa road the
Cardo Maximus. On the left bank the ruins have partly fallen into the
bed of the Oued Haidra. The much smaller suburb lay on the right bank.
The castellated *_Byzantine Fortress_ of the time of Justinian (p.
541), the largest in N. Africa, was built to guard the passage of the
stream. Within the vast enclosure, 219 by 120 yds., are remains of a
Byzantine basilica, cisterns, etc.—The imposing *_Triumphal Arch_ of
the time of Septimius Severus (p. 407) was used by the Byzantines as a
fort also. Near it are an early-Christian _Basilica_, with aisles and
extensive Byzantine additions (curious, unexplained holes in the
masonry; comp. p. 317), and a second _Basilica_ with double aisles and
numerous tombstones. A column, 33 ft. high, is the sole relic of a
Roman _Temple_, the only one of which there is a trace. High above the
stream, almost intact, rises a Roman *_Mausoleum_, with an open loggia
on the upper story.—From Haidra over (10½ M.) _Jebel Kouïf_ to (26 M.)
_Tebessa_, see p. 318.
A ROAD leads from Kalaâ-Djerda to _Kasserine_ (43 M.; diligence to
Thala daily, thence to Kasserine on Tues. and Frid. only) over the
central Sahara Atlas (p. 320) and through the valley of the _Oued
Hathob_ (p. 320), by which of old the Arabs invaded Algeria. (From
Kasserine to Feriana, see p. 371.) The only village on the route, as
in the time of Marius (p. 384) it was the only settlement between
Lares (p. 360) and Gafsa, is (8¾ M.) Thala (3337 ft.; Hôt. Recli, Hôt.
Gros, both rustic; pop. 800, incl. 80 Europeans), which holds market
(Sat.–Mon.) for the Arab-like Berber tribes of the Fraichich (the
Frexes of Ptolemy) and Madjeur. It lies on the N.E. slope of _Jebel
Char_ (4321 ft.), 40½ M. to the N.E. of Tebessa (p. 315). The Roman
antiquities of the town, which was most prosperous under Diocletian,
are uninteresting. Near the Esplanade, in the centre of the Roman
town, are traces of a temple of Cælestis (p. 356).