Today we went to the Bardo Museum. We have figured out that Tunisians seem to have a map aversion. No one likes to show you where things are on the map. Nor have we been able to find a precise map. So, last night, after dinner Ramses drove miles and miles out of his way to take us to the Bardo Museum so that we knew exactly where it was and would be able to find it today. Talk about nice.

On the way to the museum, in Tunis, traffic was interrupted by a herd of goats crossing the street in town. We were amused.

The museum is housed in an old palace. The palace is beautiful. The ground floor has a few remains from the Phoenician era of Carthage days. They were mostly clay sculptures of assorted gods they worshipped. In addition to the full figurines, there were lots of little masks with incredibly expressive faces. One of the gods was named Baal and the Phoenicians actually sacrificed new born babies to him. Little is really know about the why or frequency of the practice, and there was a display on different theories.

The vast majority of the museum is devoted to Roman mosaics. These mosaics are mostly floors from the homes of the wealthy. They are intricate and many are absolutely enormous, like two stories tall and so wide they take up two giant walls. By this point we have seen a lot of Roman ruins, most of which contain impressive mosaics, and we were nonetheless bowled over by the mosaics on exhibit here. They are truly incredible. We can’t imagine how much time and energy must have gone into making each one. There are also a few other artifacts, as well, including some statues, sarcophagi, jewelry, and tools.

There is also a section of the palace with Arab era artifacts. This display is eclectic, featuring everything from Continue reading →