TUNIS		Quality of Remains
		Ease of Access
		Atmosphere & Setting

History & Occupation:

Tunis may or may not be the site of ancient Tynes. This is debatable, and the great sprawling metropolis of the country's capital thoroughly covers any remains, though I did once find a reference to possible arcades of a theatre located within the city. This is entirely conjectural, however.

Remains and Visit:

Thus the remains to visit in Tunis all lie within the former Bey's palace, now the Bardo museum. The museum is well (and rightly) renowned as one of the world's greatest Roman collections, particularly with an emphasis on its fine mosaics (many of which have been sadly torn from extant sites that the tourist can still visit.) The most famous item to be found in the museum is without a doubt the mosaic that despicts the writer Virgil with muses, though there are breathtaking pieces in every room of this massive complex. It is saddening, given the fragility of these irreplaceable mosaics, that the museum authorities seem to take no notice of tourists breaking the rules and relentlessly using bright flashes while photographing the exhibits. For the record, rest assured that every photo here was taken without damaging flash.

Images:

Mosaic	Mosaic	Mosaic	Mosaic	Mosaic
Mosaic	Byzantine Mosaic	Virgil Mosaic	Baptismal Baths	Various busts of Emperors *

* From left to right, top row and then bottom:

Vitellius, Hadrian, Augustus, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius
Vespasian, Gordian I, Lucius Verus, Septimius Severus, Caracalla