From the lighthouse a beautiful path leads past the Poste Optique and behind the vineyards of the Archiepiscopal Palace, to the Arrêt de la Corniche (p. 344) and (½ hr.) La Marsa (Hôt. de la Régence), a village in the fertile plain between Cape Carthage and Jebel Khaoui (see below), with many country-houses and a bathing beach (dangerous currents). About halfway between the two stations (p. 343) is the Palais du Bey, where the present prince (p. 323) usually resides. (Adm. to the stables only, containing the state-carriages; fee 1 fr.)

To the N.W. of La Marsa extends Jebel Khaoui or Kraoui (345 ft.; ascent from La Marsa and back viâ Kamart ca. 2½ hrs.). On the top and the N. slope are many rock-tombs, remains of the Jewish Necropolis of Roman Carthage. Fine view, to the S. to Tunis, and to the N.W. over the Sebkha er-Riana to the Medjerda delta as far as Utica (p. 353). On the N. side of the hill, on the reddish Cape Kamart, lies the picturesque, palm-girt village of Kamart, with the ruined Bordj Ben-Aïed.

54. From Tunis to Bizerta.

61 M. Railway. Express on Wed. only (back on Sat.), corresponding with the steamers of the Comp. Gén. Transatlantique (R. 21), in 2½, ordinary trains in 2½–3¾ hrs. (11 fr., 8 fr. 35, 5 fr. 90 c.).—The High Road (37½ M.) is recommended in the cool season only, as the Medjerda flats are malarious.

From Tunis to (15 M.) Djedeïda, see p. 329. The train diverges here to the N. from the main line to Algeria.

19 M. Chaouat; 24 M. Sidi-Athman, near the Garaa Mabtouha, backed by the offshoots of Jebel Kechbata (p. 354). We then run through hilly country, to the W., to (31 M.) Aïn-Rhelal.

40½ M. Mateur (Rail. Restaurant; Hôt. de France, etc.; pop. 5000, incl. 1600 Italians), a small town nearly 1 M. from the station, lies pleasantly on a hill beyond the influx of the Oued Tine into the Oued Jemine or Joumine, and is still enclosed by its old walls, built partly out of the ruins of the Roman Oppidum Matarense. It is the corn and cattle market for the fertile Plaines de Mateur, which were densely peopled in ancient times, and for the Berber tribes of the Bejaoua and Mogod Mts.

A railway runs from Mateur viâ (17 M.) Jefna, in the Nefza Mts., to Djebel-Abiod (p. 328), whence it is being extended to Tabarca (p. 327).—Another line connects Mateur with Béja (p. 328).

The train crosses the plain, to the N., towards the Garaet Ichkeul or Achkel, the Sisara Lacus of the ancients, a freshwater-lake abounding in fish, but very shallow and rapidly filling up. On the S. side is a marshy tract where within the last few decades a large herd of half-wild Italian buffaloes has sprung up. Above it towers Jebel Ichkeul (1667 ft.), noted for its marble, the chief landmark of the bay of Bizerta.

50 M. Oued-Tindja (Hôt. de la Gare) lies on the strip of land, barely 2 M. broad, between Lake Ichkeul and the Lac de Bizerte (Arabic Garaet Tindja). The latter, the ancient Lacus Hipponensis, ca. 30,000 acres in area and 40 ft. deep at places, is now the chief French naval harbour on the Mediterranean next to Toulon.

A strategic railway and a road (omn. 20 c.) lead to the E. from Oued-Tindja to (2 M.) Ferryville (Hôt. de l’Amirauté; Hôt. de l’Arsenal; pop. 3000, largely Italian dock-labourers), the youngest town in Tunisia, named after Jules Ferry (p. 333), and to (2¾ M.) the small bay of Sidi-Abdallah, on which, 9½ M. from the open sea, a Naval Arsenal, with five large dry-docks, was built in 1899–1908.

The train crosses the Oued Tindja, the sinuous effluent of Lake Ichkeul, and rounds the marshy W. bank of Lake Bizerta. 55½ M. Sidi-Ahmed, opposite Djezira el-Kebira, the largest island in the lake.

59 M. La Pêcherie, on the Goulet, a narrow arm of the sea to the N., which, with the new harbour-canal (p. 353), connects the dockyard with the open sea. On the small Baie Ponty, now used as a torpedo-boat station, rise the Arsenal de la Défense-Mobile and the handsome Amirauté.

A road leads to the S. from the station through olive-woods to (½ M.) the Barrage des Pêcheries, two fish-dams about 1000 yds. long, adjoining the S.W. end of the Goulet (here 55 yds. across), where the fish descending from the lakes to spawn in the sea are caught in great numbers. The yield, a few years ago ca. 580 tons, but now much reduced, is sent to Tunis and Marseilles.

We pass the Baie de Sebra, the inner harbour of Bizerta, as yet little used, and the Artillery Arsenal, intersect the new S. wall of the town and the garden-suburb of Bijouville, and reach the station of (61 M.) Bizerta, on the harbour-canal.

Bizerta.—Railway Restaurant.—Hotels (comp. p. 324). *Grand-Hotel, Place d’Europe, in an open site near the station, R. 3–6, B. 1, déj. 3, D. 3½, pens. 10–12, omn. ½ fr.; Hôt. de la Paix, Hôt. de France, etc.—Cab. Drive 30, for 3 pers. 40, with pair 50 c.; hour 1–1¼ or 1½–2 fr.; ½ day (6 hrs.) 4, 5, or 7 fr.; whole day (12 hrs.) 6, 7, 12, or 14 fr.

British Vice-Consul, Hon. T. Bourke, Rue de Provence.

Bizerta, Fr. Bizerte, Arabic Bent-Zert (pop. 17,300, of whom 9500 are Moslems, 5100 Italians and Maltese), a town strongly garrisoned with 7000 men, the ancient Hippo Diarrhytus (Zarytus), was one of the earliest Phœnician settlements on the Tunisian coast. It lies on the W. shore of the Bay of Bizerta, between a range of hills on the N.W., culminating in Jebel Kebir (900 ft.), and a strip of land (once bounding the Bizerta Lake, and also fortified), to the S.E., beyond the harbour-canal.

The old town, to which many Moors flocked after the fall of Granada (p. 75), and which was occupied for a short time by Charles V. on his way back from Tunis in 1535 (p. 323) and was to a great extent destroyed by a Venetian fleet in 1785, rises on the hill-side between the ruined Kasba and the Fort d’Espagne, both originally built by the Spaniards. The Old Harbour, unimportant in ancient times, became in the 16th cent. a favourite haunt of pirates, but is now used by fishing-boats only. Of the Old Harbour Canal, completely choked up with the mud of centuries, the mouth alone now exists. The new town, with its busy market (Tues. and Thurs.), is still in embryo.

The Avant-Port, 215 acres in area, constructed by the Compagnie du Port de Bizerte in 1890–5, is sheltered by two piers, the Jetée du Nord (1337 yds. long) and the Jetée du Sud (1041 yds.), and by a new mole or breakwater (670 yds.). The commercial harbour consists of the New Harbour Canal, 1 M. long, 263 yds. broad, and 33 ft. deep, the entrance to the Goulet (p. 352), and also of the Baie de Sebra (p. 352). Two steam-ferries (bacs à vapeur; passage free) cross to the N.E. bank of the canal, where there are large coal-stores near the village of Zarzouna.

The High Road from Tunis to (37½ M.) Bizerta diverges to the N., between the Bardo (p. 339) and Kassar-Saïd (p. 342), from the road connecting Tebourba with Medjez el-Bab (p. 328), intersects the Roman *Aqueduct of Carthage (p. 348), which was here restored in the 16th cent., and ascends through olive-woods to the saddle (269 ft.) between the hills of Ariana (p. 338), on the right, and Jebel Ahmar (1060 ft.), on the left.

10 M. La Sebala lies on the S. edge of the marshy Medjerda delta (p. 129), now called Sebala. 16 M. Fondouk el-Kantara, a caravanserai on the right bank of the Medjerda, near the old seven-arched bridge.

Just beyond (19½ M.) Oued Cherchara a road branches off, to the N.E., past the spurs of Jebel Menzel Roul (541 ft.), once a cape, to (2 M.) the ruins of Utica, the earliest Phœnician settlement in this region. Before the rise of Carthage it was the richest trading town in Barbary, and from 146 to 29 B.C. it was the capital of the province of Africa and seat of the Roman proconsul. It was here that the younger Cato committed suicide (46 B.C.) on the overthrow of Pompey’s party in the civil war against Cæsar. The harbour, entirely silted up since the middle of the 3rd cent., lay between the cape and a small island off the coast. The sea is now 5½ M., and the mouth of the Medjerda, near the Porto-Farina lagoon (p. 354), is nearly 10 M. distant. The Roman town was destroyed by Hassan ibn en-Nôman (p. 322) in 698, at the same time as Carthage. The ruins, now called Henchir Bou-Chateur, consist chiefly of the aqueduct and cisterns, a theatre, a vast amphitheatre, and large thermæ.

Beyond Jebel Menzel Roul the Bizerta road traverses a desolate plain, strewn with Roman ruins. On the S.E. side of Jebel Kechbata (1370 ft.), and also in the marshy plain beyond it, roads diverge to the right (one 12½, the other 15 M.) to Porto-Farina (pop. 1400, incl. 320 Europeans, mostly Maltese), the Ruscinona of antiquity, a notorious pirates’ harbour in the Turkish period. In 1665 it was destroyed by an English fleet, but it was restored and fortified by Ahmed Bey (1837–55). Potatoes are largely cultivated in the neighbourhood. The Lac de Porto-Farina, on the S. side of Jebel Nadour (883 ft.), once abounding in fish, has been filled up by the deposits of the Medjerda since the middle of last century.

Beyond the dunes of Aïn Bou-Ras, where the new water-conduit of Bizerta, 8½ M. long, has its source, our road runs close to the lake of Bizerta, passes (34½ M.) Menzel Djemil, and ends on the old neck of land on the harbour-canal of (37½ M.) Bizerta (see p. 353).

55. From Tunis to Dougga (Le Kef).

Excursionists to Dougga usually start from the station of Medjez el-Bab (Hôt. des Colons; p. 328), 41 M. by train from the S. Station at Tunis (in 1¼–2½ hrs.; fares 7 fr. 40, 5 fr. 60, 3 fr. 95, return 10 fr. 35, 7 fr. 85, 5 fr. 55 c.). Thence by motor-omnibus (starting every morning; 5 fr.) to Dougga direct. Or we may take a carriage (30 fr.; ordered in advance at the Hôt. des Colons) or the diligence (6 hrs.; 2½ fr.) from Medjez el-Bab to (28 M.) Teboursouk, whence we go on to (3¾ M.) Dougga by carr. (5–6 fr.) or on mule-back (3–4 fr.).—The journey may be made also from the station of Pont-de-Trajan (p. 327; 66½ M. by railway in 2¾–4 hrs.; fares 12 fr., 9 fr. 10, 6 fr. 40 c.); ride thence (mule being ordered beforehand at Béja, p. 328) viâ Henchir Maâtria to (17½ M.) Teboursouk; or from the station of Gaffour (p. 360; 75 M. in 4½–5½ hrs.; fares 13 fr. 55, 10 fr. 30, 7 fr. 25 c.); ride thence across Jebel Sidi Abdallah Ben-Cheid to (19 M.) Teboursouk.

The excursion from Tunis to Dougga and back, in one day, is far more easily made by motor-car (p. 330). Motoring parties are occasionally formed at the tourist offices (p. 331).

From Tunis to (41 M.) Medjez el-Bab by railway, see pp. 329, 328.—The two roads from Tunis to Medjez el-Bab, one direct (35½ M.) viâ Bordj el-Amri, the other, passing the station and running viâ Djedeïda and Tebourba (p. 329), unite on the left bank of the Medjerda, near the bridge (p. 328).

Our road leads from Medjez el-Bab in the same direction as the Roman road from Carthage to Tebessa (see p. 328), to the S.W., generally a little apart from the Medjerda, past a good many Roman ruins. 9 M. Slouguia (299 ft.; the ancient Chidibbia), a village with a slender minaret, lies on a hill on the right bank.

The road then leads through olive-woods and vineyards to (12 M.) Testour, on the site of the Roman Tichilla, now a little town of 3500 inhab., mostly descendants of Andalusian Moors, with thriving potteries and a large Friday market.

We cross the Oued Siliana, not far from its influx into the Medjerda, and then ascend in long windings above the valley of the Oued Khalled, a tributary of the Medjerda.

18 M. Aïn-Tounga (821 ft.; no inn), on the N. slope of Jebel Tounga (1575 ft.), the site of the small Roman town of Thignica, has the ruins of two triumphal arches, a temple of Mercury (170 A.D.), and a Byzantine fortress.

We descend, in sight of Teboursouk and the distant capitol of Dougga, into the valley of the Oued Khalled. We pass through many side-valleys, cross the river, and then ascend a branch of the road to the right, soon joining the Gaffour road (p. 360).

28 M. Teboursouk (1378 ft.; Hôt. International, R. 3½) B. ½, déj. 3, D. 3½, pens. 10 fr., quite good, but charges should be agreed upon beforehand; Hôt. de la Poste, humble; pop. 3000, (incl. 300 Europeans) has a fine open site on the olive-clad slope of Kef Teboursouk, high above the valley of the Oued Zebbès. Into the walls of the narrow and picturesque streets are built many fragments from the ruins of the once considerable town of Thubursicum Bure. We note also the Byzantine Fortress (with remains of a Roman triumphal arch in its N. wall) and the Neo-Punic Burial Ground, to the S.W. of the town. A superb distant view is obtained at the ruined tower at the upper end of the town.

The rough, hilly road from Pont-de-Trajan (p. 327) to Teboursouk leads through the rugged hill-region to the S. of the Medjerda, and passes (12½ M.) Henchir Maâtria, the ruins of the small Roman town of Numluli or Numiulis (foundations of the capitol of 170 A.D., early-Christian chapel in quatrefoil form with four apses, and Byzantine fort). It ends at the N. gate of (17½ M.) Teboursouk.

The Road to Dougga, 3¾ M. from Teboursouk, leaves the Le Kef road (p. 357) after ½ M. and ascends to the S.W. over a plateau thinly overgrown with scrub.

Dougga (about 1970 ft.), a poor Berber village on the S. margin of Kef Dougga, is the ancient Thugga, one of the oldest and most important places in the heart of Tunisia. The site of the ruins, which vie with those of Gightis (p. 392), is the most beautiful in the whole country. The name is of Berber origin (thukka, pasture). It appears to have been the seat of a Berber dynasty allied with Carthage. It then belonged successively to the Carthaginian dominions and to those of Masinissa (p. 321), and attained its prime about the end of the 2nd cent. A.D. The grand late-Roman ruins, partly excavated since 1891, the venerable olive-woods on Kef Dougga, and the view of the Oued Khalled valley and of the N. Tunisian hills, stretching far away to Jebel Zaghouan and Jebel Bou-Kornin (p. 363), combine to form a fascinating picture. On the N.W. horizon is Jebel Gorra (3160 ft.), famed ever since ancient times for its lead and zinc mines.

Comp. ‘Thugga’, by Dr. Carton (Tunis; 2½ fr.).

The old Porte de l’Est, where a branch of the Tebessa road ended, and the Thermae near it are entirely ruined.

From that gate we walk along the S. slope of the hill to the *Mausoleum of a Berber prince (5th or 4th cent. B.C.), probably the oldest existing Punic-Libyan monument of the kind.

Built in the style of the Egyptian and Syrian tombs of kings, the mausoleum, originally about 55 ft. high, consisted of a pile of huge limestone blocks. The substructure, resting on a foundation of six steps, is adorned with narrow corner-pillars and three blind windows. The middle part, which is square, rises above three steps and has two portals flanked with Ionic mural columns and an Egyptian concave moulding instead of a cornice. Three more steps, once embellished at the angles with figures on horseback, bore a small pyramid crowned with the figure of a lion. The upper part was unfortunately destroyed in 1842 by natives employed by Sir T. Reade, with the bey’s permission, to remove the inscription in the Phœnician and the Libyan language, which is now in the British Museum. The monument, however, has been recently completely restored The tomb-chamber is probably underneath the monument.

Passing through the village, to the W., we come to the ruins of other Thermae and the so-called Dâr el-Acheb, a Roman building of some kind, of which the steps and façade alone remain. We ascend thence to the N.E., past the foundations of Roman Houses, to the hill of the Capitol.

The *Capitol (comp. p. 288), the conspicuous landmark of Dougga, is one of the finest ruined temples in Tunisia, vying with the three temples of Sbeïtla (p. 371). It is a Corinthian pseudo-peripteros, with a lofty flight of eleven steps and a portico of six columns, 43 ft. high and 24 ft. deep, the whole consisting of great limestone blocks. The square cella, 15 by 14 yds., has been destroyed, with the exception of the portal and the stone-panelled back-wall, with its semicircular niche in the centre and two square side-niches for images. The inscription on the frieze of the portico, of the time of Marcus Aurelius (166–9 A.D.), names two citizens of Thugga as the founders. In the Byzantine period the temple formed the nucleus of the citadel.

The **Roman Theatre, on the hill-side a little to the E. of the Capitol, is not only the best-preserved in N. Africa but is unique in the richness and beauty of its embellishment. The twenty-five tiers of seats in the Cavea, or auditorium, are almost intact, except that the upper colonnade has fallen into the orchestra. The stage (pulpitum) still has the old pavement, the front-wall, articulated like similar structures in Algeria, and the superb rear wall, with its three niches and remains of rich columnar decoration. The founder of the building, as recorded by the inscription now lying on the ground, was the flamen perpetuus L. Marcius Quadratus.

Of the Forum and of the street connecting it with the Capitol fragments of the pavement only have been unearthed.

The *Temple of Cælestis, in the olive-wood to the N.W. of the Capitol, is the strangest ruin at Dougga. The crescent-shaped court represents the half-moon, the symbol of the Punic goddess Tanit, or Astarte, whose name was Latinized in the Roman period.

The ruin stands on the hill-side, supported by huge substructures. The court terminated in a rectangular antechamber, 46 by 20 yds. The two entrances, with dedicatory inscriptions, lay at the sides, preceded by square chambers (or towers). The semicircular wall of the court (57 yds. in diameter), in concrete, is partly preserved. A large hall here, with two corner-pillars and twenty-three Corinthian columns, formed along with the antechamber the meeting-place of the congregation. The temple itself, in the centre of the court, which was probably planted with trees, was a rectangle of 18½ by 10½ yds., but its foundations alone survive. The flight of steps and the two semicircular apses at the back of the cella date from a restoration in the Byzantine period. The inscription names a wealthy citizen of the time of Alex. Severus as the founder (222–35).

We next walk through olive-wood to the E. to the Roman Cisterns, once fed by the partly preserved aqueduct of Aïn el-Hammam (S.W. of Dougga), and then, past the ancient N. gate of the town, the Arch of Alexander Severus, called by the Arabs Bâb er-Rûmia (‘gate of the Christian woman’), to the ruins of the Numidic Citadel and the Roman Hippodrome. Near this is the ancient Berber Burial Ground, containing several dolmens.

On the steep slope of a bare hill to the N.N.E. of the Theatre, and once no less conspicuous than the Capitol, was enthroned the Temple of Saturn, founded by a rich citizen in 195 A.D. The ruin probably stands on the site of a Punic temple of Baal Hâman. The peculiar ground-plan is reminiscent of the Phœnician temples, whose open colonnaded courts contained altars for burnt offerings.

The pronaos or vestibule, resembling a corridor, to which there was an approach at the S. end only, had a portico of four Corinthian columns facing the E., high above the Oued Khalled; but of all this there are but scanty traces. From the pronaos a small gate admitted into a quadrangle, paved with limestone slabs, and enclosed on three sides by Corinthian colonnades. On the W. side these were divided by partitions into three sections, forming ante-rooms to the three cellæ. The raised central cella, once railed in, was the chief shrine, richly adorned with wall-paintings and reliefs in stucco.

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The High Road (from Medjez el-Bab) to Le Kef, which is joined by the road from Teboursouk 3 M. to the S. of the latter, runs high above the Oued Khalled, and soon passes (32 M. from Medjez el-Bab) Aïn-Hedja (about 1300 ft.), below the ruins of Agbia (Byzantine fortress, etc.). Farther on, leaving the zinc-mines of Jebel Fedj el-Adoum on one side, we traverse the hill-country to the N.W. of the Plaine du Krib (p. 360).

38 M. Aïn-Rharsalla (about 1600 ft.), below the Byzantine castle of Aunobaris. 39 M. Kubba Sidi Abd er-Rehou, not far from Henchir Mest, the ruins of Mustis (including two arches on the Tebessa road, one being a triumphal arch of Gordian III.).

46 M. Bordj Messaoudi, a large caravanserai, with Friday market for the peasants of the Krib, adjoins the ruins of the small town of Thacia, near which the Roman road to Le Kef diverged from the road to Tebessa. We descend into the valley of the Oued Tessa, a tributary of the Oued Mellègue (p. 327), and then, on the N. slope of Jebel Kebouch (2723 ft.), pass a Roman Bridge and the ruins of Ucubis.

The road now skirts the Dyr el-Kef (3570 ft.; ‘rock-plateau’), with its Poste Optique, and in the plain of Bled Zafran (p. 360) joins the road from Maktar (p. 360) and, a little farther on, that from Souk el-Arba (p. 326).

70 M. Le Kef, see p. 360.

From Tunis to Le Kef, 125½ M., railway, two trains daily in 8¼–9 hrs. (fares 22 fr. 60, 17 fr. 15, 12 fr. 10 c.); also local trains from Tunis to Pont-du-Fahs and Gaffour.—From Tunis to Kalaâ-Djerda, 146 M., two trains daily in 10–11 hrs. (fares 26 fr. 30 c., 20 fr., 14 fr. 10 c.); also a local train between Gaffour and Kalaâ-Djerda.—Railway Restaurants at Gaffour and Les Salines only.

Tunis, see p. 329. Our line diverges, to the S.E., near Bab Alleoua (p. 339), from the Algeria and Bizerta line (RR. 51, 54) and skirts Lake Bahira below the Zaouïa Sidi Bel-Hassen (p. 339).

2½ M. Djebel-Djelloud, close to the Jebel Djelloud (138 ft.) is the junction for Susa (R. 57) and has railway-works, large quarries, and lime-kilns.

The train now runs to the N.E. to (5 M.) Bir-Kassa.

Branch Line to La Laverie (17½ M. from Tunis, in ca. 1¾ hr.; 2 fr. 80, 2 fr. 10, 1 fr. 40 c.; many stops). Beyond (6 M. from Tunis) Bordj-Gourbel the Oued Miliane (p. 363) is crossed. On the right bank is the fertile, olive-clad Plaine du Mornag. 13 M. Haut-Mornag-Crétéville, at the S. base of Jebel Bou-Kornin (p. 363). Crétéville lies on the road from Tunis to Grombalia (p. 364), near the grand Khanguet el-Hadjadj (‘pilgrim-pass’), a deep ravine between Jebel Bou-Kornin and Jebel Ressas (see below), through which formerly passed the traffic between the interior and the harbours on the E. seaboard. In this defile, now clothed with vineyards, lay the little town of Neferis, which was destroyed by the Romans at the same time as Carthage. 17½ M. (from Tunis) La Laverie (377 ft.) is a village of Italian miners, at the W. foot of Jebel Ressas (2608 ft.; ‘lead-mountain’), where lead-mines were already worked in Roman times.

Beyond (8 M.) Nassen we cross the Miliane. 12½ M. Khledia.

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.

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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).