El Jem Amphitheatre

El Jem Amphitheatre

The El Jem Amphitheatre has a long history, built in the early 3rd century AD. It is a famous and splendid architectural legacy left by the ancient Roman Empire in Africa. Many well-known French authors, such as Maupassant and Flaubert, traveled here specifically to visit and praised it as “the most wonderful amphitheatre in the world” and “a landmark and symbol of the Roman Empire’s presence in Africa.”

From 146 BC to 439 AD, Rome ruled Tunisia for nearly 600 years, bringing European civilization to the region. The Romans constructed temples, amphitheatres, and open-air theatres throughout the land, many of whose ruins remain today. Among them is the El Jem Amphitheatre, one of the world’s three great colosseums. For centuries, the El Jem Amphitheatre in Tunisia has captivated all who visit with its grandeur, majestic presence, scientific layout, and harmonious construction—much like Egypt’s pyramids. Driving out of the city of Sousse and following the winding national highway southward, passing undulating hills and endless stretches of lush olive groves, the massive silhouette of the amphitheatre becomes faintly visible several kilometers from the village of El Jem.

It rises abruptly like a towering fortress, standing high above the ground, reaching 36 meters in height and featuring 500 entrances, with a capacity to hold 40,000 spectators. Its exceptional carving and mosaic artistry leave modern visitors in awe. The surrounding walls of the amphitheatre are five times the height of those of the Forbidden City in Beijing, making its imposing figure visible from afar. Layer upon layer of connected arches create broad, tall, and elegantly constructed passageways. Walking through them feels like strolling through the corridors of an ancient castle. The varied column styles of the arcades on each level offer a rich visual experience, as if wandering through a palace of ancient stone-carved artistry. Ascending the steps feels like rising skyward toward transcendence. Sitting atop the highest tier of the spectator stands and looking down, the entire vast arena unfolds before your eyes, fully visible. The whole structure resembles a large upside-down pot, with tiered seating rising densely from bottom to top along the perimeter.

Sitting in the stands and gazing at this ancient arena, the wings of imagination carry us back to a distant past. The scene before us seems to revive the brutal images of man against man and man against beast—scenes of bloody carnage and gushing blood, as if hearing the heart-wrenching, desperate cries of the defeated and wounded, alongside the deafening roars of applause and curses erupting from the stands above...