The Capitol
Towering Corinthian columns.
Emna Trabelsi — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Youssefbensaad — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kritzolina — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Citizen59 — CC BY-SA 2.0
A complete ancient town on a hillside among wheat fields and olive groves in north-western Tunisia, successively a Numidian-Berber, Punic and Roman settlement. It covers about 75 hectares, and UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site in 1997 as the best-preserved Roman small town in North Africa. Because modern building never reached it, Dougga keeps its paved streets, temples, baths and houses much as their owners left them. Its most famous monuments are the Capitol with its towering Corinthian columns, and the Roman theatre, which seats about 3,500 and still hosts summer performances. At the foot of the site stands the Libyco-Punic Mausoleum, one of the rarest monuments of its age, a stepped tower more than twenty metres tall. Other highlights include the temples of Saturn and Juno Caelestis, the Arch of Severus, the Licinian Baths and the market. The site is large and sloping, so give it at least half a day, wear good shoes, and bring water and a hat, as shade is scarce. The easiest way there is by car or on a tour from Tunis.
Towering Corinthian columns.
About 3,500 seats.
A rare stepped tower.
Near Téboursouk, Béja governorate, about 110 km west of Tunis
8 TND for non-residents and 5 TND for residents; the site opens every day, with winter and summer hours.
By car in about two hours via Béja and Téboursouk, or on a day tour from the capital.