I Am a Carthaginian!

We sailed into the beautiful port of Tunis on the Mediterranean coast of Africa this morning. I had no idea that our visit to ancient Carthage today would be such an emotional experience, but before it was over I caught myself pulling for the Carthaginians.

First, a bit of history. You may remember from school about the Punic Wars. From 264 to 146 BC Rome and Carthage had three major wars and numerous conflicts to determine which empire would control the Western Mediterranean. Carthage had been founded in the ninth century B. C. by Phoenician traders originally from the area of modern Syria-Lebanon. They were not warriors, they were traders. For more than half a millennium they had established trading posts from Spain, all across north Africa and into the Middle East. By the third century B. C., however, Rome had begun to encroach on their territory, and the Carthaginians felt they must respond. The first unsuccessful assault against Rome was led by Hamilcar Barca. His son Hannibal vowed to avenge his father’s defeat and conducted a brilliant fifteen-year-long campaign against Rome. He crossed the Mediterranean at Gibraltar and had to fight his way up across the Alps to northern Italy to attack Rome from the north. I guess we all remember the story about Hannibal taking his war elephants over the Alps. Ultimately, the Roman general Scipio Africanus earned his surname “Africanus” by going to Africa and finally destroying Carthage and then rebuilding it as a Roman city.

That’s the history. And it never really meant that much to me until----

A few years ago Glenda and I gave each other a Christmas present. It was a DNA test to track our mothers’ ancestry back for thousands of years. What I learned was that about 60,000 years ago, my mom’s ancestors were Phoenicians. I am a Carthaginian! They were my team! And when they went up against the Romans, my team lost!

Oh, well. Win some. Lose some. Still, today I found myself pulling for the Carthaginians.

Whatever may have happened two thousand years ago, Viking Ocean Cruises gave me a win today. We started out at the ruins of a fantastically beautiful Roman ampitheater. The weather was perfect, and our guide Ali was spectacular. A gentle breeze caught the leaves and made shadows creep across two-thousand-year-old stones. The changing sunlight made the stones look alive. I wondered what stories they could tell. I just had to wonder, “Who else was here? Who competed in this arena? A slave? A professional gladiator?” There is a monument to Christians who were martyred in this arena. I thought I heard voices saying to me, “Remember us.”

Next we took the bus to the place I have waited to see since the eighth grade--the harbor of Carthage. The Phoenicians and their descendants were always sea traders. I have seen artists’ sketches of this harbor when it was new. A huge, round, man-made lake, maybe half a mile across. It could hold 220 ships, each one 20 to 30 meters long. An island in the middle served as an additional wharf so that dozens of ships could be simultaneously loaded and unloaded—ships from Spain, France, Greece, and other Mediterranean ports.

The ancient city of Carthage must have been enormous. Most of the Greek and Roman ruins we have visited could be traversed in a long walk. Today, however, we had to travel to our next destination by bus, though it was still in the city of Carthage. We saw the glorious remains of the Antonine Baths, the third largest Roman baths in the world. Built by Antonius, adopted son of Hadrian, these baths used a sophisticated system of fires beneath the main floor to heat the water where Romans would relax in their heated swimming pools and discuss the day’s affairs.

Finally we went to the lovely area called Sidi Bou Said, a trendy collection of houses and shops where every building is done in blue and white. Even the mosque where the muezzin called out the mysterious tones of the shahadeh, is blue and white. I had read in the Viking brochure that we were to come to this place, and when I saw it I could see it was beautiful, but I really didn’t know what was special about it. Then our guide told us. In 1492 the Spanish expelled all the Moors from southern Spain. I had always assumed that most went back to Africa, but it never occurred to me where in Africa they might have gone.

Today I learned. Lots of them came here.

This community was originally built by the Moors who had been expelled from Spain. Just as they called their area in Spain “Andalucia,” so they called this place “Andaluz.” Because we travel only with carry-on luggage, any souvenirs must be flat and small. Glenda walked into one of the pretty blue and white shops and came out with a small plate and a tiny bowl covered with the most exquisite Arabesque designs.

Today turned out to be a fantastic day to see one place in the world I had never seen. We were scheduled to come here in 2018, but that excursion had to be cancelled. I am so glad that I came, I saw, I learned. I know a bit more about the world now than I did when I woke up this morning. I will always be grateful to Viking for bringing us to these wonderful places to help me fill in the gaps in my understanding of the people and the places in this world. Today was fantastic, and I learned more than I ever expected. For me today was an incredible win.

Even if the Carthaginians lost.Read more