The site of " Bulla Regia"
lies 8 Km away from the city of Jendouba, 170 Km from Tunis
and can be reached by the Jendouba-Ain Draham road or by BouSalem
going towards Balta and then taking the road to Ain Draham which
passes by Bulla Regia.A complete tour of the site and museum
requires at least two hours.
Historical Background
The city of " Bulla " was first mentioned by Latin classical sources when the pursuing Roman armies caught up with the Numidian king Hiarbars at Bulla where he had sought refuge (in 81 BC).
It was mentioned also, but much later, (end of 4th centuryAD)
in one of Saint Augustin's sermons, he reproached the inhabitants
of the city for continuing to go to such places of debauch as
the theatre "while their neighbours, the inhabitants of
Chemtou, had long ago deserted them".
The site:
Three quarters of the Bulla Regia site is still
underground; only a part of the city has been excavated ; nevertheless,
it presents a range of public and private monuments specific
to Roman cities : the state of conservation of many of these
monuments (the theatre for example) and the originality of others
( under-ground houses)underscore their great value and historical
importance.
Houses in Bulla Regia :
These are the site's distinctive feature.
These underground houses are unique in Tunisia. Bulla remains the only city to have two_storeyed dwellings with one floor under-ground ; this feature can probably be explained by the need for protection against excessive heat in summer and the cold in winter.
Thanks to its beautiful landscapes and its
rich historical monuments, this region became an attractive
tourist site. |
