There is also an extremely curious Byzantine basilica, now turned into a coffee-shop, and called by the Arabs Kahwat el-Koubba, or Café of the Dome. It is a small building, square in plan up to about eight feet from the ground, thence rising cylindrically for about the same distance, the whole surmounted by a curious fluted dome. The cylindrical portion has four large and four smaller arched niches, with very bold cornices, springing from semicircular pilasters between them. The walls are, however, so thickly encrusted with whitewash that the architectural details are considerably obscured. A good view of the exterior of the building is obtained by mounting to the top of the Morestan, or public hospital, just opposite; the dome is decorated exteriorly by a ridge and furrow fluting, converging at the apex.
There is also a curious old building, either of Roman or Byzantine construction, now used as an oil mill. It consists of a central dome, supported on four arches, three of which give access to narrow chambers, the entrance being in the fourth; beyond the left-hand chamber, on entering, are two parallel vaulted apartments, extending the whole length of the building. The piers of the arches have originally been ornamented with columns, and the ceiling appears to have been decorated with tiles or mosaics.
In the Bab el-Gharbi, or Western Gate, a marble sarcophagus has been built into the wall, and now serves as a drinking fountain. The inscription is given by Guérin,[127] but at the present day it is quite illegible.
There is also a large reservoir, about sixty feet broad and a hundred long, with a vaulted roof supported on twelve square pillars. The Arabs declare that the arches were originally supported on marble columns, but that doubts were entertained of their solidity, and that they were consequently encased in masonry. If this is true, it proves that the vaulting is of modern construction, as there is no instance in Africa of a Roman vault or arch supported on columns. The reservoir is certainly ancient, but the pillars have a most un-Roman appearance. The only other antiquity of much interest that we observed was a handsome fragment of sculpture in alto relievo, lately found on the site of a house belonging to M. Yoones, a Jewish merchant. It is of life size, and represents a chariot being drawn probably by two horses; on the side of the chariot is a triton blowing a horn. In it is standing a man entirely clad in a toga, and holding in his left hand what appears, by the knob at the end, to be a sceptre. Unfortunately, all in front of the horses’ haunches and above the man’s neck is broken off, but the chariot is entire. To the right is seated on a bank another person whose head also is destroyed, but who, from the trace of long hair and beard remaining, and from the fact of his hands being tied behind his back, is probably a captive. He has a waist-cloth, and a mantle over his shoulders fastened in front by a brooch; the breast and arms are naked and exquisitely sculptured, every muscle in the arms and chest being anatomically accurate. Another fragment of a horse, and several pieces of cornice and architrave, were found on the same spot, which was evidently the site of some important building.
The schools, like the mosques, are considered sacred from the intrusion of Christians, but we were able to see the interior of several from the road. The walls were covered with very beautiful hangings of appliqué work on coloured cloth and velvet, similar to what are frequently seen on saints’ tombs in Algeria. The women have a costume different to what I have observed elsewhere; they are entirely muffled up in black, like sisters of charity.
The town has a prosperous appearance, the houses being well built, and as a rule less dilapidated than usual. The population is about 8,000, of whom 1,000 are Europeans and 2,000 Jews. A very considerable part of the trade is in the hands of Maltese, who are here, as everywhere else in North Africa, the most industrious and frugal, and about the best-behaved class of the population. They almost monopolise the carrying trade, with their karatonis, or light carts on two wheels, to which one good serviceable horse or mule is usually harnessed. They also keep horses and carriages for hire at all the principal towns, which are unusually well supplied in this respect. The march of events has forced the Tunisians to abate a good deal of their intolerance, but people are still alive who remember the time when driving in a carriage with four wheels was the exclusive privilege of the Bey, all others, consuls included, being forced to content themselves with two-wheeled vehicles.
It has long been the custom to employ carts as a means of transport in Tunis. Bruce received a present of one from the wife of the Bey, ‘exactly like those of the bakers in England;’ this he found exceedingly useful for the transport of his instruments, and at times, for the feeblest of his attendants. Our Maltese friend was anxious that we should take karatonis for our baggage instead of mules, but I was too old a traveller to listen to his suggestions; they do well enough on the plains, but amongst the mountains they could not advance a mile.
FOOTNOTES:
[124]Guérin, ii. p. 276.
[125]Sall. Bell. Jug. cxix.