Day 5 - 22 December

Visit to the Roman ruins of Sbeitla - reached through a huge triumphal arch built in 138AD while Antonius Pious was Emperor, all that is know about this town comes from the inscriptions on its walls and stones.  The most impressive ruins are those of the Forum, entirely surrounded by a well-preserved 70m x 67m wall and containing three temples dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva.  Ruins of the great baths, churches and two Byzantine fortresses can also be seen.  The prosperity of the town was ensured by the production of olives, the staple of Rome's legions.  Some of the ingenious olive presses can still be seen today.  Then onto Kairouan the holiest city in Tunisa and which, even today, retains a strong spiritual feel.  It is also the birthplace of great poets and doctors of religious law, echoing the traditional Islamic link between Art and Faith.