Antoine Baths, Carthage - Sept, 2014

Sept, 2014.  Our first visit to the Antoine Baths in Carthage, Tunisia.

     Just down the street aways, we had been walking by a few ancient Roman sites in the early hours before school.  We finally had a Sunday free and decided to explore the site.  What a treasure!     These baths date back to about 150AD.  The complex had various floors, with the bottom floor for the slaves to keep the pools warm with the fires they kept going.  The capacity was just under a thousand men I believe.  All this was approximately 375,000 square feet!   Note that these baths were for the men.  Also note that they had wrestling rooms, where the men wrestled each other naked.  Kinda weird?   Quote from wikispaces,ancientcarthage:

"..the largest bath complex in African and the third largest bath complex in the Roman world, measuring about 35,000 square meters, only remnants of the substructures remain, yet these fragments hint at the enormity and vastness of the original structure.
Bathing was a critical part of Roman society. Many Romans, in fact, spent a great part of their day at the bath houses. A Roman man would conduct the majority of his business in the morning and then find himself at the baths by early afternoon, where he would remain for several hours. The baths, however, were for much more than just hygienic purposes. While cleanliness certainly contributed to the popularity of the baths, what was probably a greater factor was the sheer enjoyment that was derived from spending time there. Pools of clear water, magnificently decorated walls, floors, and vaulted ceilings, and soothing warmth radiating from the floor and walls could not but make the baths a premier attraction. Even the luxury of the baths was not the extent of their lure. Many bath complexes were equipped with exercise facilities such as simple open air, peristyle areas called palaestra and running tracks. These exercise areas would have been used as a regular part of the bathing ritual, taking place before the bath itself. There were also changing rooms, libraries, gardens, and spaces for other sorts of entertainment. The bathing practice that had originated from the Greek gymnasiums and Italian folk practice had evolved into a full-blown social club."

Many feet have walked this same path over thousands of years.

These mosaic floors were huge!

Old mosaic remnants.

I want this as a side table next to my couch?

This bottom floor is where the slaves worked to keep the fires burning, the water warm and the upper-class happy.

This is the under-layer where the slaves worked.

Behind the white wall in the distance is the presidential palace.
With tons of heavily armed guards I might add.

The sky was incredibly blue.  It was quite warm out, probably about 90 degrees.  The lower levels felt cool but I could not imagine what the slaves went through heating these baths with fires.  Key word here:  slaves.  Not a fun job.
This site is next to the current presidential palace.  There are armed guards all over the place; you can see them strolling the outskirts.  Nothing like a fellow in a uniform with an AK47 to make you mind your manners!
There were a couple of tour buses on/off that pulled up outside.  Mainly older European tourists.  But this place remains uncrowded for it's size and significance.  I know I won't be able to go to ruins in Italy and get photos without throngs of tourists.
This is an incredible site and we can not believe that we are lucky enough to be here!