Carthage Museum

Enough, I kept telling Zied. I have enough pictures of me. "Yes, a thousand pictures," he said, snapping away. I have ended up with a rather thorough catalog of the art and artifacts of the museum. The mosaic is the bath of Aphrodite and the original of the head in the third picture is in the Louvre.

Islamic vs. Roman tiles

Both Romans and Muslims who have lived in Tunisia decorated with tiles, but it's easy to tell one style from the other. Islamic tile is decorative -- all design and geometry. Romans fill their mosaics and tiles with animals and portraits. The tile here is from a mausolem in Kairouan and the mosaic from Carthage Museum.

Detail from woodwork and the tomb from the Mausoleum of Abi Zamaa.

Mosaics at the Bardo

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Bardo Museum

This is why I am sick of ruins: all the good stuff has been stripped out and put into museums. The Bardo Museum, a long 4 Dinar taxi ride from the center of town, is stuffed with Roman mosaics and statuary and the building itself is a former palace for a bey with stucco ceilings and tiles that makes it a work of art too. I spent the day here, including mint tea in the cafe and shopping among artisans selling pottery and jewelry.