The Roman Amphitheater In El-Jem Stock Photography

The amphitheatre at El Djem was built by the Romans under proconsul Gordian, who was acclaimed Emperor at Thysdrus, around 238 and was mainly used for gladiator shows and small chariot races (like in Ben-Hur).Many tourists come here to see what it was like to be inside what was once a place where lions and people met their fate.Until the 17th century it remained more or less whole. From then on its stones were used for building the nearby village of El Djem and transported to the Great Mosque in Kairouan, and at a tense moment during struggles with the Ottomans, the Turks used cannons to flush rebels out of the amphitheatre.The ruins of the amphitheatre were declared a World Heritage Site in 1979. It hosts