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Home > Tunisia Guide > Haidra (Ammaedara)

Haidra (Ammaedara)

Haidra - the ancient Ammaedara- is considered one of the oldest Roman cities in Africa. What you find here is one of the largest Byzantine fortresses in Tunisia, a selection of fine buildings, a well-preserved Byzantine church and underground baths. And not to forget: The fascinating mausoleums in the shape of towers.

Ammaedara consists of:

  • Mausoleums: at Haidra three memorable mausoleums are shaped as towers: the “with portico” and the “Hexagonal Mausoleum” and they are in excellent condition and their location seems well- chosen.



  • The Triumphal Arch: also called the Septimus Severus arch. It stands today largely intact and marks the entrance to the city. This is the result of the protection provided by Byzantine fortifications that were built around it.

  • The Capitol:was a pre-Christian temple. What remains now of it the podium with a strange looking column. Fragments of a colonnaded courtyard still stand.




  • The Market:Enough remains of the market to allow you to imagine how things were done here. The stalls are relatively large, but there cannot have been much more than 20-30 of them.



  • The Underground Baths: are surprisingly crudely made, indicating that it was built during a later time of Haïdra's history.




  • The Byzantine Fortress: It is the most spectacular monument of Ammaedara built during the reign of Emperor Justinian in the middle of the 6th century, and is said to be the largest of its kind in North Africa , within which are a chapel and a church.