Zaghouan Water Temple

The Temple des Eaux stands on the slope of Djebel Zaghouan above the town, built under Hadrian over the spring that was the head of the aqueduct carrying water to Carthage, a channel of about a hundred and thirty-two kilometres and one of the longest in the Roman world. The temple is a semicircular colonnaded court around a basin, with niches for statues. Sections of the aqueduct's arches survive across the plain towards Tunis.

What you actually see

• The semicircular court - a colonnaded nymphaeum built around the spring basin.
• The spring - the water source that supplied Carthage from the second century.
• The aqueduct arches - surviving stretches running across the plain towards Tunis.
• The mountain setting - the temple on the slope of Djebel Zaghouan above the town.

When to go

October to May is comfortable; the mountain is cooler than the plain. Spring is best for the surrounding hillsides. The climb from town is steep.

Honest expectations

The temple is smaller than photographs suggest and partly reconstructed. The walk up from Zaghouan is steep and there is little shade. The aqueduct is best seen separately from the road to Tunis.

Nearby

Zaghouan town is below, and Thuburbo Majus is southwest.