Music and Solidarity at El Jem

Last night, a group of us took a two-hour train over to El Jem, a small Tunisian city, to watch the Orchestra and Ballet of the Vienna Opera. The concert was situated in the Roman amphitheatre of El Jem - the third-largest amphitheatre behind Rome and Capua. There were also two soloists - a soprano and a tenor.


The whole event was quite the spectacle - the minister of culture was there, along with other ministers and ambassadors. We managed to walk right onto the floor seating, reserved for dignitaries, and get some very close seats (the other option was the cold and hard stone benches of the nosebleed seats). (We just acted like we were supposed to be there.) It was a good show, however I wasn't a huge fan of the opera - they were all more traditional Austrian songs. The real draw was the setting - they had placed candles all over the amphitheatre, constructed a stage, and to top it off, the weather was perfect.

One of the most beautiful things here is the natural light. For instance, the sky in this photo really was that blue.