Tozeur
With a medina of distinctive brickwork and surrounded by a lush oasis of thick vegetation and flowing water, Tozeur thrived as caravan crossroads beginning in the 14th century. Its massive, dense palm grove contains one million six hundred thousand palms, of which more than a quarter give the best dates, the “deglet Ennour”.
Today, Tozeur boasts comfortable accommodations and a museum complex known as Dar Cheraiet that exhibits in its beylical palace the arts and traditions of the country.
Nefta
Nefta, just a few kilometers from Tozeur, spreads out like a green carpet on a stark and harsh plateau eroded by sandstorms. Here one can truly imagine the utter joy of the Saharian traveler as he beholds this pearl of the Djerid on the horizon. Hundreds of thousands of palms and fruit trees thrive in the blessings of hundreds of springs. At the northern end of this lovely oasis lies the principal spring with gently running waters and a breathtaking view of the oasis.
The stunning sunset can be seen from the “corbeille” a fabulous belvedere at the western edge of the oasis. At night, clusters of stars appear to be within reach.
Tamerza–Chebika–Mides
These three oases provide the visitor with an extraordinary landscape: Cascades, ravines, fragrant gardens, water sources..
"Chebika" and its cascades offer the most extreme color contrasts: The burnt brown of the bare rocky ridges with the intense green of the palm tree. "Tamerza", a balcony of the mountain oasis, offers an impressive view over the ruins of the old village completely flooded in 1969. "Mides" is a small picturesque village hanging up a small plateau dominating an oasis which stretches a little lower.
Chott El Jerid
A vast, dry salt lake, the Chott el Jerid is astounding simply by the silence. Every breath and sigh you make, every rustle, every piece of clothing that brushed against you will be amplified a hundred times.
Douz
The most Saharian of south Tunisia oases, the village of Douz surrounded by real dunes continue to jealously guard its ancestral habits and customs.
Douz is well known for its Thursday market, where nomads arrive for the customary trading and barter of camels, horses, crafts and silver Berber jewelry. Its Sahara festival gathers every January, nomads or semi-nomads of Tunisia. From here the Saharan safaris depart to the Great Erg Oriental in the Tunisian Sahara.
Ksar Ghilane
Surrounded by the Grand Erg hills, Ksar Ghilane is the most Saharan place of the oases where exquisite sunsets accompany the comfort of well-appointed camp accommodations.
Matmata
Matmata is an unsual, unearthy looking region. Its villages are built on mountainsides, and the local people live like cave dwellers at the bottom of the sweet-smelling caves of chalk, open to the sky and hollowed out by man. The unique feature of Matmata are its underground homes which are warm in winter and cool in the summer.
Many of these caves, often accessible by means of a simple rope have become restaurants and guest rooms for visitors hankering for picturesque scenes. It was in this lunar landscape that producer such as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas shot “ Indiana Jones” and “ Star Wars”.
Tataouine
The rugged mountainous desert surrounding Tataouine is dotted with fortified communal granaries known as Ksours or desert castles. The hill top villages of Chenini, Douiret, and Guemessa offer splendid panoramas and a final glimpse of traditional Berber life.
The Ksours
Lonely and imperious stone castles still stand over deserted villages. Clinging to the craggy mountain ridges, ksours and empty ghorfas await the return of the Berber people who sought protection behind their ocher walls and who stored their precious grain in the honeycomb like granaries.
Most of the ksours are now abandoned or inhabited only by old people but some happily have found a new vocation as elements of hotels, like the Ksar Haddada near Ghomrassen. Leaving the town of Tataouine with its modern, comfortable accommodations, visitors can tour the region stopping at Ksar Ezzara, Douiret and Chennini.
On the road passing Douiret, visit a citadel that seems to be an integral part of the mountain, still in use for storage by the villagers now located in the valley. Further on, the Ksar of Chenini lies deserted, its crumbling walls high on the cliff tops no longer guarded by the villagers. |
