The Island of Djerba
Her first tourist carried a name that would be very hard to forget. He was called Ulysses. “I sailed nine whole days at the mercy of violent winds and on the tenth day, I arrive at the land of the Lotophages who live off the fruit of a flower. We disembarked, drank some water and my companions set about preparing their dinner. After the meal, I chose two of the stronger members and sent them to reconnoiter the country and report on the inhabitants. They set off with deliberation and mingled among the people who were most friendly. They gave then the fruit of the lotus to taste. All who have eaten these fruits neither wish to return, nor to hear from us…
Poor Ulysses. What Homer described is the Djerbian Odyssey. What could these irresistible fruits have been? Doubtlessly, they were dates.
Djerba is connected to the mainland by a roman causeway. It is isolated more by the desert than by the sea. This geographic situation has made the island, through centuries of history, an important crossroad between the Mediterranean and Africa.
The charm of the island is made up of a fragile balance of natural elements. A spectacle of palms, olive groves, gardens, dunes, chalky white silhouettes of mosques, cylindrical minarets, high thrusting towers and squat marabouts. The central city of Houmt Souk consists of souks, traditional shopping area, old arcades, moorish cafes and picturesque markets.
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