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| Douz |
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| Dates for sale in Douz |
Douz is often known as the gateway to the Sahara lying on the edge of the Great Eastern Erg and is the home of the Mrazig tribe. It is also the largest of all the Tunisian desert oases with nearly half a million palm trees and is famed for its delicious dates. Despite the influx of tourists for desert safaris in their big four wheel drive vehicles, it is relatively unspoilt and was a pleasant place to stay. Before checking into our hotel we made a brief tour round the local oases and the start of the desert. Sand was everywhere. It was not only spreading across the roads it had begun to ingress into every nook and cranny of our car and clothes. Our basic but clean hotel proved to be a real gem and the cheapest on our trip. It was a friendly family run hotel that also runs a licenced travel agency. Bed and breakfast for one night was only 14€ and that included extra for ensuite facilities and air con!
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| Desert tombs near Douz |
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| Those magnificent men..... |
The following day we went to one of the many desert bases for a morning of sand adventures. Our friends took to the skies in a piloted microlight which gave them a birds eye view of the surrounding area and ticked another one of their bucket list boxes. We then each hired a quad bike and went for a crazy adrenalin inducing ride over the dunes. We drove back into town for lunch before heading back to our hotel and the start of our next adventure.
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| Trekking across the desert |
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| The camels were equally happy to shed their passengers |
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| The desert camp |
We were taken to another desert base on the edge of the oasis and mounted our dromedaries (one humped camels) for a two hour, pelvic stretching ride across the desert as the sun slowly sank behind the dunes. It was a truly wonderful (and extremely uncomfortable) experience with an ever changing display of light and shadows on the sand. We were all happy to finally reach the campsite and our home for the night. The Berbers who looked after the camp made us feel welcome and served up a lovely spread of food in front of a large open fire. We were entertained by traditional singing and drumming and danced the night away. There were some amenities including candlelit toilets and showers (not working) and we each had our own tent. We awoke at dawn and soon after breakfast we were back on our camels for the final trek back to base.
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| Caleche in Tozeur |
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| Chott el-Jerid |
Back in the car we continued our journey westward on the 64km causeway which crosses the Chott el-Jerid, Tunisia and North Africa's largest salt lake. For most of the year it is a dry, flat expanse of salt crystals which glitter in the sun and where mirages are frequently seen. We continued on to the oasis town of Nefta for lunch and to Tozeur, also well known for its beautiful oasis and delicious dates, for the night. We treated ourselves to a touristy caleche ride and wandered around the old town where many of the buildings are made with traditional hand made bricks unique to this area.
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| Chebika |
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| Chebika |
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| Tamerza |
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| Mides gorge |
The following morning we had a long dusty drive up to the mountain oases of Chebika, Tamerza and Mides situated close to the Algerian border. At Chebika we had a pleasant walk through the palm lined gorge to a waterfall and on to the mouth of the spring which feeds the oasis. We scrambled up to the abandoned old town which is bordered by both palms and the steep gorge. We saw more waterfalls at Tamerza and admired the scenic views over the gorge to the abandoned old village from a stunningly situated hotel where we stopped for a well earned beer. Our final destination of the day was Mides where the abandoned old houses are perched on the edge of a steep and very impressive deep gorge. As well as producing pomegranates, citrus fruits and dates it is now firmly on the tourist trail after featuring in scenes from the film The English Patient.
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| A beer stop with a view |
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| Sufetula |
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| Sufetula |
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| Sufetula |
Our entire itinerary was planned around the Lezard Rouge narrow gauge train ride we had booked for the following morning departing from Metlaoui. It only runs on certain days and we were really looking forward to a journey through the Seldja gorge aboard the early twentieth century carriages once the property of the Bey of Tunis. Metlaoui is Tunisia's main centre for phosphate mining and the railway was originally built for mining trains. Unfortunately we had a call the night before to say that the train would not be running owing to an industrial dispute by the miners. Disappointed, we had no choice but to continue our journey north to Sbeitla. On the way we stopped to take some photographs but were immediately surrounded by three army vehicles with guns drawn. We were too close to an army base and nearly lost our cameras. Up until now the frequent army checkpoints had not proved a problem as we were quickly identified as tourists by our car registration plate and waved through. Luckily all ended well but a lesson to be learnt. By late afternoon we were wandering around the Roman town of Sufetula. The remains are particularly well preserved including the very photogenic Forum temples dating back to 139 AD.
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| The Great Mosque Kairouan |
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| Kairouan |
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Kairouan
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Our final destination was Kairouan, Tunisia's oldest Arab city founded in 670 AD and Islam's fourth most holy. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As we had reached the end of our tour we treated ourselves to a night at the luxurious (by Tunisian standards) La Kasbah hotel and even managed a swim in the wonderful courtyard pool. Inside the imposing city walls we wandered around the pretty old town, a sea of blue and white buildings with impressive doorways and had a personal guided tour of the Great Mosque. It is reputed that seven visits here are equivalent to one visit to Mecca.
Our fascinating and most enjoyable tour of the south was complete and it was time to head back to Monastir and get back to the never ending list of boat work awaiting our return
Kairouan doors
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