Ksours

 

Lonely and imperious stone castles still stand guard 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 guard the villagers. Here, next to the rough squat stone mosque lies the tomb of the seven sleepers. According to the legend seven young girls slept for two hundred years and awakened only to find all they had loved had long vanished, so they died heartbroken. Perhaps this is the fate of the lonely ksars.