South Tunisia - Tunisia Guiden.no

On your way south, beyond Sousse and Kairouan, subtle changes in the land and color soon become apparent. The olive groves grow sparse, the land takes on shades of ocher and buff, jagged outlines of mountains appear in the horizon. Date palms and tawny rocks, the road seems endless when at last Gafsa appears. First of the great date palm oases , Gafsa is also an ancient prehistoric site.

Return to the present and discover the weaving shops where the carpets are made, brightly colored ,figurative in a wonderful naive style . From the top of a minaret view the whole oases of a hundred thousand date palms and the orchards of apricot and lemon trees. In the center of town, the Roman pools are the delight of children and a nearby small museum exposes a exquisite collection of Roman mosaics. Refreshed, continue on to Metlaoui, where the "Red Lizard" a small train once belonging to Tunisia's beys leaves for a trip through the superb gorges of Selja. Continue to the mountain oases...

Names: Ad Turres (Roman) for Tamerza, Ad Speculum (Roman) for Chebika and Madés (Roman) for Midés.

Lovation and access: In south-western Tunisia (Djérid region), 65 km north-west of Tozeur, 95 km west of Gafsa. Railway stations at Gafsa and Tozeur. Tozeur international airport.

Tourist information: In Tozeur, Commissariat régional au tourisme, avenue Abou el Kacem Chebbi, tel. 250-503 / 250-088.

Festivals: Tamerza festival (April-May).

Souvenirs: Carpets, minerals.

Chebika

Chebika ,a small earthen village with its palm trees and mini waterfalls lying at the foot and slopes of the Djebel el Negueb was once a Roman outpost and one of the mountain refuges of the Berber peoples. From here up a steep winding road ,lies Tamerza another refuge which gives a breathtaking view of the region with its salt lakes and river gorges.The ancient town, destroyed by floods in 1969, was rebuilt and from the terrace of a modern hotel , constructed on the top of a canyon one can view this lost village dating from Roman times. Tamerza is the site of a Festival gathering the inhabitants of the mountain oases and where Berber arts, traditions, folklore and music can be enjoyed.

A few kilometers away Midés , still relatively "undiscovered" is the last and most fascinating of these oases refuges. The gorges have been sculpted by the river torrents and vast monuments carved in a myriad of shapes. Guides will lead visitors through the trails of this wild and once impregnable earthen citadel . As in Tamerza, floods destroyed the old village and a new one was built higher up.

The palm groves and gardens, as well as a small market place lie at the foot of a plateau on the mountain. Natural springs spurting from the rocks create the waterfalls and irrigate these unusual mountain oases.