Around Tozeur

The old quarters of Tozeur and Nefta have a very particular air to them. Follow the narrow streets and covered passageways which are astonishingly fresh and cool under the Saharan sun. Admire the façades in bricks the colour of sand and their stunning decorations in relief (see p. 79). Then pay a visit to the giant oases, veritable palm tree forests whose shade is used to cultivate fruit trees. On foot or by carriage, appreciate the out of the ordinary atmosphere of the palm groves. The surroundings will surprise you with the variety of desert landscapes: chains of mountains, arid plateaus, giant dunes, salt lakes glittering in the sun. Cross the immense Chott el-Jerid, ancient interior sea almost entirely dried out, covered with a thick crust of blindingly white salt. Follow the road to the oases of the mountains – Chebika, Tamerza, Mides – and explore the canyons, the waterfalls and the palm groves nestled into the rock. Further north lies the oasis of Gafsa, a town known for its Roman stone basins and brightly coloured drapes.

Tozeur is the date capital: discover the different varieties of this emblematic southern fruit, from the sweet and red allig to the translucent and creamy deglet nour. Try rfiss, the date dumplings seasoned with just a hint of salted butter. Taste the chakhchoukha of Jerid, lamb cooked in sauce accompanied by a traditional semolina bread called mtabga. Feast yourself on barkoukech, a sort of couscous with large grains garnished with meat and small dried fish. More unusual, give camel steak a try. In Tozeur, the avenue which lies alongside the palm grove is a meeting point for gourmets with several restaurants offering a choice between the regional cuisine of Jerid, Italian food and international dishes. You can also choose to dine the hotels of the area.

The region of Tozeur and Nefta is known as the Jerid, a name which signifies “land of the palm”. The oases are the fruit of man’s work over thousands of years, which brought life and abundance to the heart of the desert; those of Tozeur and Nefta today have several hundred thousand palm trees. Several springs water the palm groves; “these streams are split into countless channels in stone canals, according to a scrupulously fair system”, wrote Ibn Chabbat in the 13th century. With the passing of centuries, the land became fertile and allowed agricultural cultivation in three levels: vegetable crops and cereals grow in the shade of fruit trees, which themselves are protected by the tall date palms. Tozeur and Nefta were also mandatory stops on the journeys of great caravans, and have long been prosperous. Tozeur occupies a special place in Tunisia as a cultural centre for the Arab language, and Nefta as an important site for Sufism.