15/2
We woke up outside the police station, had some breakfast and then headed back to Dougga. It’s a very impressive site covering 70 hectares with North Africa’s best preserved Roman settlements. The first thing we saw was the theatre that was built in AD 168 and could have 3500 people in the audience. The acoustic was fantastic and when I was standing on the stage and Mike was sitting at the top, he could hear me perfectly even if i talked in a very low voice.
We continued our walk and came to the most impressive building, the Capitole. It was built in AD 166 and is in very good condition. The walls are 10 m high and are built in a technique called ”opus africanum” which means they built with large stones to strengthen walls that were built of small stones. The six columns supporting the portico are 8 m high and all of them are made in one piece. Inside the temple were three niches that used to have statues of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. Next to the Capitole there used to be a marketplace.
We walked around the area and saw a lot of fascinating buildings, water cisterns, bath, latrines, arches, mosaic. It was a very nice place to see and I would really recommend it if you’re in the neighbourhood.
We went back to Teboursouk and had a very good Makloub at the same place we had shawarma yesterday. On our way out of town we filled up with diesel (about 0,50€/L) and they also had a tap where we could fill up the water tank. The guy rinsed Snigel a bit but it didn’t really make any different. After all the dirt roads we have been taking she needs a good scrub to get clean.
The road to Kairouan was ok, it’s getting much more dry here compared to the north. We ended up staying in the garden at Hotel Continental. Tomorrow we’re going to explore the Muslim’s 4th most holy city, Kairouan.
16/2
Like many other places where there are lots of tourists there are people who wants to be your guide. This place was no different and we didn’t even make it to the Medina before one guy pointed out where the entrance was, walked with us for a few minutes and then said he wanted to guide us. We usually prefer to walk by ourselves and said no thank you. We entered the Medina which is the name for ”old city” that often has walls around and many narrow streets inside. We walked around for a bit and ended up at the souk (market place). Kairouan are famous for their carpets and there were a few shops selling them. I read it takes 1 month to make 1 m2, it’s the women that makes them and the men selling them.
After walking around for a little while we went in to the narrow alleys again, had a look at the Mosque of three doors and eventually came to the Great Mosque of Sidi-Uqba. It’s allowed to go inside to the courtyard even if you’re not a Muslim, but you can’t go inside the prayer room. The doors were open so we could look inside and see the big room with many carpets on the floor. It was built around AD 670 and is named after the founder of the city, who according to legend stumbled upon a golden cup hidden in the sand, when he picked it up, water came from the ground and he decided it was a good place to build his city. The mosque has 414 pillars supporting the arches of the prayer hall and a marble paved courtyard that slopes towards the middle to where there is a decorated drainage hole. The decorations were designed to filter away the dust from the rainwater before it went down to the cistern below. There are some wells on the courtyard and you can clearly see where the ropes have carved away in the marble after centuries of hauling up water.
It was time to get something to eat so we started to walk back towards the hotel. We found this very busy restaurant in the middle of a big junction. It was a very good place to have lunch with the locals and soak in the atmosphere and all the sounds around us. We stopped for an espresso before going back to Snigel. Here we payed about 0.90€ for three espresso, in Marsaxlokk we payed 9€ for two double espressos! Do I need to say that everything is much cheaper here!
We had found a parking at another hotel in Sbeitla which is on the way to Gafsa where we’re going next. After driving for about 1,5 hours we arrived and asked how much it would cost to park there. They wanted 35TND, about 10€, only to park, we thought that was a bit too much so we drove on. Back in the city center we saw some policemen and asked them if we could park outside the police station. They called the station and asked and then they gave us an escort and showed us where we could park, four times….:-) When everyone was happy with the parking they told us that if there are any problems we should come to them. They took a copy of our passports and then we went for a walk. On our way to the hotel we saw some ruins that we didn’t know about so we decided to go there and have a look. It was the Roman ruins of Sufetula, it has the best preserved Roman forum (main center of a Roman city) temples in Tunisia. It was closed when we got there, but we could still see it from the street. The Triumphal Arch of the Tetrarchy at the entrance to the city was also very impressive.
17/2-18/2
When we arrived in Gafsa we tried to find camping Galia. It was a bit difficult but people were very friendly and helpful and gave us directions. We we finally find it everything looked closed. We drove in and a guy came out from one of the houses, he told us that it was open for us to stay but everything at the place was closed. It was a quiet and relaxing place amongst the date palm trees and we had a relaxing afternoon in the sun and did a BBQ in the evening.
After breakfast we headed off to Tozeur which is one of the last cities before the Sahara desert. It used to be an important place on the caravan route between the Sahara and the Mediterranean coast. The road was in great condition and we saw some new signs on the way. On either side of the road it was very dry and we could feel we’re getting closer to the biggest hot desert in the world.
We found a small camping called Les Beaux Rêves, The sweet dreams. We parked and went for a walk to the medina. Tozeur is famous for their unique brick-pattern architecture and you can see it everywhere in the town.The bricks are made from clay or mud and are locally made. They decorate the facades with different patterns that have different meanings and it looks really beautiful. In some places the houses in the medina were connected with a bridge on the second floor that also gives shelter from the sun when you walk under them. We walked around for a while and just enjoyed the atmosphere and the sun.
After a nice, but way too cold shower, we went away to buy bread. We ended up at a very nice café and had a mint tea. When we were sitting there it was an overland car driving by. It was a Land Cruiser with the same type (but not brand) of roof top tent that we had when we drove our Land Rover through western Africa in 2005. We looked longingly after it and wondered if they were going to the same camping as we were staying at. When we came back they were parked next to Snigel. Daniel and Arianna were from Austria and traveling in Tunisia for 3 weeks and on their way out in the desert. It was nice to talk about overlanding again and we really missed our Land Rover.
19/2
In the morning we talked a bit more with our neighbours and then left the camping. We drove on a very straight road with desert-like nature on both sides. We saw some dromedaries walking around by the road and stopped to get some photos, they are so cute!
We passed some salt lakes that only had a crust of salt left, no water and then we arrived at our destination, oasis Chebika. We walked down some stairs and came to a small waterfall with warm fresh water. A short walk after that we came to the source of the streams we had seen and an oasis with palm trees around it. It was a very beautiful spot and we really enjoyed the walk.
Since we both really liked the oasis we decided to try to find El Hamma du Djérid, which we read is an oasis with hot springs where you can go for a swim. We took a right turn from the main road in the direction that Google maps showed us. We ended up driving on a narrow road between palm trees. It was a beautiful road and we were hoping to find the oasis at the end of it, but we didn’t. We drove around the small village looking and asking people but no one could give us any directions so instead we went to Nefta.
We were hoping to find someplace where we could hire a 4×4 or a quad bike to go out to one of the places in the desert where they filmed parts of Star Wars. After parking at a big hotel we walked down to the center to try to find something to eat. We only found one place and they had Makloub so it was ok. We went for a walk trying to find some big pools called Corbeille where it would be possible to go for a swim. We did our best to find the pool but didn’t, but we saw a lot of palm trees and had a nice walk around one of the neighbourhoods. We didn’t find anywhere to rent a vehicle either but after asking a lot of people we think that we can go there with Snigel, so tomorrow we will give it a go.
20/2
Going to Mos Espa was not a problem at all. It was a tarmac road almost all the way, we only walked the last 500m, but we could probably have driven on the last bit as well. It was a cool place to see and we walked around amongst the buildings in the windy desert and thought about Star Wars being filmed in this exact spot.
From here we drove back to Nefta and Tozeur and then on to the causeway that crosses Chott el Djerid which is a salt lake that dries up in summer and has some water in winter, chott means dry salt lake. It has a surface area of more than 5000 km2 and is Sahara’s largest salt pan, many thousand years ago it was part of the Mediterranean. Some scenes from Star Wars were filmed here. It was really nice to see the small blue pools with salt all around the edges. We stopped at one and pulled of a chunk of salt to keep and also tasted the water, it was, surprise, very salty.
We saw the optical phenomenon called Mirage when we crossed the lake, explanation from Wikipedia: “A mirage is a naturally occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend to produce a displaced image of the sky. In contrast to hallucination a mirage is a real optical phenomenon that can be captured on camera, since light rays are actually refracted to form the false image at the observer’s location”. It looks very cool. Many caravans have been going the wrong way because of the mirages.
Look at this link for one more explanation: http://www.planet-science.com/categories/under-11s/our-world/2012/01/what-is-a-mirage.aspx
A bit more driving and then we arrived in Douz. We found Camping Club Douz which was a very nice and clean place. When we came it was no one there. But only after one minute there were two trucks coming, one from Germany and one with an Italian/Spanish couple traveling with their two dogs and two cats. We talked a bit with them and then and went to the restaurant where they had beer and we got some cold, but very small 24cl, beers and sat down. After maybe 15 minutes Daniel and Arianna showed up. It was great to see them again and we sat up talking and having a few beers and decided to make a BBQ the day after.
21/2
Thursday is market day here, usually that means there is a lot happening so we went for a walk to soak in the atmosphere. It was a lot going on at the place were they sold animals.
We left that place and met up with Daniel and Arianna and continued to the big square, souk, with small shops all along the walls. We have been looking for a carpet for the kitchen floor in Snigel so we went in to one of the shops. Usually we don’t look around so many shops but the guy that was there was friendly and not pushy so we had a look around. We found one that we liked, he invited us for tea and we sat down and talked for a bit. Ahmad was a really nice guy and easy to talk to so we invited him to our BBQ in the evening. We walked away happy and with a beautiful handmade carpet under the arm.
We went looking for a butcher to buy some meat for the evening and then we wanted to go to a Hammam (bath place). Arianna asked a guy for the way and he helped us to explain to the taxi driver what we wanted. The driver took us to the bucher and we found some nice pieces of lamb that we bought. The Hammam was open for women in the day and men in the evening, so me and Arianna went there and the guys went back to the campsite.
Neither of us had been to a Hammam before so we felt a bit lost when we got there. We paid for the entrance, special soap and the scrub glove, and arranged with one of the ladies to scrub us. We put on our bikini bottoms and walked in to the big room where there were many women. We had no idea what to do next, but luckily the women were very helpful and showed us where to find the bucket that we filled with water. When it was full they showed us the hot steam room where we sat down and washed for a bit and then applied the special soap. The women in there were scrubbing off dead skin and helping each other with the backs, apparently a lot of them do this two times a week. It was really nice and warm to sit there and you could feel the skin opening up to get ready to lose some dead skin. I started to scrub a bit with the glove and if you have been to a sauna or steam room scrubbing, then you know what it looked like… After a little while Arianna went to the woman to get scrubbed. When it was my turn I didn’t think there would be much more coming off from my body since I already scrubbed a bit. But I was wrong! The woman was a big strong mama and laying down on her thigh I felt like a child. It was a new experience lying there almost naked while she was scrubbing to remove all the dead skin from my body. Both me and Arianna felt very clean when we left the Hammam with a smile on our faces.
Back at the campsite the guys had prepared the lamb meat and put it in marinade. We all left for the market to buy some vegetables and charcoal. The man selling the charcoal was very old and almost deaf and blind but with some help from a friendly guy we managed to buy what we needed for our BBQ.
We had a great evening with nice company, delicious food and good music.
22/2-23/2
After having a tea with Ahmad at the souk, Arianna and Daniel left for the desert and me and Mike went to buy some more charcoal. Our plan was to just relax and then do some BBQ but when Ahmad came to the campsite and asked if we wanted to come with him to give his dromedar Bourak food and water, that plan changed.
We walked together to the outskirts of Douz to first get the food and then go to where his dromedar was. When we came there it was two dromedaries, Bourak and Lahjal, that were waiting to go to the place where the well was. Me and Mike took one each in a lead and started to walk.
When we came to the “Bir” “the place of water” Ahmad and Mike started to take up water and then give it to them. Bourak and Lahjal hadn’t had water in a few days and the level dropped very quickly in the bucket. It was wonderful to get the chance to do this and I’m not sure who were the most happy, us or the dromedaries 🙂
When we came back to the place where they stayed we gave them some food and he told us a lot about dromedaries and showed us the saddle that he uses when he races with Bourak.
Me and Mike had been thinking about to go out in the Sahara desert with dromedaries for a few nights but never got around to do it. Our original plan was to leave Douz, go to Ksar Guilane, meet Arianna and Daniel there and then continue towards the coast. After meeting Bourak and Lahjal we decided to ask Ahmad if he could take us to Sahara for six days. He said that he would be happy to do that and we agreed to come back the following Thursday.
24/2-25/2
We finally managed to leave Douz and drove to Matmata. The road there was under construction and we almost got stuck in a few places. It was very windy and sometimes it was a bit difficult to see where we drove because of the sand but we got there eventually.
We parked outside hotel Sidi Driss where scenes from Star Wars were filmed (this is where Luke’s family home is) and walked inside to have a look. It is built in Troglodyte style and it looks amazing.
In Matmata some of the Berber people still live in the traditional underground structures called Troglodyte. They first dig a big pit in the sandstone ground, after that they dig out holes in the walls to create rooms. The area in the middle is used as a courtyard and sometimes has a well or trees. The temperature inside the cave is very pleasant. When were there it was very windy and a bit cold, but once we were inside it was a lot warmer. There is no heating, this is a natural thing, in the summer it’s nice and cool.
The morning after we drove to Ksar Guilane which is a place at the edge of the Sahara where there is an oasis with hot water. The road there was mostly ok, in some places there was a lot of sand on the road and we are definitely in the desert now.
We gave a guy a lift and he later helped us to get the price down at the campsite. When we arrived the road was very sandy but we didn’t get stuck even once. We had a coffee with the guy we gave a ride and then went to one of the campsites. Ksar Guilane is a nice small place and the lagoon is pretty but it would have been so much more nice if it was cleaner.
Since we have decided to go out in the desert we want to make sure that we can charge our phones to be able to take photos. Mike built a charger with the battery for the drill machine and attached a 12V cigarette plug with USB connection to it. Now we can be sure to have full batteries for the six days we’re in the Sahara.
26/2-27/2
We had a relaxing day at the campsite. Mike cleaned the air filter and checked the oil and that everything was still in place after all the bumpy roads and then went to one of the cafés and played backgammon for a while. Me and Mike bought a few beers, took our volleyball and our speaker and stepped out into the Sahara desert to enjoy the sand. It was great to play “desert volleyball” in the soft sand and we really enjoyed it! After a while we saw a car coming up and down in the dunes, it was Daniel and Arianna. We told them where we had parked and then we went to have some food together. In the evening Mike, Daniel and me had a swim in the lagoon and then we sat up at a bonfire with a group from Tunisia that had come to the campsite.
We all left after breakfast, we were going back to Douz and Arianna and Daniel were going to Gabès. We drove the first bit together but at one junction they were going to the right and we were going straight. We stopped at a café and had some tea before we parted, there someone said the road straight ahead was really bad. We changed our minds and were going to take the road that was under construction back even if we didn’t really want to. Daniel and Arianna drove of and we sat in Snigel thinking for a few minutes and then changed our minds again and decided to take the detour via Gabès hoping the road would be better.
We stopped at a shopping center with a big Carrefour (food store) in Gabès. It felt a bit weird to be in a place like that after a long time in the desert. We bought what we needed and then drove on. The road was good most of the way but in some places they were working on it. We arrived in Kebili and tried to find a hotel where we thought we could park. When we came there it was closed, we didn’t have a back up plan where to stay. We bought a take away pizza and found another hotel on the map. We asked if we could stay at the parking for the night and first he said yes, but then he came out again and said that it was not ok. We drove out from the parking and came to one of the police roadblocks. We asked them if they knew a safe parking and they pointed to the parking at the post office on the other side of the street and told us they would be there all night to look after us. Friendly as always!
28/2
In the morning we woke up to a knock on the door and thought it was the police that wanted to write down our passport numbers. But it wasn’t, it was a guy on a moped that wanted to give us bread for breakfast! Like I have written before, people here are very friendly! We asked him about the supermarket that we thought would sell beer and he showed us the way. It was still closed when we got there so we went and had a tea with Karim and waited for them to open.
It’s always difficult to talk to each other when you don’t speak the same language, his English was not that good and our French is limited, but we did our best. We were supposed to go to Douz in the morning to meet up with Ahmad during the day, but when Karim invited us home to see his family we had a hard time to say no. When they opened the alcohol place we bought some beer and wine and then drove to his house.
His wife was really friendly and their daughter was very cute. We sat down in their living room and his wife gave us fruit. She started to prepare lunch and Karim asked us to stay and eat with them and also wait for their sons to come home from school. Of course we said yes!
It was a lovely lunch and we had the best Brik (a thin pastry wrapped around some filling and then deep fried) we have had in Tunisia. After lunch we showed them the inside of Snigel and they were very impressed. It was a lovely meeting with a Tunisian family and we felt very lucky to meet such friendly people! Many hours after the knock on the door we were on our way back to Douz.
We went to the same campsite as before and then we met up with Ahmad at his shop to try out trousers and turbans. We are really excited for tomorrow and can hardly wait to go out on our adventure in the desert! When we came back to the campsite we tried everything and started to pack our things.
