Tozeur & the Sahara Desert

Leaving Kairouan, our next destination was Tozeur, deep in the heart of the Sahara Desert.

Tozeur is an oasis that sits on the edge of the Chott el Jerid, the world’s largest salt flat. It is surrounded by thousands of acres of date palms and other crops that can survive only because of the water drawn from below the surface. When Tozeur was founded in the 12th century, the water table was only about 30 feet below the surface. Today, it is over 600 feet.

Touring the fields and the crops, we were amazed to learn that each and every date palm must be pollenated by hand. One of the workers demonstrated this to us by climbing a palm tree (barefoot!). At the top, a strand of male pollen is then inserted into the bundle of date buds and they are then tightly tied together.

Tozeur is renowned for its unique architectural style. Not having the materials available to add color to their structures, they instead have developed a beautiful and intricate technique of bricklaying to add interest to their facades.

Another interesting feature is that many of the homes’ front doors have 3 knockers. One is for men, one is for women and one is for children and each makes a different sound. This allows the women in the house to properly prepare themselves based on the type of visitor.

From Tozeur we took a drive up to the Atlas Mountains. There, we visited the oasis villages of Chebika, Tamerza and Mides.

All of these villages are built on natural springs that provide the water needed to survive in this desert. The contrast of the green oases against a backdrop of absolutely arid desert is quite stunning. Interestingly, both Chebika and Tamerza were completely destroyed at one point in the past from flash floods. The residents then rebuilt an entirely new village nearby, on higher ground.

A close inspection of the ground near Chebika revealed that some of the hills were made entirely of seashells, supporting the theory that the Sahara basin was once under water.

Our next adventure took us across the salt flats to the town of Douz. From here, we mounted up on camels and rode to our destination for the night, a tent camp in the middle of the desert. The night before, it had rained, an extremely rare occurrence in the Sahara. After several days of high winds and sandstorms that often reduced visibility to nearly zero, the rain scrubbed the sky, leaving a crystal clear night sky full of stars for us to enjoy. Away from all the lights of civilization, it was magic.

And finally, a few more random photos that aren’t easily categorized.