Our post-breakfast morning was spent in Tozeur with our first activity being an hour’s horse drawn carriage ride through the town’s central oasis. The carriage was four wheeled and dainty and our driver was a large jovial fellow who obviously adored his horse ‘Julie’. At one point when stationary the driver gave Julie some dates to eat which she clearly relished and when she’d finished this treat she then spat out the pits!
Our horses & carriages, Oasis of Tozeur
The oasis area contains many hundreds of date palms and other fruiting plants such as pomegranates, lemons, figs, berries and pears. The oasis is supplied with water flowing along concrete water channels that form a pattern to maximise the irrigation but to minimise water wastage.
Samir explained to us how the pollination of the dates palms is achieved where male pollen frond sections are taken up the female trees by a climber who then transfers the pollen to the female flowers.
A local personality Mr. Mohammed then demonstrated the skill and strength needed to climb these tall palms. He quickly scaled a 10 m palm using hands and bare feet with no ropes or safety harness! The OH&S issues obviously don’t rate a mention in Tunisia!
Male & female date palms, Oasis of Tozeur
Mohammed climbing date palm, Oasis of Tozeur
Mohammed climbing date palm, Oasis of Tozeur
We then departed Tozeur driving southeast towards Douz. The road we travelled on for about 60 kilometres passed through the vast and glittering Chott El Jerid which is Tunisia’s largest salt lake. The lake was created by tectonic movements of the Earth’s crust some 1.5 million years ago and its area is just over 51 thousand square kilometres.
Half way along the salt lake causeway we stopped and walked down to the (mostly) dry lake’s surface to see the evaporation ponds where crystalline salt is being formed. The billiard table flat salt lake extends to a mirage with the horizon appearing as if there’s water.
Chott El Jerid (Tunisia's largest salt lake)
These salt flats are sometimes used for competitive ‘land-yacht’ racing. The so-called ‘deluxe’ toilet block at this stopping point was a cause for much amusement. Other less flattering descriptions would have been more accurate.
'Titanic', Chott El Jerid
Toilets, Chott El Jerid
A very interesting site was visited next near the township of Suq al Ahad. A bore has been drilled 2.8 km down into the Earth to reach a region where there is estimated to be a vast supply of fresh water. The extraordinary thing about this high purity water now being pumped to the surface is that the temperature is about 85°C. The water is then allowed to fall through chambers in a large building causing some evaporative cooling and bringing the temperature down to about 70°C. It then undergoes further cooling by passing through a maze of concrete channels arranged in a pyramid form. The now cooler water is then directed in irrigation lines to farms and homes.
Water cooling tower, Suq al Ahad
Pump for Water cooling tower, Suq al Ahad
We stopped for rest, relaxation and drinks at Douz, right on the edge of the Sahara. Camel rides and quad-cycle hire seem to be ‘all the go’ in this tourist town but with the air temperature in the high thirties we found a shady spot and enjoyed some coffees, crepes and cold orange juice.
Camels, Douz
Diana, Jak, Corinne & Chris, Douz
Our driver Arbi & guide Samir with ice & fresh oranges
Freshly squeezed orange juice with ice in the middle of the desert!
An 85 km journey eastwards from Douz through a largely barren desert landscape brought us eventually to the Berber village of Matmata. A little before arriving at Matmata we spent some time visiting a small troglodyte housing area just off the main road.
The troglodyte homes have been dug out of the sandstone rock to create thermally insulated rooms that escape the intense daytime heat. This building tradition which allows the rooms to maintain an even temperature of about 17°C all year round goes back hundreds of years. We were able to look inside the various rooms and to gain some insight to the troglodyte lifestyle.
Troglodyte homes, Tomazret
In the late afternoon we arrived at the night’s accommodation, the Diar Matamata Hotel. Our hotel room is in the form of a hemispherical cave hewn from the sandstone rock hillside. The room is about 12 m x 3 m and the ceiling height varies between 1.5 and 2.0 m. The curved walls are painted white and there are two small recessed areas off to the side of our tunnel for storage or extra beds. Like other troglodyte homes, our room has a very comfortable temperature, significantly less than the Saharan heat experienced earlier today.
Courtyard at Diab Matmata hote, Matmata
Our room at Diab Matmata hote, Matmata
In the cool of the late afternoon we drove 10 km back towards Douz and visited the village of Tamazrat.
Evening light, Matmata
Diana & our driver Arbi with our van, Matmata
The cave dwellings here are Berber homes and the remarkable thing about these troglodyte dwellings is the tunnelling that has occurred. Many of the cave homes have other homes above and below them and the caves have interconnecting tunnels between them. These tunnels then link to a larger 3.5 km long tunnel that leads down to a communal spring providing a domestic water supply. We were informed that the large, long tunnel is sufficiently big that even a camel can walk through it!
Tamazrat Village
Tamazrat Village
Opening to tunnel, Tamazrat Village
We spent an hour at the private Berber museum of Monji who provided us with a most informative guided tour. The Berbers or Amazigh people of this area have lived in these cave dwellings for four hundred years or more and have developed a unique social culture together with their different clothing, jewellery and family lifestyle. Monji explained how marriages are arranged between families and that daughters choose a husband after having interviewed appropriate options. Another interesting cultural point of interest was that women who have been divorced several times have high esteem and earn respect for their strength of character.
Monji (owner) demostrating the Berber Yaz symbol for a free person, Berber Museum, Tamazrat Village
Berber Museum, Tamazrat Village
The problem of having limited or no chimneys in the caves to release smoke from cooking using wood fires has led to kitchens typically having black ceilings.
Kitchen with black ceiling & chimney, Berber Museum, Tamazrat Village
Monji showed us the access point to the tunnel under his home but said that it is no longer used and now an ‘out of bounds’ area.
Tamazrat Village
We returned to our Diar Matamata hotel and had an enjoyable buffet style evening meal and then undertook diary writing and photograph downloading tasks in our very different and interesting troglodyte home.
Tomorrow we spend time in and around Matmata and then head east to the island of Djerba.