Official Tunisia.com Blog

Having worked on the new Tunisia.com design for a month or so we all thought we needed a break before the crunch next two weeks so we decided to nip down to Tozeur for a few days i say nip as Tozeur is a good 8-10 hours drive from Bizerte but we thought it would be worth it so that our friend Adam can see how Tunisia changes from the lush green to the Desert and so that he can get a snapshot of what the South of Tunisia has to offer.

We Started off at five in the morning and drove down firstly through Tunis and then down passed Hammamet/Nabeul and then on toward Kairouan (watch out for crazy drivers on the road there).

We stopped for a quick look at the large mosque but it was closed (opens around 8am) we then set off towards Gafsa. The road to Gafsa is lovely with trees lining the route and many small stands selling olives and olive oil (I will take more photos when I update the Gafsa travel guide later this year.

We pressed on through Gafsa and once the other side the landscape changed even more into desert and to Saras pleasure we saw our first group of camels by the road.

We arrived just after lunchtime in Tozeur (fast driving!) where we checked into the Dar Cherait Hotel which was lovely (I have posted a full review in the post before this one). This hotel was in the style of an old arabic house though to me it looked more Moroccan than Tunisian but that didn't matter as all agreed that the hotel looked great

The outside of the hotel

The main lobby of the hotel so large you need a wide angle lens!

We where all a bit knackered as you may expect so we headed out for a quick pizza outside the hotel which we found to be a bit expensive by Tunisian standards and not that nice however it was so hot and we where so past it by then we went back as soon as possible and hit the bed for some deserved rest.

After a nice evening meal which was a bit disturbed by Sara deciding she wanted to be the evenings entertainment we enjoyed the lovely gardens of the hotel. This hotel is apparently owned by a patron of the arts and you could tell as the hotel was like walking around a museum with a great selection of little cubby holes and lovely pieces of furniture which sara loved.

We decided to do the touristy thing and book a tour for the following day and we decided on the Termeraza, MIdes Chbika tour by Tozeur-Oasis-And-Sahara-Tours which cost 120 dinars for the one car which was for half a day. Excited about the tour we headed off to bed as we had a 8am kick off which as people married to Tunisians know means I was going to be raising the dead the following morning.

The next day

After a nice breakfast we managed an impressive 8:30 start (for us) and Amore the very nice guide from TOAST arrived in a new Land-cruser and we setoff to the first stop in our mini tour which was the famous mountain oasis of Tamerza.

Tamerza

We pressed on to the fantastic oasis of Tamerza which is supposedly the largest oasis of its type in Tunisia and on what was becoming an increasingly hot day a welcome stop.

We pulled into a stop where the abandoned village began (the locals lived in the new town at the bottom of the hill), and then walked passed the cafes and stalls onto the incline which lead to the top of the hill. The walk is like a circuit were thankfully everyone walks in the same direction as it is a pretty rough passage and I would ensure that if you have older people/disabled or small children with you that you have assistance so that you can enjoy the fantastic views.

Once you get to the top of the incline (marked by a strange stone goat) you have a small pass to walk through which reminded me how fat i have become and that I must warn those of you over 40" you will have a tight squeeze to get through this.

Once at the top I took a number of photos (in the slideshow) and then began the walk down into the oasis itself. This is a beautiful place and i loved the little channels cut so that the water was directed to the inhabitants showing that this was a lifeblood for the town when people lived here which considering the heat (mild apparently) would not be something that I would do. Amazingly there where a number of frogs living in the small pool in the oasis how did they get there?

After taking loads of photos which i will use for the more detailed travel guide section on the town we headed back for a drink in the stalls at the end of the walk 10 minutes of relaxation and then back into the cruiser for the next stop on the tour.



The Waterfall and the Old Town
After leaving the Oasis we drove to another oasis with a nice waterfall and wetland, one can only imagine the joy of finding one of these in the old days when traveling during a hot day. Again we found that their where little frogs (one pictured in the slideshow) which seemingly where a different sort than the ones in the other pool. My father in law decided to buy a baby palm tree for the garden in Bizerte and we took some photos and headed to our next stop.

On the road to Mides we passed the Tamerza palace hotel which had a fantastic view over the old town which was destroyed by flooding and then abandoned. The next time I come I will definitely take a walk down there as it looked very interesting, on this visit however I was on a timeframe and had to be content with a couple of photos and left wishing the canon EFS fairy would leave me a 200x lens under my pillow.







The Canyon of Mides

We pressed on and then came to the canyon which was impressive especially as folks seemed to live right on the edge of a certain death drop. The sides of the canyon where flanked by stalls selling textiles, stones and all manner of things I wanted to go into the town however again I was a little pressed for time and Sara vocally wanted to bring proceedings to a close again I was thinking I will return for more detailed photos and history when I come for the festival in Douz in December.







Having finished taking photos I joined the others who had got back into the car and we headed back to the hotel not enough time for me but then the half day tour crammed in a lot of sights in a short period of time and is something i would definitely recommend going on when in tozeur.

The afternoon


After the tour we headed into Tozeur for some lunch and then returned to the hotel for a swim and short kip. After this I decided to drive with Adam and my father in law for a quick visit to Nefta.





The drive to Nefta is an nice flat straight road that really gave a lovely relaxing feeling with little to distract on the side of the road aside from miles of desert. As the night drew in we pulled over and the silence is something that you just do not get when living in the city. As for Nefta itself you are struck immediately by the size of the forest of palms this indeed is a paradise in the desert. Even the town of Nefta itself is nice with wide streets and women and children walking about.





The town lies above the oasis on the other side of the road which leads to Algeria and as you pull over you feel compelled to go into oasis and explore.







As the night was drawing in we only paid a fleeting visit to the Oasis and steered clear of the tourist path fearing death by land-cruiser it was fascinating to see agriculture and small towns in the oasis you get the feeling that living here is nice especially for a date lover like my father in law who was contemplating sending my friend Adam to certain death up a 50 ft palm to get some for him.

With night drawing in and Hajer calling me to come back for dinner at the hotel we drove back via a lovely mosque where we stopped for Maghreb and then we headed back down the road windows down feeling the warm desert air we are definitely coming back even if it is for this feeling alone and next time I am staying in a tent as I love the ambiance.



We arrived back at the hotel for our evening meal and went to bed excited about the Lizard Train and the drive home.

I will post the details of day two in my next post :-)