Africa,  Independent travel,  Photography,  Travel Blog,  World food

Oasis: Days In The Sunshine And A Bit Of Morning Glory

May 16, 2022 /

Haircuts are something which need consideration when travelling longer term. Now, some who may have noticed that nature has already removed most of my hair will say that haircuts can’t possibly be a source of angst for me – and you’re right, they’re not. But bear in mind that when one doesn’t have much hair, a small amount of growth in millimetres is a large amount of growth in percentage terms – so whilst it’s not angst ridden, the problem is one of regularity.

Michaela and her hair is of course a completely different matter, one which involves equal quantities of research, reconnaissance, perseverance and, ultimately, courage. Once through that threshold and into the chair, it’s wing and a prayer time. She’s not yet had a total disaster but there have been a couple of…..errrrr….close shaves shall we say, including in Egypt and here in Tunisia where they seem a bit too fond of straight lines for Michaela’s taste. It’s fair to say that the current Tozeur styling is not her all time favourite.

Looking towards Algeria

By Friday, more typical days of early desert summer have arrived, with unbroken clear blue skies, temperatures in the 30s and the hot sun directly overhead. Taking a drive north from our current base of Tozeur we visit three other oasis towns, Mides, Chebika and Tamaghza, for spectacular hikes through deep canyons and pretty oases where date palms, oleander and pomegranate provide colour.

Classic oasis view, Tamaghza
Tamaghza Canyon
Tamaghza Canyon

Stopping on the way to take in the views and sample some jus de palmier (palm juice – odd stuff in that it only has a 3-hour life after collection before it starts to ferment) a helpful guy, Abdul, tells us of a hike to a beautiful canyon and waterfall where “only one in a thousand tourists go” because “the tour bus not take them there”. 

Mides Canyon
Mides Canyon

He draws a map of directions in the sand and we decide to give it a go. Six miles later, in Tamaghza, he’s waiting in the car park, having somehow got there before us on his moped, and is now offering his services as a guide. Sometimes you just have to admire the guile of these people! In his defence he does take us off the beaten track through a spectacular trail which we wouldn’t have found on our own.

Deserted village of Tamaghza
Deserted village of Chebika
Mides
Deserted village of Mides

Back on our own and unguided, our Mides canyon hike puts us within sight of the Algeria border in the Atlas foothills before us; while in both Chebika and Mides there are remnants of villages destroyed and abandoned in the 1969 floods which also wreaked havoc on the troglodyte homes back in Matmata. The depth of the gorges is evidence enough of how powerful the surging water must sometimes be in these parts; those floods must have been incredibly fierce to be so destructive.

Classic oasis view, Chebika
Chebika Canyon
Chebika Canyon

A drive westward along the northern edge of the salt lake brings us to Nefta with its sunken palmeraie through the centre providing classic oasis scenery, but unfortunately for the town most visitors turn right and head 14 kilometres across some truly barren desert landscapes to a remote location named Oumg Jemal. The reason is Star Wars again, where an artificial village created in Berber style fulfilled the role of Mos Espa in the movie series. It’s a bit of a strange sight, a rundown place literally miles from anywhere out in the lonely desert, slowly decaying as it is left to rot by humans and simultaneously reclaimed by the Sahara, occupied during the day by a handful of hawkers hoping that the tourists who call in on their “4×4 desert trek” will buy some of their tat for a few dinar.

Star Wars fans would probably be more edified by these photos than by an actual visit, so here you go….

So what’s the story (about) morning glory? Well….

Watching the sunrise over the Chott El Djerid salt plains is a must-do here, so it’s a 4am alarm and a pre-dawn drive out past roaming dogs and silent palms, and whilst the renowned changing colours of the sand are subtle but beautiful, the sight of the sun pushing up above the mountains is indeed glorious. Darkness lifts quickly before the eastern sky turns first orange and then pales to honey then back to orange before the blazing sun pushes above the mountains and races upward with almost indecent haste.

Sunrise, Chott el Djerid

Once clear of the horizon it heads quickly for the skies, shortening the first long shadows of the day and soon casting discernible heat down on to the baked plains below. And it does indeed get hot today, 36C by lunchtime.

Sunrise Chott el Djerid

Our time in the very pleasant town of Tozeur is coming to an end; ahead of us now is a one night stand in Gabes, really just to return the rental car, and then to complete this adventure a few days on the island of Djerba. Whilst here in the Djerid region we’ve visited six or seven oasis towns, all attractive in their own way but Tozeur is without doubt the nicest. Visit these towns in the morning or the evening and you will love the bustle and character, visit in the afternoon and you will discover a ghost town where the world exists behind closed shutters.

Lezard Rouge…….
…..sadly…..
……not running

One of our real aims here was to ride the famed Lezard Rouge train through spectacular canyons but sadly it was out of commission at the time of our visit. But, as ever, we don’t look back in anger.

Camel
Camel
Camel
Camel
Camel
Camel

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