Empty Roads, Desert Rain & Mirages: Matmata-Douz-Tozeur
It’s fair to say that the journey from Matmata to Douz isn’t the most challenging foreign drive we’ve ever undertaken, with long stretches of empty road cutting a perfect straight line through the desert. In terms of civilisation, there is nothing: a good hour of roadway passing not a single building, let alone anything as grand as a village.
In fact the greatest – maybe the only – challenge is the patches where the sand has covered the road, the tarmac has all but disappeared and the grip of our tyres is about as good as a stiletto on a polished floor. At last we reach signs of life as we pull into Douz, in fact signs of life are plentiful with charcoal grills smoking, mopeds humming and lively conversations buzzing.
Douz, known as the gateway to the Sahara, is very definitely a desert town. Fine golden sand finds every crevice, corner and doorway, blows along every street and follows each passing car in a swirling golden plume. Even the clouds have pinkish underbellies as they reflect the desert beneath.
The best way to see a Sahara sunset, they tell us, is on a camel, so it’s out into the desert on a 2-hour camel ride for our first Douz sundown, during which time my head is filled with two thoughts. One is the fear that this ride will end in disaster like our last one did (you can read about that HERE), the other is that my animal will suss out that I ate camel tagine recently and seek revenge for consumption of his cousin.
But it’s all OK. The ride is serene, the sunset warm orange, and neither of those fears play out. Handling the Sahara sand is like sifting flour, it’s so soft and fine that it drifts silkily through our fingers and takes on an almost liquid form as it trickles down the dunes.
Even before Tuesday afternoon arrives, lots of Tunisians have been moaning about the weather – too much cloud, why is summer so late and even, on one occasion, “it’s freezing today”. Well to us English it’s definitely not been “freezing”, but Tuesday afternoon brings with it a surprise gift in the shape of a thunderstorm and torrential downpour. Here we are at the gateway to the mighty Sahara where it hardly ever rains, quietly enjoying some barbecued lambs liver, when large raindrops start to smatter the pavement and thunder starts to rumble around the town and suddenly it’s “novelty selfie” time in the pouring rain for the local youngsters.
“Why go to Douz?” , someone had asked earlier in this trip, “there’s nothing there”. They were definitely wrong in our book, Douz is a classic oasis town and being right on the edge of the Sahara has a buzz all of its own, and is an attractive and interesting town in its own right.
Yet the excitement builds still further as we move on from Douz and set off on surely one of the world’s most curious drives. To make our way from Douz to Tozeur we have to cross Chott El Djerid, the largest salt pan in the Sahara, and what a uniquely alluring and mysterious place it is. This incredible salt lake, partly under water in winter but mostly dry – like today – in summer, covers nearly 2,500 square miles and is around 160 miles long east to west.
Highway P16 takes us across the vast, salt encrusted dry lake on a narrow causeway, different colours twinkling as the salt crystals dazzle in the sunlight. For miles and miles across the centre, nothing can grow in this harsh saline environment which at its lowest is 25 metres below sea level. As we near the last quarter of our crossing, the flooded area of the lake comes into view, the surface of the shining water reflecting the sunlight, the headland at the tip of the oasis, and the sky. It’s like approaching a beautiful stretch of coastline.
Except it isn’t any such thing: as we near the water, the whole scene vanishes, there is no water, the headland is just shadows; there is nothing there but more salt encrusted land. What we were seeing was a true mirage – a fata morgana – and we are in disbelief. We’re not sure what we believed about mirages before this, but what we have both just witnessed is absolutely crazy. It was so real, yet it simply wasn’t there. Chott El Djerid is famous for mirages, but seeing is believing!
Underfoot, the salt encrusted surface is like walking on a cheesecake base, crunchy yet soft and now and again soft enough for a foot to sink. When it does so, the water which lurks just below the salty crust, oozes to the surface. In places, trenches have been dug, within which the intense overhead sun will soon cause the water to evaporate and leave behind pure white salt ready to be “mined”. Underground minerals cause the water in these trenches to vary in colour, the deep red iron infused water just one more crazy sight in this mind blowing terrain.
We’re still talking about what we’ve just seen as we pull into Tozeur, the oasis town on the salt lake’s northern shores, where the ornate and precise architecture, unique to this region, is immediately obvious and immediately appealing. This attractive town is, despite its small size, the administrative centre and largest town of the region: but then, in an area where palm trees outnumber people by 150 to 1, it was never going to be over-populated.
People here are quick to tell us – in fact people told us before we got here – that Tozeur is different from the rest of Tunisia, not just because of the textured brickwork which makes its buildings so smart, but also because the population considers itself to be “of the Sahara” foremost, rather than Tunisian.
The unusually decorative brickwork is though what gives Tozeur its appeal. What was originally an expression of wealth and power in the 15th century has been perpetuated ever since and still features in new construction today. Small sized, almost Romanesque, yellow-brownish bricks are laid on an uneven vertical plain to create patterning and symbolism: the result is very pleasing to the eye, especially where new and old are in close proximity.
Being an oasis town, Tozeur is surrounded by heavy concentrations of date palms, the fruit having provided trade and wealth for the town for centuries, and is still today a primary source of local income along, of course, with tourism. As elsewhere throughout Tunisia, there is usually a bowl of dates on our table regardless of our choice of meal.
Museums, tourist attractions and indeed a few upscale hotels hide within the palmeraie, whilst mosques, more museums and the former home of the regional king are all tucked inside the beautiful old town medina where the regional architecture is perhaps at its most enchanting.
All of this is real, and this time nothing is a mirage, not even the beer on the drinks menu at Restaurant de la Republique – though it is served in metal beakers just to keep it out of view, so you can’t see it even though it’s there. The very opposite of a mirage, in fact.
32 Comments
Lookoom
Another entertaining story with a good selection of photos. I also drove through the salt desert, and I made the mistake of not wearing sunglasses (out of habit so as not to distort the colours in order to spot the photos to take). I realised my mistake on the way, I could have gone blind, it ended with a big headache.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you for your kind comments. I can see how that would be the consequence – it’s blinding under the beating sun.
Heyjude
The blue of that desert sky with the clouds, your photos of the sand dunes, even the camel! But most of all the brickwork. I love this post.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Jude – Tozeur is a lovely little town in a great setting and yes the brickwork finish is just very special
Terrie
Fabulous. The brickwork and camels- and your writing just gets better. And brave to drive that far on a desert! Is the salt used on food or. Omer Italy. How fascinating.
Phil & Michaela
Thanks Terrie. Think there may be a couple of typos coz not sure where “Omer” and “Italy” come into it! Actually the food was very salty in the north of Tunisia but not so here, where the harissa is even hotter and the camel even more tender. Food has been so much better in Tunisia than Egypt.
WanderingCanadians
You guys looked like you’re having so much fun on those camels. Glad to hear that this camel adventure worked out this time. The sand dunes look gorgeous.
Monkey's Tale
Tozeur really does look like an oasis, those buildings are gorgeous, and beer!!. Did you rent a car? How easy and costly was that to do?
Phil & Michaela
Hi Maggie, yes we have a car now. The only reason we’re calling twice into Gabes is because we couldn’t find a car anywhere else in that region, even on line, so it wasn’t straightforward, but it would be much easier in the north, around the capital, I think. Not expensive though – around 35 US dollars per day including full insurance.
Monkey's Tale
Good to know, thanks
Toonsarah
Ooh, I think this is my favourite post so far from your Tunisian adventures! Partly because these are places I haven’t visited myself, so it’s all new to me, but mostly because I love desert landscapes. Both the dunes and the salt pans look amazing 😀 And what a road to have driven!! As for Tozeur, that brick work is beautiful. It reminds me a little of some buildings in Bukhara (the ones that weren’t covered with mosaic tiles) but it’s far more extensive and elaborate it seems. I just added Tozeur to my wish-list!
Phil & Michaela
You know, we just knew you’d love that architecture. And there’s so much of it around Tozeur that you would have to allocate an entire day for you, the bricks and your camera! Another great attraction here is the Lezard Rouge railway – I so wanted to do that but unfortunately it’s not running again until June 1st due to maintenance issues. A bit gutted about that but this area is definitely worth a visit.
Latitude Adjustment: A Tale of Two Wanderers
What an adventure. Love this line: ” the tarmac has all but disappeared and the grip of our tyres is about as good as a stiletto on a polished floor” 😃
Phil & Michaela
Thank you guys!
Andrew Petcher
Great pictures, I especially like the public conveniences
Phil & Michaela
Yes, it says “comfortable” but they looked bog standard to us
Annie Berger
Your posts are like reading a gripping short story, Phil, and, when accompanied by Michaela’s glorious photos of the dunes and brick work , the tale comes to life. Your posts should be in a travel magazine they’re that phenomenal.
Like Sarah, Steven and I really need to add Tunisia to ur travel wish list now.
Phil & Michaela
Wow what a compliment, thank you so much! Glad you enjoy them Annie.
wetanddustyroads
Yes, a desert town indeed … but with some charm. I love your Sahara desert pictures – it must be a beauty that’s difficult to describe. Looking at your close up photo’s of the camel (which is great btw), the two of you must have had a great conversation 😉.
And great story about seeing the mirages – it surely must be special to see that in real life! So many beautiful photo’s in this post – from the salt pans, the amazing brickwork in Tozeur and those lovely date palms!
Phil & Michaela
Thank you guys….the camel could only speak Arabic so despite him being chatty there was a significant language barrier. Yep we enjoyed Tozeur and the Sahara, been a bit different all round
leightontravels
This is perhaps my favourite leg of your journey yet. The desert oasis towns sound and look utterly fascinating and unmissable. Oh, there’s usually someone who misses the entire point of travel and express the ill-founded doubt that such and such a place has nothing to offer and call for no traveller’s visit. Glorious photos from the dessert and salt plains.
Phil & Michaela
Cheers bud, yes it’s definitely been good getting out to these different places on this leg
Alison
The brickwork is amazing, such detail. Just love those camel photos, so much expression.
Phil & Michaela
Cheers Alison, yes Tozeur is very very attractive
Christie
What a great adventure, filled with interesting stories! Glad your camel ride went ok, the desert pictures look gorgeous, and so the brickwork in Tozeur.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Christie…yes it was a very attractive town.
grandmisadventures
So glad this camel ride did not end in injury like your last one! That picture of you with your camels is a great one. And I love the brickwork on that building-so intricate and lovely!
Phil & Michaela
That brickwork is all over town, very attractive!
Saber Boukhriss
what an interesting Article, i rather say i enjoyed every bit of it. Actually I’m from douz and some of the photos were taken in front of my family’s house and i wouldn’t describe it any better. i hope you enjoyed your trip and that you tasted the southern hospitality, please visit us again.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you so much for those compliments, much appreciated. We very much enjoyed our time in the southern part of Tunisia, and yes the hospitality of the people was part of that enjoyment. Thank you again for commenting.
Cherryl
Fabulous, wow!! I love those landscapes and Sahara shots – the world never ceases to fascinate💫
Phil & Michaela
The shifting sands are just simply beautiful