Days 1-3 In the South

Hello everyone! Sorry its been so long since my last update but that was because I just returned from my trip to the South of Tunisia on Sunday. The south is the land of mountainous steppes, oasis and the grand erg oriental. There is no doubt in my mind that it is one of the most bleakly beautiful places in the world and if you visit Tunisia I suggest you spend as much time in the south as possible.
My trip was eight days and I will attempt to sum up each day and post as many pictures as the internet allows.

Day One
We returned to the holy city of Kairouan where we saw the courtyard of the great mosque. Built in 670 AD the mosque is the oldest in north Africa. The city of Kairouan is one of the seven holiest cities in Islam and all it takes is a quick glance at the towering minarets to figure out why, at one time it was the most powerful Islamic city in the Maghreb. We had all ready been to the city but we dropped by quickly to visit the mosque because the doors where closed to us the first time (it was time for prayer). The massive courtyard was magnificent and the doors to the prayer room where propped open so non-Muslims could look inside. During my tour around the mosque I met my three new boyfriends, I smiled at them and then they followed me and stole shy glances my way for the rest of the trip. Sure they were eight but I’m sure it was love at first sight. Once I was torn away from my new loves we continued traveling south to the ancient roman city of Sufetula. I thrive on these visits, I prefer to explore the ruins alone and I am always filled with a sense of awe for where I am and ancient everything is. The city of Sufetula was especially interesting because it was an important center of Christianly in the 4th century. It was a regional capital of the Byzantines and I was filled with wonder and humility when I stumbled upon the baptistery of the Basilica of St. Vaitalis in a hidden corner of the site. After a successful day of driving and ruin-hopping we drove to Gafsa where we spent the night in out five star hotel.

Day Two
We started of the day with a chat with students from the university of Gafsa. I felt like nothing much was discussed due to the language barrier and overbearing English teacher who was only interested in her opinions.
After we left the hotel we traveled to the cities of Chebika, Tamerza and Mides. The town of Mides is only one km from the Algerian border and home to the “grand canyon” of Tunisia. While that might just be a massive stretch of the imagination, the canyon is nevertheless picturesque and has been used in The English Patient. (Which I have never seen and I am a little ashamed about because I have seen just about ever site where it was filmed.)

At the end of the day we traveled to Tamerza where we hiked up a steep hill (and I discovered how out of shape I now am. Thanks to eating fatty Ramadan foods and never leaving the house) and watched the sunset. The view from the top of the mountain was magical and although I took plenty of pictures I couldn’t capture the feeling of watching the sunset over the abandoned village in the mountain oasis. That night we returned to Gafsa.

Day Three
On this jam-packed day we went to the desert oasis of Tozeur. When we first arrived we hired house drawn carriages that took up around the town. The first visit was at the tomb of the national poet of Tunisia. This stop inspired me to follow in is footsteps and ask to be buried in a huge boulder with my face tastefully craved into the sides. Afterward we where taken to the second largest palmeraie in the country. It is here that the highest quality of fates are harvested, the “Finger of Light” because they are almost transparent. The dates are harvested by farmers who miraculously climb the palms (with no shoes of course unless you want to be called a girly man by the other farmers) and then they pass down the date branches so the dates never touch the ground. This I highly doubt, it seems like a good thing to tell the tourists but not a good idea for general profit. However its done the dates were beyond delicious! (Minus the one I ate that was infested with worms. Luckily for me I am dating a world famous parasiteologist who was able to determine that I will be all right.)
After I said goodbye to my overly flirtatious carriage driver we got back in van and travels across the Chott El-Jerid. The Chott El-Jerid is a surreal salt lake that stretches across 5000 sq km. With great drifts of salt on the side of the road we where lucky enough to drive across when the lake had some water (although the majority was still dry). It can cause some mirage like effects and if you are huge nerd (which I am not) you will recognize it from the scene where Luke watches the two moons rise (<3!!!!).
Finally when I thought the day couldn’t get any better, we…went….CAMEL RIDING!

It was at sunset and we rode out into the Sahara from the town of Douz. We rode at sunset for around one hour and that was all it took for me to fall in love with the endless dunes of the Grand Erg Oriental. When I return in Tunisia in (?) years it is here that I wish to spend more time in. The actual camel riding was a blast with graceful mullet to its lurching up and down. At the end of a memorable day we drove to our knew and not so memorable hotel in Gabes.

Ok…I’m beat. I’ll continue this travel log tomorrow.
-Katie

p.s- I’ll be done with the program in 15 days!