GABÈS, MATMATA & THE KSOUR t e n a l 217 P y l e n o L

© Star Wars fans, the land Metameur Matmata

ksour ksour), the wonderfully idiosyncratic fortified that is stronghold (palm grove) is an attractive place in which to get lost, the city’s is an attractive (palm grove) palmeraie ( p223 ) (the plural is

(a distinctive asleep in a (a distinctive Fall grain) near once used to store structure Metameur ( p234 ) Hike top of one of the hilltop to the Go underground, literally, visiting or even visiting or even literally, Go underground, dwelling in sleeping in a troglodyte Matmata (fortified strongholds; p232 ) south of ) south of p232 (fortified strongholds; Tataouine    The area receives few visitors, most on lightning-quick Land Rover ‘safaris’ of the under- most on lightning-quick Land Rover visitors, few receives area The

  HIGHLIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS  industrial character holds few visitors in its thrall. holds few industrial character and, while its the region’s trademark. of the rail line, is the de facto transport Gabès, the terminus the region’s centre least one but by the mere physical challenge of visiting the neighbours. Each of the villages has at Each the neighbours. physical challenge of visiting but by the mere imagining what life would be like, so isolated not only by distance from other settlements not only by distance from would be like, isolated so what life imagining lages around Tataouine. It’s easy to find yourself staring at the empty fortress-like It’s easy homes lages around Tataouine. ground troglodyte dwellings of Matmata and one or two of the ruined hilltop Berber vil- dwellings of Matmata and one or two ground troglodyte the ends of the earth. here ranges from scrub brush flats to low mountain escarpments, all of which looks like ranges from scrub brush flats to low mountain here who has travelled in the western part of the United States and to part States in the western of the United who has travelled not the sandy sort that inspires poetry and romantic fantasies. Recognisable to anyone Recognisable to anyone not the sandy sort and romantic fantasies. poetry that inspires remote region of southern is a forbidding landscape of inhospitable desert, is a forbidding landscape though of southern Tunisia region remote Covering a good chunk of territory from the Gulf of Gabès to the Libyan border, this fairly Gabès to the Libyan from the Gulf of chunk of territory a good Covering

& the Ksour Ksour & the Gabès, Matmata Gabès, Matmata ὄὄ GABÈS, MATMATA & THE KSOUR region istoarrive inGabèsviathetrain. to themainland,quickest waytothe orcatching theferrythe Romancauseway Other thanflyingtoJerba andthencrossing &Away There Getting speakers, thelanguage tooisdyingout. can beheard.Withthedeaths of elderly language,where Chelha, thelocalBerber lages aroundhere are amongthelastplaces lalian invasionsof the11thcentury.Thevil- Jeffara were driven intothehillsbyHi- tribesthatinhabited the nomadic Berber cultureof sincethesemi- –ever Berber the Jebel astronghold Dahar,haslongbeen The Ksourdistrict,centred onthehillsof History 218 GABÈS, MATMATA&THEKSOUR GABÈS,MATMATA &THEKSOUR••Gabès Sakket Porte du (143m) Desert Jebel Sened Gare el-Fejej Sened Taimbaïn Chott (220m) 15 Ethaabine Bir Aouine 16 Oued Bir Soltane

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19 Dhéhiba er To (100km) 113 Medenine Tataouine El-Jorf Gightis 116 The infrastructure of thebusyportand its location,atleastasfartourismgoes. roads, littletotake advantage ofGabès does cityatamajor transportcross- For aseaside pop 11,700 GABÈS do more thantwolegsof atripinoneday. to the region, it’ssometimesdifficult though ary. Publictransportconnectsthetownsin lows youtheluxuryof choosing youritiner- as partof agrouptour. Arental vehicle al- Most peopleziparoundtheregion ina4WD Around Getting or elsewhere inthecountry. There are fromTunis nocommercialflights 112 Soltane Ksar Ouled 19 Gulf of Grara Bou Houmt Souq Ben Guerdane Nalut Sidi Toui National Saharan Park Jerba 1 M EDITRAN Ras al-Jedir L IBYA 0 0 S EA lonelyplanet.com 20 miles Zuara ﻗﺍﺒﺱ 40 km