visite guidée I guided tour I
Tataouine, picturesque city
Tataouine, picturesque Tunisian city, is located
south-west of the country. This town of 30,000
inhabitants offers the most beautiful landscapes of
the sub-Saharan desert. Known for its colonial past,
Tataouine was once home to the battalion of the
Foreign Legion. Now a tourist attraction, the town
has kept its identity and its traditional architecture
and is an important leg of a journey in the south of
the country. The centre of Tataouine is mainly
famous for its Monday and Thursday souk, one of
1
évasion
fly away
لنحـ ّلــق
زيـارة برفقة دليـل
the most typical in Tunisia. One can find beauty
products such as henna, kohl, wickerwork goods,
ancient jewellery and beautiful weavings. The
Memory of the Earth Museum must also be visited,
small museum presenting the region’s prehistoric
history, a time when forests and dinosaurs existed in
the region 140 million years ago.
Its famous Ksour
The city is an excellent starting point to discover the
ksour (fortified villages). These fortresses dating
from the 15th and 16th centuries were used to store
essential foods such as cereals, olive oil and dried
vegetables and protect them from invaders. They
also served a military function, protecting houses
and people in case of an enemy attack. The ksour are
perfectly integrated with the landscape. Built on
mountains, their colour and structure look like rocks,
which makes them almost impossible to see from a
distance. There were probably more than 600 of
them a century and a half ago, unfortunately, now,
there are only 150 left in the region. Located 20 km
south of the city, we discover the Ksar Ouled Soltane,
still partially inhabited and well-known. With a record
number of 400 storage units, this ksar has a second
courtyard dating from the 19th century, extending the
first one dating from the 15th century. On the road
that leads to it, we can see magnificent landscape
dotted with many abandonned forts. Further down
the road, we can wander in Ksar Ouled Debbab where
inhabitants took refuge until the 18th century. We can
also admire one of the most famous Ksar, the Ksar
haddada, now partially transformed in a hotel. Visited
by numerous tourists, this site has been used as a
decor in the renowned movie “Star Wars“.
2
1. Une des ruelles de Ksar
Haddada. I An alley in Ksar
Haddada. I
I
.إحدى أزقة قرص الحدادة
2. Ksar Ouled Soltane, encore
partiellement habité. I Ksar
Ouled Soltane, still partially
inhabited. I
ما زال مأهوال،قرص أوالد سلطان
I .جزئيـــا
Douirat and Chenini,
traditional villages
A little further, in the heart of the ancient village of
Douirat, troglodyte dwellings were built in the foothills
of the mountain. A ksar is located on the top. Further
west of Tataouine, there is another village, named
Chenini. Marvellous site perched on a ridge, it also
includes dwellings built into the rock as well as its
beautiful mosque dating from the 13th century,
standing between two crests. A few kilometers away,
east of the village of Chenini, we find Ksar Guilane.
Tourist site including a luxury hotel, it is an oasis
watered by a healing hot water spring. I
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