North Africa Morocco Tunisia Tour (21) Desert Oasis - Tozeur
North Africa Morocco Tunisia Tour (21)
Desert Oasis - Tozeur
Tozeur - Douz
December 24, 2024
Sunny to cloudy, 8-14°C.
Tozeur, known as the "Capital of the Date Kingdom," is a modern oasis city in the Sahara region of Tunisia, with paved roads, modern facilities, and an international airport.
There are three mountain oases in the northwest of Tozeur, each at a certain distance from the other. We set off early in the morning and switched to a 4WD off-road vehicle to enter the desert oasis.
Chebika Oasis is an enchanting dune oasis with lush date palms. The dunes are crisscrossed with ravines, as if cut by a knife (Fig. 1). A pool of gurgling water and a trickling waterfall are especially rare and precious (Fig. 2).
Mides Canyon is a mountain oasis not far from the Algerian border. The Oscar-winning film "The English Patient" was filmed here. The naturally formed rift valley has unique rock formations and is deeply embedded in the mountains. Looking out over the winding canyon, which stretches for several kilometers, it seems as if the earth is tearing apart beneath your feet, and the view from above is breathtaking (Fig. 3).
Tamerza Canyon, one of the three oases (Fig. 4), has magnificent rock formations that have been weathered over the years, and in the morning sunlight, they create a "golden mountain" effect, with some views comparable to the famous Grand Canyon (Fig. 5).
Camel Rock, a sand dune in the desert that has been naturally eroded by wind and rain over time (Fig. 6).
Tatooine, an alien market set up for the filming of "Star Wars," was preserved as a tourist attraction after the film was completed (Fig. 7-8).
In the afternoon, we took a tour bus across the vast desert salt lake - Chott el Jerid.
Chott el Jerid is a vast desert salt lake, also known as a salt desert, covering an area of 5,000 square kilometers, about 160 kilometers long and 55 kilometers wide, and is a bridge connecting the oases of Tozeur and Douz. As it is not the rainy season, it has gradually dried up under the scorching sun and strong winds, leaving little to see (Fig. 9).
In the evening, we arrived at the sixth stop in Tunisia, the gateway to the Sahara - Douz, accompanied by the desert scenery.