Into the Desert

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After exploring the coast of Tunisia I headed into the central part of the country which is where Tunisia connects to the Sahara Desert. The southern part of the county is very sparsely occupied as it is a primarily desert.

My first stop was to stay in a cave in a mountain community of Chenini. The mountain village dates back to the 12th century when the Berbers took refuge to escape the invasion of the Caliph Fatmide al-Mistansir. The striking white mosque called the Seveln Sleepers was constructed at the same time. The occupants built their homes in caves in the side of the mountain to have protection from the harsh temperatures. In the summer it can get to 60C (140F) but the temperature inside of the cave stays significantly cooler. I had a tour from one of the villagers who showed me how they lived, worked and stored food and water. I was told it hasn't rained for almost 4 years so water storage is important. At night time the younger male villagers congregate near the Mosque because it is the only place you can get cell service. I spoke to many interesting men who told me more history about their village, though I would have enjoyed speaking with some women.

The next day I headed toward Douz the entrance to the Sahara Desert. I stayed at a camp that I accessed by driving through a palm tree forest. Palms and olive trees are the only trees that will grow here so they use the wood for many things. You can't have a night in the desert without a sunset camel ride so I partook. My favorite part was the baby camel who doesn't need rains as he will just follow along. Actually, similar to Lola he preferred to run ahead, but was frequently turning back to make sure the other camels were following. After sunset they showed me how they bake bread in the sand. The sand is so fine that it doesn't stick to the bread. I had that same bread with dinner and can attest to that fact.

The previous day I met a French women who was also traveling alone so we met up for the next day to explore some of the historical sites. This includes many locations where the original Star Wars was filmed. We had lunch (yes something was open!) in the house the Luk was to have grown up in.

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