At the gates of desert, southern Tunisia is spread by ocher earth and golden sands which flow fortified villages clinging to the mountain, beautiful in their bygone splendor.
Beyond the desolate vastness of Chott el Jerid, the Sahara became king, leaving occasionally squirt life in some particularly welcoming oasis.
A sea of orange-pink dune short of sight to the horizon where the sun slowly sinks a huge glowing. There, in the rippling sand waves shadows growing, almost in silhouette, the silhouette of a camel caravan betrays the very presence of life in this mineral world. Motionless, as if frozen in anticipation of dusk, the desert seems to be slowly sucked into the sky. In the sweetness of late afternoon, the scent of flowers in the oasis of Ksar Ghilane finally dares to fly in the air suddenly lighter, without fear of being smothered in flight by the oppressive heat of the day. Respectful of the moment, men, silent and contemplative, seem to pay homage to the sun disappears. Almost moved to the purity of the spectacle before them.
Chasing mirages of Chott el Jerid
Sunburnt and populated only by mirages, this world of the ephemeral aquatic leaves appear on more than 100 kilometers of extended its blinding salt and cracked clay. In ocher and dominate this arid plain lifeless mountains, men have been able to use the smallest sources to create rallying points. These mountain oases, such as Chebika, which sink into grooves parched by the desert wind, you can discover the diamond crystal clear spring gushing from the rock, turning his miraculous run in an explosion of delicious green . Some have succeeded, in ancient times, make rivers, aided by geological and climatic events of the region.
They have, over the ages, dug impressive canyons and winding as in the gorges of Selja to Midès or Tamerza where water continues to flow in refreshing waterfalls, and whirring noise of each year of the water raging in the rainy season. At the end of the straight road that bisects from north to south, the Chott el Jerid, the small town of Douz forms the border with the Tunisian Sahara against which it is trying to fight to avoid being engulfed by shifting dunes. Like Fort Sabria, a former French military town lost in the sands and now a house. A Saafrane, hundreds of camels waiting on the side of the road from the tourists for a few hours to enjoy the joys of a camel ride at sunset. Some of them even try the adventure of a night in the desert under the stars.
Living the holy moment at the sahara of Ksar Ghilane
Easily spotted by the unrest in broad daylight around his emerald basin, the source of Ksar Ghilane no suggestion that a low whisper.
The big desert beetles begin their final race on sand so fine that it retains the imprint of their light legs. Latest camels join the guise of the palm where some storks have chosen to stage for the night. Within moments, the stars took over the sky.
In the silence of the night, the Sahara falls asleep, only disturbed by the lights of men and their songs of joy, rising towards the Milky Way. So will it go from contemplation of the desert is not limited to observe the magnificence of sand to infinity. The magic of the discovery of this unique world is as much in this tireless contemplation in the sense of fulfillment it confers. And there is no better way to indulge them a detour Ksar Ghilane on the road that leads to the extreme south of Tunisia.
Access it also requires some sacrifice as the track is long and chaotic, as if this green life out of nowhere trying to preserve by all means unwelcome visits.
Oasis appeared on down the road, bordered by a white village with geometric lines and any military order. It is dominated by a white obelisk commemorating the victory of General Leclerc on German armies commanded by Rommel. This former French barracks was offered the nomads who wanted to settle around the palm. The latter also unnatural. It was planted and developed in the early 1950s, following a project of the Tunisian government and after the French engineer who was performing oil prospecting had erupt in hot water instead of oil coveted.
Yet, long before the arrival of the French in Tunisia in the early nineteenth century, a wealthy nomad named Ghilane had settled here, having learned from a source at the edge of the Grand Erg of Tunisia. He had built a fortified village atop a hill overlooking the dunes to put his belongings from the frequent raids of the time. Thus was born Ksar Ghilane (Fort Ghilane) fell into disrepair after the death of the patriarch. The French have restored it hard to turn it into advanced military post; they then built a new fire station.
Special Star Wars
Fans of the great intergalactic saga of George Lucas will be in heaven. Indeed, many in southern Tunisia places where American director turned and where remains more or less well preserved await visitors. The main decoration depicting the planet Tatooine is a few tens of kilometers of track Tozeur, amid the sand.
In Matmata, one of the courtyards of the hotel troglodyte Moula Idris served as home to the young Skywalker and architectural curves of Ksar Haddada gave life to Mos Espa in Episode 1, The Phantom Menace.
Finally, do not forget that it is a tribute to the Tunisian South who, it seems, had conquered, George Lucas gave the name of Tatooine to one of the key planets of this saga by deriving name of the city of Tataouine.
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