Gabès - The Oasis

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from a depth of several hundred meters. This is the only oasis in North Africa lying directly on the sea. The resultant high humidity of the air reduces the yield of the date-palms and the quality of the dates, and accordingly the economy of the oasis depends mainly on its market gardens and fruit orchards. This was also the case in Roman times, as Pliny the Elder reports in his "Natural History":

"When you reach the Syrtes and Leptis Magna you come to an African city called Tacapae ... In the shadow of the tall palms grows the olive, under the olive the fig-tree, below this the pomegranate and the vine, and under the vines corn and vegetables; one plant grows in the shade of another, and all bear fruit in the same year." The picture is still basically the same as in Roman times. The market gardens and fruit orchards are mostly in the center of the oasis, while the date-palms are concentrated mainly on the fringes. The principal horticultural crops are vegetables, tobacco, pepper, grapes, indigo, pumpkins, bananas and melons; the main types of fruit are peaches, apricots, pomegranates, olives and citrus fruits.