Kebili Tourist Attractions
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Chief town of the governorate of KebiliSituation and characteristicsKebili, the administrative center and market town (market on Tuesdays) of the Nefzaoua oases, lies below Djebel Tebaga on a tongue of land between the Chott el Fedjadj to the northeast and the Chott el Djerid to the southwest. To the south extends the sandy desert of the Grand Erg Oriental. Until the prohibition of the slave trade in the mid 19th century Kebili was an important slave market, and its population includes many descendants of slaves, known as Haratin.During the French protectorate Kebili was a garrison town, to which Habib Bourguiba was exiled in 1934. An old French fort, the Fort des Autruches (Fort of the Ostriches), is now a hotel.The town has no features of outstanding interest. On the road to Douz is a reservoir which offers the possibility of refreshment. Kebili is now mainly of interest to visitors as a base from which to visit the Nefzaoua and Djerid oases and to cross the Chott el Djerid.AccessKebili lies on GP 16 (Gabès-Tozeur), 122km/76mi west of Gabès and 89km/55mi southeast of Tozeur. There are regular bus services to and from Gabès and Tozeur.
Douz, Tunisia
Douz is an oasis in Tunisia that has become a tourist destination in recent years. The weekly Thursday market and the Saharan festival at the end of December attract local families and tourists.
El Hofra
4km/2.5mi south of Douz, near the Zaafrane road (MC 206), is the great El Hofra dune, from the top of which there are wide views of the seemingly endless sandy desert of the Grand Erg Oriental. A large hotel complex is at present under construction below the dune - a development which worries those concerned with the protection of the environment.
Nefzaoua Oases
Between the foothills of Djebel Tebaga to the northeast and the Chotts to the northwest lie the Nefzaoua oases: the two main oases of Kebili and Douz and numerous smaller ones including Bechri, Menchia, Blidet, Nouail, Zaafrane, Es Sabria and Bazma. Like the Djerid oases they owe their existence to artesian wells. The water is distributed by the foggara system, otherwise found only at El Guettar.
