Day 3: Chott El-Jerid, the Sahara, Matmata

The next morning of our trip we woke up to find that one of our party had fallen quite ill. In order to buy him some time at the hotel to rest we headed back in the direction of Tozeur to see the Chott El-Jerid in the daytime. The Chott El-Jerid used to be full of salt water, it is now usually completely empty, though there is apparently some water occasionally. Since we were told that there is sometimes water, we assumed that what we saw in the distance when we started walking was water... but then it moved... and then it disappeared. The Chott is also the place in Tunisia where mirages occur the most frequently. It was also featured in some of the Star Wars movies.

After the Chott it was off to the town of Douz. Douz is another oasis town like Tozeur with a very large Palmeraie. However, it is further south and edges right up upon sand dunes. We started our visit with a quick and very interesting trip to a museum that taught us about desert life and culture. I learned a little about women's facial tatoos, a little about nomadic housing, and a little about camel branding.


Next we went to the edge of the desert and got on camels. My camel was named Champagne, she was white, very sleek , and apparently a race camel. Unfortunately, I didn't get to try out her speed, our walk into the desert was at a very slow pace. Getting onto and off of a camel is one of the most awkward things I have ever done. They stand up on their back legs and then on their front legs, leading you to pitch forward and then back dangerously. In my opinion the worst part of the experience was sitting on my camel as he stood with his hind legs up and his front legs folded on the ground for an extended period of time as I dangled forward. Camels are stubborn. They are also extremely tall, you are much further from the ground than on horseback.


We walked for 15-20 minutes and dismounted our camels. At this point we were in the middle of some beautiful dunes. The dunes here weren't 40 feet tall, but they were beautiful and created a striking landscape. I took tons of pictures. The sand in the Sahara is nothing like any sand I have ever felt before. It is extremely fine and soft. It feels like silk running through your fingers. Also, when you burrow down three or four inches the sand is quite cool, contrasting sharply with the warm surface.


After the Sahara experience, we headed to Matmata. Matmata is another place where Star Wars scenes have been shot. I haven't seen Star Wars so I took a bunch of random pictures, hoping that someone will appreciate them. The scenes shot in Matmata were shot in a very run down troglodyte hotel. Matmata is also known for its troglodyte dwellings, many of which are still inhabited. While our hotel was very modern it was also nearly entirely underground!