Tunisian Tour. 8 - Tozeur. (突尼西亞之旅.8--吐澤.)

Cont'd 

After our visit of three mountain oases, we were taken to Tozeur (Tawzar  or in  Latin Thusuros) in the south-west of Tunisia, on the edge of the Sahara Desert, an oasis town famous for its palm dates and for that reason, it's sometimes called Jarīd (meaning Palm). Situated north-west of Chotts of El-Jarid (Al-Jarīd) and the smaller Al-Rharsah (Al-Gharsah) and popularly described as "the gate of the desert", it was an important Numidian town on the ancient caravan routes between Vescra (now Biskra, Algeria) and Tacapae (now Gabès [Qābis] and the current capital of the Tozeur Governorate and was already settled in Roman times before its conquest by Amazigh (Berber) tribes after which it stayed a quasi-independent area until the rise of Ḥafṣid rule in the late Middle Ages. In the 14th century it was an active marketplace. Now the town relies more and more on tourism and every year, between November and December, an "International Festival of Oases" would be held there.  It used to have an extensive system of open surface irrigation canals first developed by the Arabs in the 13th century but now it is used less and less because the water there has  been artificially pumped off, leading to the decay of many old oases around the city. The city was the birthplace of a famous Tunisian poet called Aboul-Qacem Echebbi (Arabic: أبو القاسم الشابي‎) (1909-1934) whose elegant and powerful words have been used in the current  Tunisian national anthem.

Entering Tozeur

 The Habib Bourghiba Avenue of Tozeur, its main street

A roadside café there

 a nearby bazaar



The shops are arranged in a single story row

Shops selling miscellaneous traditional stuffs



More shops close to our hotel: the arcade is built with yellow bricks typical of this town.



A houseware shop



All kinds of reed baskets



But there are some tent stores with beautifully shaped inverse boat canopies



zooming in on one of them



Some tops lying on the ground



Let me have a look, which one is better?



"Here. I think this one is is better."
"Hey, the shop keeper is coming out!"
The shopkeeper seemed to be having an argument with the children who were both made to show all they got on their pockets. Nothing came of it though and they left without buying anything.



This town still got lots of horse or donkey carts

We were given a short tour of some of the streets of the town to the local zoo on one such  horse carriage.

The driver

The horse which pulled my carriage. Don't think it was a lot of fun! Not at all. It smelled like it hasn't been given a bath for maybe 3 years! Sitting behind him, I had to do my best to take in some air only once every 2 minutes, with my head turned away from it the furthest that my seat would allow me to do so without my falling off! 

We passed by a palm plantation. We're told that the dates here are excellent. They've got plenty of customers all the way to Saudi Arabia.

 and some houses

Another house, all built with yellow bricks

The local zoo.  I like its domes.

The bones of various animals which died were hung up for display. I haven't got the faintest clue why they thought it a good idea.

The obligatory camel, looking quite bored. Maybe, he's thinking: "Why the hell am I locked up in here. I can barely walk 5 paces! I'd much rather work like other camels out there. At least, I'll have company!"

"Ah afternoon snack time. Um....maybe, it's not too bad here. At least, I don't have to worry about where my next snack is coming from!"

A desert fox

Another tiny desert fox. What big ears!

Two more foxes: looks more like dogs save for their big bushy tails!

This sand is just perfect in this kind of weather: nice and warm!

engaged in its No.1 favourite activity: feeding

 a porcupine

 "What's that guy trying to do out there with that black box with a shiny piece of glass in front?" "Sh...Sh  I myself am trying to figure out that one too!"

 a mountain goat

Another mountain goat

A small  goat

A black antelope

A desert rat

The king of all beasts, affected by some fleas, the smallest insect !

 What you looking at? Eh! Lay off !

An eagle

Another eagle

Finally, an eagle that really looks like an eagle!

That's the trouble living here. You never seem able to have a decent nap. I know, you've come a long way.  But you're not kids anymore. Could you just try to be a little quieter out there, please?  Please....!

Ah...Feels really good to be able to stretch our legs a bit

"Why does it always feels so itchy down there? Not again! This is the 49th time I got to do that today!"

A pheasant

a lizard

See, that's Clinton and Lewinsky !

A rattle snake

Come on, everybody. Show time! Anyone like to try having one of these scaly friends around his neck? They won't bite. I promise you. Hey, you! Want to give it a try?

Nothing to it! See?

Cactus Wrap. Any one? 

About time to relieve oneself after all that non-stop 30-minute talk show from the head zoo- keeper!

I'm telling you, Tunisia is one of the most open minded countries in the world. You don't have to take my word for it. Seeing is believing, right? Take a look for yourself. See what I mean?

Time to go. No time to hold on any more!

Cont'd