HIGH ROAD from Graïba viâ (52 M.) Gabes to (101 M.) Médenine.
Diligence to Gabes, in 9 hrs. (starting at 11.30 p.m., returning at
5.15 p.m.); thence to Médenine, in 8 hrs. ROADS from Médenine to the
two starting-points for the island of Djerba: one viâ (37½ M.) Zarzis
to (52 M.) Marsa el-Kantara; the other viâ (17½ M.) Djorf Bou-Grara to
(30 M.) Marsa el-Adjim.—ROADS from El-Kantara (15½ M.) and El-Adjim
(14 M.) to Houmt-Souk.
A motor-car should be hired from Sfax (p. 380) to Médenine, or all the
way to Marsa el-Kantara. Or we may drive thither from Graïba, by carr.
previously ordered from Gabes. At Médenine it is advisable to
telegraph to Houmt-Souk for a carr. to meet the traveller at
El-Kantara (or El-Adjim, as the case may be).—Houmt-Souk is a
steamboat-station between Tunis and Tripoli (comp. R. 64).
From Sfax to _Graïba_ (39½ M.; railway in ca. 2 hrs.; fares 7 fr. 5, 5
fr. 35, 3 fr. 80 c.), see p. 383.
The ROAD leads to the S. from Graïba to (5½ M.) _Archichina_, a
caravanserai on the W. side of the _Sour Kenis Bay_, where we join the
main road from Sfax. It then traverses a desolate sandy waste on the W.
side of the _Gulf of Gabes_ (p. 405), inland from the little seaport
_Skira_ (for the alfa trade).
On the (28 M.) _Oued Akarit_ we enter the province of _Arad_. Between
_Jebel Roumana_ (564 ft.) and _Jebel Dissa_ (p. 388), offshoots of the
hills around the shott region, extends the flat _Isthmus of Gabes_, 12½
M. broad, bridging the space between the bay and the _Chott el-Fedjedj_
(76 ft. above sea-level), the E. continuation of the Chott Djérid (p.
386). In 1873 Ferd. de Lesseps (p. 437) suggested that, by cutting a
canal through the isthmus, the whole of the shotts, as far as the Chott
Melrir (p. 284), might be converted into a great inland sea; but several
of them lie much above the sea-level.
34 M. _Domaine de Oued-Melah_, an olive and palm oasis (10,000 palms),
on a brook generally dry, is partly watered by the oldest artesian wells
in Tunisia (1885).
To the right, a little off the road to Gafsa (p. 383), lie the
palm-oases of _Oudref_ and _El-Methouia_, and to the left _Ghennouch_.
Near the (49½ M.) poor oasis of _Bou-Chemma_ we join the road from
Kebilli (p. 388).
Our road leads through the palm-oasis of Gabes (p. 390) and past _Djara_
(p. 390) to (52 M.) _Gabès-Port_.
* * * * *
=Gabes.=—ARRIVAL BY SEA (comp. R. 64). The steamers anchor in the open
roads (at low-tide over ½ M. from the fishing-boat harbour). Landing
or embarking, especially in summer, in N.E. or E. wind, is often
impossible.
HOTELS (comp. p. 324; sometimes crowded with motorists in spring).
_Grand-Hôtel_, _Hôt. des Voyageurs_, both at Gabès-Port, ½ M. from the
pier.
CAB from the pier to Gabès-Port 40 c. (for several pers. 20 c. each);
one hour 1½ fr., each addit. ¼ hr. 25 c.; day of 10 hrs. 10–12 fr.;
carr. and four horses, for long excursions, 20 fr. a day.
BRITISH CONSULAR AGENT, _C. Calleja_.
_Gabes_ or _Gabès_ (Europ. pop. 900, mostly Italians and Maltese; total,
incl. oasis, 10,200), the ancient _Tacape_, the chief harbour on the
stretch of coast called _Emporia_ by the Greeks and a rival of Leptis
Magna and Tripoli (comp. p. 407), is now the capital of the _Arad_ and
headquarters for the S. Territories, which are still under military
rule. It is the only harbour of importance on the S. coast of the _Gulf
of Gabes_ (p. 405). The chief exports are the sponges of the bay, alfa
or esparto grass, dates, and woollen goods. In the war annals of 1881
the bombardment of Gabes from Menzel (see below) and the protracted
resistance of the inland tribes are memorable. It was here that Gen.
Logerot intercepted the tribes of the E. coast who tried to pass through
the Arad to Tripolitania.
The small _Harbour_, for fishing-boats only, at the mouth of the _Oued
Gabes_, protected by two stone piers, is exposed to every wind and
choked with sand.
To the N.W. of the estuary, on the border of the oasis, which is here
protected from sand-drift by palisades, rise low dunes; to the S.E.,
near the lighthouse, is an admirable bathing-beach.
The modern GABÈS-PORT, adjoining the _Camp Militaire_, contains no
attraction except the garden of the _Cercle Militaire_. It is garrisoned
with 160 native horsemen (Spahis or Cavaliers du Maghzen), who guard the
Tripolitanian frontier of the S. Territories. The tradespeople are
mostly Jews.
Beyond Gabès-Port, also on the barren right bank of the river, lie the
large Berber villages, partly built of Roman materials, of DJARA
(_Grand-Djara_; pop. 3500) and MENZEL (pop. 4500, incl. about 1000
Jews). The market-place of Djara, a square enclosed by primitive arcades
with shops, is frequented chiefly by the S. Algerian caravans.
Almost the only sight of Gabes is the beautiful, but in summer malarious
*=Oasis=, once somewhat over-praised by Pliny, which extends 3¾ M. up
the left bank of the river and is 1–1¼ M. in breadth. Among the
remarkably tall and well-grown date-palms (about 200,000) are many
bananas and other fruit-trees. The river and the small channels, often
enlivened by women washing or carrying water, are crossed by numerous
bridges of palm-logs. A walk or ride to the most interesting spots takes
3–4 hrs. (mule 2–3 fr.). From Menzel we go upstream to the _Barrage du
Sidi el-Bey_ (1894), and past the remains of a Roman _Dam_, built of
huge blocks, to the _Râs el-Oued_ (213 ft.), a hill at the W. end of the
oasis often covered with clouds of dust, where the principal feeders of
the river, 30 in all, form a number of waterfalls. Turning here, we
follow the largest irrigation-conduit to the village of _Chenini_ (pop.
1000) and cross the Sfax road (p. 382) to the N.W. half of the oasis,
where many of the palms are overgrown with vines.
The *=Monts des Ksour= (p. 320), bordering the Sahara on the S. side
of the Arad, are well worth visiting from Gabes or from Médenine (p.
391; carr. tariff, see p. 389; an ample supply of food and rugs
advisable; comp. also p. 278). These barren hills culminate in _Kef
Toudjane_ (p. 391), which is almost everywhere conspicuous from the
coast, and _Jebel Smerten_ (each about 2100 ft.), and in _Kef Demeur_
or _Jebel Demmer_ (2460 ft.). The inhabitants, the _Troglodytes_ of
antiquity (see p. 320), are, in the N.W. part, the _Matmatas_, on the
plateau of that name, and, in the S., members of the _Ouerghamma
League_, Berber tribes which for centuries withstood the attacks of
the Arabs and the predatory Sahara nomads. They still often live in
caverns, with a court resembling a shaft as the centre of their
dwelling, and cavities used as side-rooms or offices. The gardens,
laboriously irrigated by dams and cisterns, yield olives, dates, and
figs; in the valleys grain, chiefly barley, and vegetables are
cultivated. The Matmatas often go to Tunis as porters or artisans but
always return home in their old age.
A glimpse of this region is obtained by driving from Gabes to (28 M.)
_Matmata-Kebira_ or _Kalaâ-Matmata_ (1838 ft.; p. 388; quarters at the
Kaïd’s), on the Matmata plateau, whence an excursion (on mule-back)
should, if possible, be taken to the picturesque rock-village of
_Hadege_. A new but very hilly road leads from Matmata-Kebira through
the mountains viâ (12½ M.) _Toudjane_ (919 ft.), a village grandly
situated on the slopes of _Kef Toudjane_ (2090 ft.), direct to (37½
M.) _Métameur_ (see below).
* * * * *
The MÉDENINE ROAD (diligence, see p. 388) now leads to the S.E. through
a steppe-like hill-country, fringing the Monts des Ksour (p. 390) and
intersected by many valleys, passing the small oases of _Menara_ (200
ft.) and (55 M.) _Teboulbou_ (artesian wells; much olive-culture). Next
come the valleys of the _Oued Merzig_ and _Oued Ferd_, with the small
oasis of (56 M.) _Ketena_.
74 M. _Mareth_ (Bordj), a large palm-oasis on the _Oued Mareth_. We then
cross the _Oued Zigraou_ to (77 M.) _Aram_. Beyond the spurs of _Jebel
Touati_ and _Jebel Souinia_ rises the main range of the Monts des Ksour
(p. 390).
Beyond the valleys of the _Oued Zeus_ and _Oued Hallouf_ the road rounds
_Jebel Tadjera_ (968 ft.; Poste Optique). 97½ M. _Métameur_, formerly a
‘camp militaire’, on the brook of that name, below the small oasis and
(½ hr.) Berber village of _Ksar Métameur_ (391 ft.), whose storehouses
(rhorfas), with keel-arched vaulting, recall very ancient buildings in
Asia Minor.
101 M. =Médenine= (361 ft.; Médenine Hôtel, R. 2½, B. ½, déj. 2½ fr.,
good; pop. 1000, incl. 100 Europeans), capital of the _Ouerghamma_ (see
above), the league of the Berber tribes _Khezour_, _Touazine_,
_Ouderna_, and _Accara_. The high-lying _Camp Militaire_, with its
garrison of Spahis (p. 390) and Infanterie Légère d’Afrique (‘Joyeux’),
is the largest on the Tripolitanian frontier.
The deserted and ruinous *_Ksar_, in a small palm-oasis, consists of a
great number of the old storehouses of the League, some of them in four
or five stories, now replaced by retbas or rabtas (p. 338). They are dug
deeply in the hill-side, and are accessible only by stairs of mud or
stepping-stones.
Travellers used to privations and content with such poor quarters as
the natives can offer may, after consulting the military authorities
at Médenine, visit the S. part of the _Monts des Ksour_ (p. 390). The
best centre there is (34 M.) =Tatahouine=, the seat of the military
and civil authorities, with an important market, well attended by
caravans on their way from the Sahara and the Sudan by way of Ghadâmes
in Tripolitania (p. 285). The chief villages of the cave-dwellers
(Ksûr) near this are _Tlalet_, formerly _Talalati_, a
frontier-fortress on the Limes Tripolitanus (p. 412), _Beni-Barca_,
*_Chenini_, and *_Douirat_ (2090 ft.).
The ZARZIS ROAD (37½ M.) descends to the E. from Médenine through the
sandy coast-plain to (15½ M.) _Aïn-Mader_, near the saline marshes of
that name on the S. bank of the Mer de Bou-Grara (see below), and then
traverses the hill-region of the _Accara_ tribe (p. 391), between the
sea and the large _Sebkha el-Melah_.
To the left, a little off the road, 4 M. from Zarzis, are the ruins of
the little Roman town of _Zita_, now _Zian_, where the small forum is
still enclosed with the remains of its colonnade.
37½ M. (or from Graïba 138½ M.) =Zarzis= (accommodation at the Bordj),
on the site of the Roman seaport _Gergis_, amidst extensive olive-groves
famed for their oil, has two artesian wells and a small harbour for
fishing-boats. Important sponge-fishery.
A road (the chief route to the island of Djerba) leads to the N.W. from
Zarzis across the _Péninsule de Zarzis_ or _des Accara_ to (14½ M., or,
from Graïba, 153 M.) _Marsa el-Kantara_, a village near the _Râs
Marmor_, on the S. side of the E. entrance (1¼ M. wide) to the Mer de
Bou-Grara (see below). The dilapidated Roman dam which crosses the
strait here to El-Kantara is still used by camel-caravans at low tide
(6½ ft. below high-water), but it is better to cross by fishing-boat.
From El-Kantara to _Houmt-Souk_, see p. 394.
The DJORF BOU-GRARA ROUTE to Djerba is shorter (30 M.) and will repay
antiquarians. The rough road (mule preferable to carr.) leads from
Médenine to the N.E. viâ _Bir Saâdou_, and then past some small
salt-marshes, to the _Mer de Bou-Grara_, a large landlocked bay between
the mainland and the island of Djerba, accessible for large vessels by
the _Canal d’Adjim_ only (not quite 1 M. across; see p. 393). This bay,
in which fish abound, and Lake Bizerta (p. 352) are the best natural
harbours in Tunisia.
17½ M. (or from Graïba 118½ M.) =Djorf Bou-Grara= (no inn) is near the
site of *_Gightis_, a small Punic-Roman seaport, which attained great
prosperity in the 2nd cent. A.D. The harbour, which was always shallow
at low tide, is now entirely silted up. Excavations begun in 1896 have
revealed the ruins of curiously cramped and irregular streets, with
various public buildings, villas remarkable for their coloured
incrustation and rich mosaics, and Byzantine houses built of Roman
materials.
A broad street ascends from the harbour to the _Macellum_, with
fountain and exedra similar to those at Timgad (p. 295). The small
_Forum_, 60 by 44 yds., has on the E. side an archway, the _Curia_,
and the _Market Basilica_, with the tribunal, while the _Severus Arch_
on the N. side formed a lateral entrance. On the S. side rises the
_Capitol_ (see p. 288), in the style of the capitol or ‘Jupiter
temple’ at Pompeii.
_The Temple of Mercury_, to the S. of the forum, has columns in its
peribolos, or outer wall, with curious capitals adorned with cables,
in allusion to the occupation of the founder. The building is
curiously planned, having several small rooms or ‘sacristies’ behind
the cella; it is adjoined by a chapel of Mercury and one of Minerva.
A _Temple of Isis_ (_?_), a _Temple of Hygiea_, the _Thermae_, and a
late-Punic _Cemetery_ also have been unearthed.
If a fishing-boat is available at Djorf Bou-Grara we may sail direct to
_Adjim_ (p. 394; 13½ M. in ca. 1½ hr.). If not, we must go 12½ M.
farther to (30 M., or from Graïba, 131 M.) _Marsa el-Adjim_ at the _Râs
el-Djorf_, the N. point of the peninsula, opposite Adjim (1⅓ M. distant;
boat in ¼ hr.).
* * * * *
The =Island of Djerba= (highest point 118 ft.), 17½ by 14 M., is the
largest on the N. African coast. From the lotus-tree (Zizyphus Lotus;
Arabic nebga, Fr. jujubier), which thrives here, Homer called it the
island of the _Lotophagi_. It was later named _Meninx_ and was the
birthplace of the Roman emperors Vibius Gallus and Volusianus (251–3).
It is now one of the most fertile and prosperous regions in Tunisia.
Secure in their insularity against the attacks of the nomadic Arabs, the
inhabitants (about 40,000), mostly Berbers of the Kharijite sect (p.
323), have retained their old language and customs. They vie in industry
with their kinsmen the Mozabites (p. 216) and go forth as traders to all
the seaports of the Orient. Agriculture also thrives. There are
1,300,000 date-palms, 500,000 olive-trees, and as many orange, lemon,
and peach trees; early vegetables too are now largely grown. The sponge,
polypus, and other fisheries and the oyster-beds in the Canal d’Adjim
(p. 392) are very productive.
Djerba has four harbours, _Houmt-Souk_, _Adjim_, _El-Kantara_, and
_Aghir_. The only towns are Houmt-Souk, _Hara-Kebîra_, and
_Hara-Serîra_; the villages are merely local markets for their
districts. The countless little mosques have white domes like most of
the houses, but are distinguished by conspicuous slender minarets of the
Turkish type, resembling lighthouses. The farm-houses (menzel) scattered
throughout the island often have a castellated appearance. In the entire
absence of brooks the soil is irrigated from cisterns and wells, among
which are two very copious artesian wells. The winter climate (p. 321)
is the mildest in Tunisia, but gales are frequent. For excursions there
are few carriages available (20 fr. per day); the usual conveyance is an
araba or country-cart; for a mule the charge is 4–5, for a donkey 3 fr.
per day. The tourist should beware of the countless scorpions,
especially in the warmer season.
=Houmt-Souk= (Hôt. de l’Oasis or Crolet; Hôt. de France; Brit. cons.
agent; pop. 5900, incl. 560 Maltese, French, Italians, and Greeks), the
capital of the island, lies on the sandy N. coast, ½ M. from the sea and
5 M. from the anchorage of the steamers (comp. p. 405). The dilapidated
_Bordj el-Kebîr_ on the shore recalls the time of the Spanish
domination. Near it is the _Christian Cemetery_, where repose the bones,
collected in 1848, of the 18,000 Spaniards who were massacred here in
1560 after the naval victory of Dragut (p. 370) and Ochiali Pasha, and
yielded trophies for the ghastly Bordj er-Rious (tower of skulls).
In the interesting _Souks_ (Mon. and Thurs.) are seen all the products
of the island. Among the numerous religious buildings may be named the
_Mosquée el-Gheriba_ and the _Mosquée des Turcs_.
A road leads to the S. from Houmt-Souk to the Jewish villages of (¾
M.) _Hara-Kebîra_ (pop. 3500) and (4½ M.) =Hara-Serîra= or
_Hara-Sghîra_ (pop. 1500), where numerous goldsmiths make silver-gilt
trinkets of antique and Byzantine patterns, with enamel and jewels
(mostly imitation). The _Gheriba_, the synagogue of Hara-Serîra,
where, according to an old tradition, one of the tables of the law of
Moses was once found, is a great resort of Jewish pilgrims from S.
Tunisia and Tripolitania, and is much revered by Moslems and Catholics
also.—From Hara-Serîra the road leads to the S. to (14½ M.)
=Guallala=, the centre of the pottery-manufacture carried on in Djerba
ever since ancient times (oil-jars, porous water-jugs, vases, etc.).
Near it is the hill of _Dahrat-Guallala_, which yields the clay.
A road leads to the S.E. from Houmt-Souk viâ _Hara-Kebîra_ (see above)
and (10⅓ M.) _Cedouikeche_ (potteries) to (15½ M.) =El-Kantara=, the
seaport for Zarzis (p. 392), not far from the extensive but
unimportant ruins of _Meninx_, the ancient capital of the
island.—Another road leads to the S.W. to (14 M.) =Adjim=, a rising
little seaport and market (Wed.), with an artesian well 760 ft. deep.
To _Djorf Bou-Grara_ (and _Gightis_), see p. 392.
Near the E. coast of the island, on the roads to the _Râs Taguermess_
(p. 406) and the small summer harbour of _Aghir_, lie the villages of
=Midoune= (Frid. market) and _Mahboubine_, with many villas of the
merchants of Houmt-Souk, situated amid palm and olive groves and
charming *Fruit Gardens, where the oranges and lemons blossom in
March. On the road to Midoune is the _Mausolée de Borgho_, the only
intact Roman monument in the island.