Douz

Douz (Arabic: دوز‎ dūz) is a town in the Kebili Governorate in the south of Tunisia, known as the "gateway to the Sahara."[1] By road it is located 31 kilometres (19 mi) southwest of Blidet, 125 kilometres (78 mi) southeast of Tozeur, and 475 kilometres (295 mi) south of the Tunisian capital of Tunis.[2]

Not to be confused with Douze, a river in France.
Douz
Commune and town
Douz during the Festival of the Sahara, 2010
Douz
Location in Tunisia
Coordinates: 33°27′N 9°1′E
Country Tunisia
GovernorateKebili
Population
 (2014)
 • Total38,537
Time zoneUTC1 (CET)

History

It has been called the "ultimate palm oasis", because it has over 500,000 palm trees in the area, and it is a major producer of "diglat noor" dates.[3] In previous times it was an important stop on the trans-Saharan caravan routes. Today, it is a destination for tourists who are interested in seeing the desert, and a starting point for desert treks by camel, motorcycle, or four-wheel-drive vehicle.[3][1][4]

A donkey and its cart at the desert oasis of Douz, 2006

Culture

Every year Douz hosts the International Festival of the Sahara, a four-day celebration of traditional desert culture. The festival, usually held in November or December, features traditional music and dancing, poetry readings, camel wrestling, and racing of horses and salugis.[5] Douz is home to the Museum of the Sahara, which showcases displays on traditional nomadic desert culture of the Mrazig people who now mostly live a settled life in the town.[5][6]

  • A woman in red traditional clothing on the market, Douz 1997
  • Douz street view with motocyclist, 1997
  • Three dromedaries, Douz, 1997
  • Date palmes with dates in plastic for protection, Douz 1997
  • "Hopital de Douz", Douz Hospital, 2007
  • Harvested dates waiting for further processing, 2016
  • Donkey cart, 2016

References
  1. Trillo, Richard; Gregg, Emma (1 April 2011). The Rough Guide to First-Time Africa. Rough Guides Limited. p. 385. ISBN 978-1-84836-481-3. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  2. Google (28 January 2013). "Douz" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  3. McCloskey, McCloskey Joseph (14 October 2009). Memoirs of a Biker: Traveling the Long Road. Trafford Publishing. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-4251-1021-5. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  4. Hureau, Jean (June 1977). Tunisia today. Éditions J.A. p. 87. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  5. Fabbri, G. Magi, P.; Fabbri, Patrizia (20 January 2008). Art and History: Tunisia. Casa Editrice Bonechi. p. 103. ISBN 978-88-476-2177-0. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  6. Unesco field mission reports on Muslim countries: an annotated bibliography from 1947-1991. Vikas Pub. House. 1995. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-7069-9860-3. Retrieved 28 January 2013.

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