Tourist Attractions & Monuments Tunisia

Abdelhamid Fehri, professor of history at the Tunisian university, teacher at Sfax and at the Sorbonne and islander of the Kerkena Islands - that's how he likes to spell his archipelago -, has designed with his own hands, in his family house, this heritage museum. With the help of the villagers, he has gathered together costumes from the past, agricultural tools and medical utensils to reconstruct a slice of life in Kerkena in the past. Wedding ceremonies, circumcisions, fishing parties: in a house with typical architecture from the late 19th and early 20th^centuries , visitors can follow the life of a modest Kerkennian household of that time. The museum also pays tribute to the great men of the island and finally houses the skeleton of the whale that washed up on its beaches in 2003 following the installation of oil platforms.

Workshops are organized to revive ancestral activities.

If, after the theory, you want to move on to the practice, you should know that Abdelhamid offers stays "à la kerkenienne". Lodged in the few rooms that he makes available to travelers, you will participate with him in the agricultural activities of the past (olive picking and fishing trips etc.) and forget the time of a few days the motorized vehicles to return to the cart. A great experience to try and in any case a place not to be missed to better understand these islands and their unique culture.

With its 514 square kilometers, the island of Djerba has long been both a crossroads of trade and a place of refuge and settlement for populations of various origins. Over the centuries, its strategic location and flat topography have exposed it to all the covetousness of invaders coming from more or less far. An exceptional urbanism developed there from the 9th to the 18th century. This urbanism was guided by the imperative of defense and by the need to make the best use of scarce resources, whether water or food. The result was a deliberately dispersed urbanism, shaping the territory according to a division into neighborhoods(houma) and creating an original landscape. Each houma is composed of a series of menzels, which are areas of daily life and agricultural activities of 2 to 4 hectares. Dwelling, well, threshing floor, storage rooms... The whole of these houma with their menzel is structured around numerous tortuous tracks and paths spread all over the island of Djerba. If there are still menzels in activity today in Djerba, and that one can possibly cross some at random, it is not obvious to visit some. It remains above all places of private life. An excellent way to discover them is to visit the reconstructed menzel in the Djerba Heritage section of Djerba Explore. At the time of writing this guide, for the quality of its urban landscapes, Djerba is a candidate for inclusion in the Unesco World Heritage List!

With its leaning minaret, this austere mosque is dazzlingly white. The view is superb! A legend is attached to this troglodyte monument. This place would shelter the cave where took refuge a group of believers fleeing persecutions related to their faith. They would have woken up there after a sleep of... 309 years! The place presents another particularity just as enigmatic: the presence of several giant tombs of 5 meters whose origin remains to this day unexplained.

It is the eye dazzled by the fields of sunflowers and the nostril titillated by the scents of eucalyptus and pine that the visitor enters slowly in the region of Tabarka. With a little wave of the hand, the local children call you to sell a jar of wild flower honey. Myrtle bushes with white flowers and oleanders color the landscape. Then one advances towards Tabarka and forests of cork oaks paint the mountains of a fresh and green palette, the sight of Djebel Khemir is superb and the sea is not far.

A few kilometres before arriving in Matmata, a magnificent cave ensemble reveals itself. Its owner, Faisal Habib, has for some years wanted it to be a luxury hotel. But the project is slow to take shape. In the meantime, Diar Amor is also a café, a shop, a restaurant and a modest museum located in the family house of Faycal, three generations old. Shame on the location (too) tourism: all the coaches stop here. 

This ksar is located on the hill of the djebel Abiodh and dominates the valley of the oued Zonndag. Oval in shape, it has many ghorfas (400 or 750 according to sources). The whole, essentially in ruins, rises essentially on three to four floors. The site has eight old oil mills, a mosque, a marabout and a mausoleum. Some historians consider it one of the oldest and largest ksour in the country. Abandoned at the beginning of the French protectorate, it has been proposed for a future classification on the Unesco World Heritage List.

A rich collection of fossils and pieces of dinosaur skeletons, as well as maps, diagrams and various reconstructions that explain the origins and evolution of our planet. In the center of the main hall, there are reconstructions of an iguanodontid dinosaur made of plaster and a pterosaur hanging from the ceiling, as well as a silicon simulation of a theropod egg nest. The museum has been chosen to be the nucleus of a future "Geopark of the Dahar".

Tabarka is an ideal place for walking (and jogging). The seaside promenade is popular with those who want to get away from it all. Take the road on foot along the hill of the Genoese fort and the beach towards the sea; when the road stops, continue walking on the rocks, thus bypassing the hill and there you come across a small pebbled cove at the foot of the fort. Don't forget to go up to the fort to admire the breathtaking view of the bay. The beach that goes from the needles to the harbor is not always clean, prefer the one in the tourist area.

The Ghomrassen valley has rock painting sites dating back 4,000 to 5,000 years: Chaabet El Maarek, but also Taguet Hamed and Insefri. The settlement of the region dates back to the Paleolithic and continued until the Neolithic, 8,000 years ago to 4,000 years BC. These superb paintings made with red ochre represent characters as well as domestic fauna (cattle and canids) and wild (felines, elephants, ostriches and antelopes).

This ksar is the first mountain ksar south of Tataouine with its 270 perfectly preserved ghorfas. It is in fact two ksour: an old one of square shape (50 m of diameter) and a more recent one (Ksar Jedid) of rectangular shape (70 meters on 90). A covered entrance(skifa) connects the two parts. This ksar has been restored. Some ghorfas of the recent part are still in use. It is a perfect illustration of the mountain ksour , which succeeded the citadel ksour. Easier of access, they have an agricultural function!

The city center is quite charming and not very touristy. It is a place of really pleasant stroll, we recommend it. The white sand beaches with the blue-green sea alternate with others, rocky and wilder. Those along the coast near the city are not too crowded, because located outside the tourist area, so it is mostly Tunisians who swim there. The hotel zone, which extends north of the city towards the sweet island, is more and more frequented, and hotels have sprung up there in number...

Beyond being paradise islands, the Kuriat islands are the place of a successful collaboration between the Tunisian authorities and the civil society. This island is indeed co-managed by the State and by the NGO Notre Grand Bleu carried by environmental activists. The objective? To allow man and nature to cohabit in a unique environment, particularly prized by loggerhead turtles.

Located at about 20 km from the mainland, the big island, which has the same name as the archipelago, covers about 270 ha. 2 km further, the small island, the Conigliera island, covers about 70 ha. The islands are flat and low (maximum 5 m above sea level). In the northern and rocky part of both islands, and at very shallow depths, there are maerl bottom formations considered very rare and vulnerable on a Mediterranean scale.

On the island, it is not uncommon to see a sign and stakes indicating a turtle nest. When the baby loggerheads leave their shells, volunteers escort them to the sea, under the amazed eye of the tourists. Here everything is done to protect the loggerhead turtle(Caretta caretta), a species long threatened and now considered vulnerable. These two islands, which are in the process of being classified as a marine and coastal protected area, are the westernmost stable loggerhead nesting site on the southern Mediterranean coast. The two islets are prized by loggerheads because they are spared from pollution and enjoy total darkness at night - the time when turtles lay their eggs - unlike most of the Tunisian coast. The females, which become fertile only from about 20 years, return to lay eggs in the place of their birth. But only one turtle out of 1000 survives long enough to reproduce.

Awareness huts, hiking trails of 800 m with explanatory panels, presence of volunteers on site during the summer season: everything is set up to protect the turtles, especially during the laying. A kayak circuit has been created: it is 200 m wide and covers all the different shallow water habitats found in the Kuriat islands (posidonia meadows, rocks, drop-offs, etc.). Along the route, 5 markers inform the public about the fauna and flora present. Each marker is equipped with a submerged information panel to carry out educational swims with the accompaniment of an eco-guide of underwater excursion.

On the land side, during the season, volunteers take turns to spot the new nests. When the nests approach maturity, after 50 days, the co-managers and volunteers watch over them, before accompanying the little loggerheads to the sea, sharing these moments of wonder with the summer visitors. The baby turtles, barely 5 cm long, make their way through the sand. They are then taken out to sea, away from the bathers, and released near underwater fields of posidonia, where they can shelter and feed.

In addition to the rare opportunity to see these baby turtles, a visit to the Kuriat islands is an opportunity to understand the impact of global warming or the catastrophic consequences of plastic, which is not recycled in Tunisia, for marine animals.

The NGO Notre Grand Bleu has set itself the goal of protecting, managing, raising awareness and discovering the natural terrestrial and marine environment of the bay of Monastir and the Kuriat Islands. Successful bet with this unique experimentation!

The place to understand everything about the date palm and the territory of Tozeur! Eden Palm is a unique and innovative concept: the intelligent discovery of the universe of the date palm and the date. The visit is in three parts: an exhibition, a visit of the palm grove, and the discovery of the laboratory. On the exhibition side, you will discover all that links men to date palms, in the palm grove you will test your knowledge in situ and finally in the laboratory you will discover all that can be created around the date. A warmly recommended visit!

The museum is located in a traditional house in the medina of Nefta. The strength of this museum? Its incredible collection of hundreds of photographs illustrating the landscapes of the region and especially the way of life of its inhabitants and their traditions. Thanks to them, and to the comments of the inexhaustible and passionate curator, you will learn everything about the history of Nefta between 1850 and 1950. In the courtyard of the museum are exposed various objects of the local craft industry.

This museum was born in 1999 to promote the Amazigh origins of Tamezret. Mongi devotes his time and energy to it. A true militant of his culture, he collects objects that bear witness to the life of his ancestors and collects the memory of the village from the elders. In a pleasant troglodytic house, Mongi tells a thousand and one stories about the local culture. He is also a craftsman: margoums, shawls and leather boots are reproduced identically by hand from ancient pieces.

Dar Taoufik is an open air museum. The very welcoming Taoufik welcomes you in his superb 420 year old troglodytic house. This house has kept all its original architectural aspect. In front of the freshness of the earth, you understand the way of life of the inhabitants of yesteryear. We come to Dar Taoufik to admire the architecture, we stay there because we are offered a delicious snack made of honey and olive oil and we want to come back for the extraordinary and warm welcome that your host reserves for you. A stop more than recommended!

Don't miss the market of Douz, on Thursday morning, where the city comes alive and vibrates differently. It is one of the most important markets in this region. Here you will meet men straight out of the desert, draped in their colorful chèches. The market occupies the central square and street, it is a vast place of exposure for the salesmen who do not seek to bait the tourist, even if one finds there some stalls of craft industry. Do not hesitate to drink a coffee at the edge of the street, you will take full eyes. You will see nomads coming to sell their fruits and vegetables produced in one of the oasis of the region, as well as merchants of handicraft clothes quite famous. But it is especially for its market with the animals, located below, on a place adjoining the palm plantation, that this day attracts the farmers of all the area. At the foot of the palm trees, sheep, chickens and rabbits are jostling each other in great numbers in an atmosphere full of cries, colors and unexpected smells. Depending on the season, you will also see camels. An incredible crowd of people crowds around the animals. Older men chat or play cross-legged games while waiting for a potential buyer to show up, while younger ones watch the eager animals. The children are busy selling rabbits and chickens, giving them a chance to learn their trade. A market as it is rare to see, and a 100% local experience, because you will cross here few tourists.