السياحة

Djerba, Tunisia travel guide

Located southeast of the Gulf of Gabes and barring the entrance to the Gulf of Boughrara, southeast of Tunisia, Djerba or Jerba is an island of 514 km2 (25 kilometers on 20 and 150 kilometers of coastline). It is the largest island on the coast of North Africa. Its main city, Houmt Souk, alone accounts for 42,992 of the 163,726 Djerbians.

Odysseus would have crossed it, the Carthaginians founded several trading posts, the Romans built several cities and developed agriculture and port trade. Successively under Vandal, Byzantine and Arab domination, Djerba has become a popular tourist destination since the 1960s.

It remains marked both by the persistence of one of the last Tunisian Berber dialects, the adherence to Ibadism of part of its Muslim population and the presence of a large Jewish community whose tradition dates back to the destruction of the Temple of Solomon.

To access the island, it is connected to the mainland, to the southwest by a ferry that leads from Ajim to Jorf and to the southeast by a seven-kilometer road, whose first construction dates back to the end of the third century BC, between the town of El Kantara and the peninsula of Zarzis.

Geography

On either side, two advances of the continent bring Jorf of Ajim closer to the west and Zarzis to El Kantara to the east. Towards the sea, the extension of the beach of Mezraya (Sidi Mahrez) forms a peninsula, Ras R’mal, which is one of the important tourist sites of the island. The area of the island is close to 514 km2.

Seen by satellite image, it presents the shape of a giant molar with its three roots: the peninsulas of Ajim, Ras Terbella and Bine El Oudiane. Its coasts have a very irregular layout. The three peninsulas mark the closest points to the mainland, from which the island is separated by the Ajim Channel, two kilometers wide, and that of El Kantara, six kilometers wide. The Ajim Canal hosts two islets called Elgataia Kbira and Elgataia Sghira.

The island is flat, with an average altitude of 20 metres and its highest point, Dhahret Guellala, rising in its southern part to 53 metres. The coastline is characterized by low coasts, the beaches, mostly sandy, extending mainly between Ras R’mal and Borj El Kastil. In Djerba, which is called « Golden Sands Island » because of their fine golden sand, has no rivers and fresh water is scarce.

Climate

Located at the crossroads of Mediterranean and Saharan air masses, the climate of Djerba is Mediterranean but semi-arid. The average annual temperature is 20 °C, with monthly averages barely exceeding 30 °C or falling below 8 °C. In summer, the average maximum reaches 33 °C but the heat is mitigated by the sea breeze, while in winter, the monthly averages are above 12 °C.

Demography

Called the Djerbiens, the inhabitants of Djerba number 163,726 in 2014, spread over three delegations that correspond to three municipalities:

Djerba-Houmt Souk (75,904 inhabitants for the whole municipality), the city of Houmt Souk being considered the « capital » of the island with 42,992 inhabitants
Djerba-Midoun (63,528 for the whole municipality), the city of Midoun which is the nearest center of tourist activities with 39,138 inhabitants
Djerba-Ajim (24,294 inhabitants for the whole municipality), the city of Ajim, further back compared to the island dynamic, with 15,114 inhabitants.

Gastronomy

Before the tourist boom, the Djerbians grew wheat, barley, sorghum and lentils which formed the basis of their diet. Barley couscous (malthouthe) with fish or dried meat and preserved in olive oil (kaddid) and small dried anchovies (ouzaf) are specialties of the island.

Before the tourist boom, the Djerbians grew wheat, barley, sorghum and lentils which formed the basis of their diet. Barley couscous (malthouthe) with fish or dried meat and preserved in olive oil (kaddid) and small dried anchovies (ouzaf) are specialties of the island.

Culture

Museums

The Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions: located in Houmt Souk, it was built in the late 1970s in the former zaouïa of Sidi Zitouni, a Moorish-style sanctuary built in the eighteenth century under the instruction of Ben Ayed the kingpin of the island. It houses the cenotaph of Sheikh Abu Baker Ezzitouni, a learned Sunni theologian. The Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions: located in Houmt Souk, it was built in the late 1970s in the former zaouïa of Sidi Zitouni, a Moorish-style sanctuary built in the eighteenth century under the instruction of Ben Ayed the kingpin of the island. It houses the cenotaph of Sheikh Abu Baker Ezzitouni, a learned Sunni theologian.

The Guellala Museum: opened in 2001, also exhibits collections on Djerbian heritage. With more than 4,000 m2 of exhibition, it offers a series of independent pavilions, each developing a theme (festivals, traditions and customs, crafts, myths and legends, traditional music, mosaics or Arabic calligraphy).

The mosque: located near the road linking Houmt Souk to Midoun and whose foundation dates back to the eleventh century, it has been transformed into a museum allowing the visitor to discover how the mosques served as a refuge for the inhabitants during the attacks.

The theme park: located near the lighthouse of Taguermess, it extends over twelve hectares: Djerba Explore. It houses a reconstructed traditional Djerbian village, the Lalla Hadria Museum, which presents a panorama of Tunisian art and the Arab-Islamic world, a circuit of Djerbian heritage and the largest crocodile farm in the Mediterranean basin.

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