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Djerba is the kind of easygoing resort that sums up island living.
Just five kilometers off Tunisia's southern
coast, this Djerba
island idyll's gently sloping,
sandy beaches and perfect Mediterranean
climate have made it one of the best
places to visit in the country for tourists
looking for a winter beach break.
Plenty of resorts cater to this crowd, but
Djerba also offers other sightseeing
attractions, such as timeless villages and watercolor-worthy
scenery for those who care to delve deeper into the culture.
Houmt Souk Old Town
With its quaint maze of alleyways lined by picturesque
whitewashed houses and shops selling colorful ceramics, the Old
Town district of Houmt Souk (Djerba's main town) was made for
strolling.
A number of well-preserved fondouks (caravanserais) can be seen
amid Houmt Souk's alleyways.
These merchant inns combined sleeping quarters, animal stabling,
and warehouse storage for the many traveling merchants who
traversed North Africa, buying
up salt, spices, and textiles to
take back to Europe. Their
typical structure usually took
the shape of a series of rooms,
several stories high, built
around an arcaded courtyard.
Plage Sidi Maharès
Djerba's most popular beach is Plage Sidi Maharès on the island's
northeast coast – the perfect place to relax and catch some sun
after all that souk strolling and ceramic shopping.It's the oldest
resort beach on the island and hence the most developed.The sand
is backed by plenty of resorts, most of which have claimed a
private patch of the sand. There is a good choice of restaurants and
cafés running along its length, and you won't have trouble finding
deck chairs, sun loungers, and umbrella shades for rent.
Djerba Explore Park
Djerba Explore Park sits on the
island's coastal road, 20 kilometers
east of Houmt Souk. The complex
combines the Lalla Hadria Museum
and the Djerba Explore Crocodile
Farm.The purpose-built and contemporary Lalla Hadria Museum
is devoted to Islamic cultural heritage and art. It contains an
impressive collection of over 1,000 pieces displayed across 15
galleries.Exhibits of traditional clothing and costumes from the
18th and 19th centuries, Tunisian ceramics, religious artifacts, and
antique textiles all display the diversity of Islamic artistry that
North African and Middle Eastern nations have produced.
Djerba Traditional Heritage Museum
This interesting little museum is
where to come if you want to dig
a little deeper under Djerba's
resort skin.Although small, the
galleries here display an
impressive number of exhibits,
all focused on Djerba's local
heritage and exploring and preserving the island's cultural
traditions.
As well as displays focused on the history of the island,
there are well-curated exhibits devoted to Djerba's Jewish
heritage, and fascinating displays of vibrant, traditional
costumes, beautiful old jewelry, antique ceramics, and
extravagantly carved wedding chests.
The museum is housed next door to the beautiful 18th-
century Zaouia of Sidi Zitouni. Visitors can also enter this
mausoleum to view its impressive stalactite-designed
ceilings.
Bordj el Kebir
A fort has looked out over Houmt Souk's harbor since the
13th century.The original building
was strengthened in the 15th
century, but later replaced in the
16th century, when the notorious
corsair Dragut built the massive
Bordj el Kebir fortress here to look
out over the bay.Extensive
restoration work has been carried out on the building since
the 1960s to preserve it.If you walk up here, there are fine
views across Houmt Souk's harbor.Between the fort and the
harbor, you can see a small obelisk commemorating the
pyramid of skulls, which
Dragut erected here.
La Ghriba Synagogue
La Ghriba is Djerba's most prominent reminder of the island's
vibrant Jewish community, which has now disappeared.Although
not particularly impressive from the outside and not that old either
(the synagogue was built in the 1920s), this site has a history that
goes back much further.One local story says that a holy stone
(perhaps a meteorite) fell to earth here denoting the site's religious
importance.The interior of the synagogue has fine paneling and
contains important and valuable old Torah scrolls.
Every year, 33 days after Easter, La Ghriba is the scene of the
Maghreb's (North Africa's) most important Jewish pilgrimage.
Midoun
Surrounded by fruit orchards and date-palm groves, about 16
kilometers southeast from Houmt Souk, Midoun is Djerba's largest
market town.
All visitors should try and catch the buzzing Friday market.
The old medina area is full of gorgeous buildings, skinny
alleyways, and high walls with crumbling whitewash detail. The
population of the village includes many descendants of slaves,
who were originally brought
here from Sudan.
If you're here during the
summer months there is a
weekly cultural show
complete with folk dancing
and camel parades.
