Douz is one of the many towns that claims the status of gateway to the Sahara. It is certainly the start of the Sahara, but I think some smaller villages that are a bit farther out into the dunes would be better contenders for gateway to the Sahara. In spite of this, Douz is a very relaxed town. It’s one of those places a person can hang out for a week without any effort. Everyone is easy going and friendly. I paid it several visits during my time in Tunisia.
We pulled into Douz an hour before sunset. First stop was at the local cultural museum which details nomadic and oasis life. After leaving there, we went to the main camel rental station where Karim acquired a fleet of camels for us to ride into the dunes. We jumped on and headed out into the sand.
The camels lined up and ready to go in the big camel parking lot.
Karim inspected the merchandise and the merchants. One must be careful when choosing a camel. Otherwise, a nasty case of camel fleas might result!
Loaded up and ready to go.
Notice the two ultralight parachute contraptions in the sky. Those along with the dune buggies, dirt bikes, and other such noisy motorized contraptions created quite the racket on the sand.
Karim taking a pot shot with his lion stick at the parachute contraptions. He did not appreciate them breaking the silence of the desert.
There were people scattered and spread out throughout the dunes. These two tourists wandered by on their way to somewhere.
One of the horsemen. These guys aren’t part of a syndicate that regulates their actions like the camel drivers are. Instead, they operate on their own which provides for quite an interesting time. The guide books and Karim explicitly warned us about these guys. The dudes are crazy! A tourist can pay one to take them on a ride on the horse. These are Arabian horses of some sort and they tear off across the dunes like none other. That’s dangerous enough. Then add to it that some of these horse riders aren’t always the most “hands off” when it comes to the female tourists.
The horsemen want money for pictures. I had to take these photos surreptitiously which accounts for the off-kilter nature of the photos.
Before Karim had given us the warning, Giovanna negotiated for a ride with one of the horsemen. A big fight followed with Karim waving his lion stick about and the horsemen yelling. Karim made a phone call and in two minutes, the secret police were out in force. They herded off the horsemen with threats of arrest. The police told Karim that earlier in the day a few horsemen had been hauled off to jail for being inappropriate with a few female tourists! This is certainly not the norm in Tunisia, but just as with anywhere in the world, it can happen.
Another desert transportation option. As the sun sunk below the horizon, all forms of motorized and quadruped transport streamed in from the sand dunes.
We ate dinner at a local restaurant in Douz before heading out of town long after sundown. We had many kilometers to go before bed that night.
