Travels with Olga: Tunisia -- Sahara Desert

Today was the day we went to the Sahara Desert for our tent and camel experience. We arrived here through Douz, the Gateway to the Sahara. For more info about Douz and the extraordinary museum on nomadic culture, see my blog.

We stopped at a hotel to refresh ourselves and to meet our drivers who would take us to the desert camp.

I got into a conversation with our drivers. One is a nomad (in brown) who takes a photo with me. The conversation was in Arabic with the bit that Anas has taught us during our bus rides (counting from 1-7, greetings). This encounter was so engaging that I failed to notice that everyone in our group had boarded the jeeps that would take us to the desert camp. "OK, Miss Congeniality," said Sally, "time to get into the jeep." So after I got in, off we went, four jeeps to take us to the campsite.

The vegetation here consists mostly of shrubs growing everywhere in the sand. The ground was flat for the first 30 minutes where we drove on a long paved and mostly straight road. Then we headed into the small sand dunes that had many twists and turns. There are no road signs and you wonder how they know where they are going out here in the middle of nowhere. Drivers navigate by watching the shape of the shrubs' bending branches.

When we arrived at the camp we were greeted by a small group of men clad in modern desert-ware but who wore traditional turbans. They are our hosts who escort us into the dining room for a "welcome drink" of tea, an orientation to the camp, and our tent assignments. I'm in Tent 8.

We go to the white tents and waiting for us is our luggage. I'm astonished at how different this camp is from the Morocco camp I visited in December 2013. Here we have a roomy, round tent; tile floor; bathroom with toilet and shower; electricity; and a heater that runs from 6 p.m. until midnight and then in the morning for a couple hours starting at 6 a.m. There are plenty of blankets and a couquete for the bed. I was never cold as I had feared. Our hosts have really jazzed up the tent experience to accommodate us Western tourists! Actually, our travel documents had indicated that the toilet would be just outside the tent. Many of us were worried about this because we get up two to three times during the night. Anas let us think we would really be ruffing it. It was his little joke, and he got a real kick out of it. We were pleasantly surprised--and relieved.

One of the items piled on to the blankets is a traditional Berber/Bedouin cape. Everyone puts it on and poses for photos. We all look pretty funny, but are excited to immerse ourselves in the culture.

Just before 5:30 p.m. we walk to the dune that has the best sightings of the sunset that is due at 5:45. The camp has provided us with benches. Some parts of the dune are especially sandy and I fell. Fortunately, two men by my side helped me up. Otherwise, the ground is fairly stable. The way down the dunes was much easier.

It's a cloudy sky, but a thin layer of light peeks through while up above a blue sky stands guard with streaks of cloud. The opening to sighting the sun increases and those people with iPhones get some fantastic photos.

Campfire

As we were watching the sunset, our hosts were building a campfire off in the distance. We sat around the fire on cement benches covered with small carpets that encircled what we would find out is the "stove" cooking our dinner. The desert evening was getting a little cold and the crackling fire offered us warmth. I can't remember the last time I sat around a campfire, and this one was so welcoming and enjoyable. However, the fun was just about to begin.

Our cook put more twigs on the fire and then gathered them into a ring of hot coals. He then pushed the twigs aside and put flat, round dough on the coals. He was baking the bread for our dinner. The bread is composed of flour, water, and salt. He flattens it into a pizza shape and puts it directly onto the coals that have been accumulating over the past hour. Then, he buried the dough and puts some coals on top of it. He turned it over a couple times for about 20 minutes, and we all began to wonder how he'll get the ashes off when the bread is ready. Not to worry. He beats the bread and its crusty exterior yields the ashes. He wiped off the bread with a cloth, broke it into pieces, and put it in a basket to share with us. It had a crusty exterior, a soft, doughy interior about an inch thick, and was warm and tasty. Clearly, it was the best bread we'd had on this trip.

Kneading the dough and placing it onto the hot coals.

When the bread is finished, it is taken off the coals and tapped on its side and then wiped of its ashes. Then it is broken into pieces and placed in a basket.

While we waited for the bread to bake, the men brought out drums and sang some traditional songs. They invited us to dance around the fire and we obliged them. Such great and memorable fun!

Just before we headed to the dining room, the men uncovered two metal covers where the meat and vegetables had been cooking in clay pots in the ground. It turned out to be camel meat with carrots and potatoes in a delicious sauce of rosemary. We also had lentil soup as an entrée and fruit (dates, oranges, bananas) for desert.

Before this delicious dinner was over, we were given hot water bottles. Anas suggested we put them either between our legs or under one arm for the greatest warmth. He showed us a film before we turned in.

It had been a long day, but I am fulfilled with wonder and delight. I congratulate myself on making the decision to come to Tunisia. It is interesting. The group is congenial. Anas, our guide, is knowledgeable and fun; he's teaching us Arabic. And the sights are different from anything I've ever seen before--even in Morocco. I realize that the Arab culture has been propagandized into something aggressive and even evil. That's not true at all! It is authentic, intelligent, sophisticated, and adaptable to its environment. The art is beautiful and colorful and now I understand why it captivated Delacroix, the 19th century French artist. It captivate me!

Of course, we are not living under harsh conditions, but we are seeing a culture opening up itself to us who are more or less ignorant of its virtues, values, qualities, practices, and traditions. While Islam is part of the culture, it doesn't dominate it, at least in Tunisia. It is blended with the realities of geography and history. I really like North Africa and am charmed by it. It's more than sand, oil, dates, and terrorism. I'm so sick of these characterizations that my own culture has promoted. Perhaps I'm further breaking away from a political point of view and becoming more endowed with the global perspective I have sought for the past 40 years since the Kellogg fellowship (1984-87). That is an accomplishment!

I went to bed at 9 p.m. During the night I can hear nothing except sand blowing against the tent. Very little of it. It's dark but I've positioned my flashlight so I can get to it when I need to get up.

Sunrise in the desert

I didn't get up in time for the sunrise but a few other people from our group did. They shared these amazing photos with the rest of us.

I was awake by 6:30 and could hear birds chirping at 7:40. I took a hot shower--in the desert--and also discovered that the heater was on. Then I packed my stuff and went to breakfast. We had delicious omelettes, bread, fruit, juice, and coffee.

Those who attended the sunrise said the sky was filled with stars. I envied them! The last time I saw the Milky Way was in the early 1970s in Upper Michigan. This was the fourth time I was in a dark area that would allow me to see the stars, but I missed them again. Maybe another time awaits me.

It's time for a camel

They were waiting for us all seated, saddled, and ready to go. The camels and their owners/trainers were waiting for us. The camels sit on the sand with their colorful saddle packs. They are such noble animals.

Anas, our guide showed us how to be when the camel stood up: straight arms and hold on tight. In this way we wouldn't fall off. The camel rises in its way such that its rider is thrust is a sharp backward and forward motion.

Each camel is led by a trainer/owner who guides two camels tied together by a rope. He then leads one as the other follows closely behind and to the side. My camel's name was Ali while his "partner" was Habibi.

My white steed, Ali, was beautiful. (White camels are highly prized.) He was quite cooperative with his trainer and very tolerant of me. If we approached a dune a little higher than usual, the trainer would warn me to hold on and brace myself. A minor tidbit on camel riding: there are no stirrups on the saddle.

Habibi liked to get close to my side and wipe his nose on my pants. I petted him a bit but tried not to irk him lest he spit on me. Camels can be grouchy.

I love the teeth of this guy on the left. The one on the right is Ali.

The trainers were quite willing to take photos with our camels. Here are some good ones of me and Ali. The one with my arms spread is a typical camel-riding pose that is akin to raising up your arms on a roller-coaster. Fortunately, my beast was stationary. When we were walking, I gripped the handles with all my might.

Our group rides the sands of the Sahara like Lawrence of Arabia.

We rode the camels for about 40 minutes. Our jeeps were waiting for us at the end point to take us back to the hotel where we met our bus and took a much-needed bathroom break.

The desert experience was my all-time favorite of the entire trip.

More on Douz

Besides being the Gateway to the Sahara, Douz has also been called the "ultimate palm oasis", because its over 500,000 palm trees produce the "diglat noor" dates. In previous times it was an important stop on the trans-Saharan caravan routes. Today, it is a destination for tourists interested in seeing the desert and a starting point for desert treks like our group that went to a camp for a day. Numerous hotels have also been built here to accommodate the tourists.

People live a sedentary life here because of the climate. Most activities take place after sundown because of the extreme heat.

Most of the inhabitants of Douz descended from four Arab tribes that left the Arabian peninsula in the 8th century and established the nomadic culture of the Mrazig people. They first went to Egypt and Libya before settling in Tunisia in the 13th century.

Douz is also famous for its annual 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, hunting, poetry readings, camel wrestling, and racing of horses and salugis (a children's game of keep-away). Douz is also home to the Museum of the Sahara that showcases traditional nomadic desert culture.

Life in Douz is more Arab than Berber. The language dialect is even different because it does not have the same Arab roots. It tends to use few words that mean a lot. Poetry is very important, which is also a part of the Arab culture.