Monday, October 18th.
This morning we drove south for a couple of hours and the landscape got drier and hillier. We passed numerous roadside tents selling freshly made bread and simple sandwiches, some fruit stands and even three camels standing outside a butcher shop to be slaughtered for meat. Shepherds tend herds of camels that contain up to a hundred females but only one male. Male camels fight so shepherds sell the young ones for meat. We got pulled over for trying to pass on a no passing section of the road, right in sight of the police who were parked there, oops. Not sure what the fine was but the driver was upset. The Roman city of Sufeitula, modern Sbeitla, is one of North Africa's most photogenic archaeological ensembles. Three preserved temples dedicated to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva rise from the forum like a classical textbook illustration. Sbeitla prospered during the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE through olive oil production, the "liquid gold" that made North Africa Rome’s wealthiest province. Walking past ancient olive presses, we learned how provincial cities accumulated the wealth to construct monuments rivalling Rome itself. Stone-paved streets lead past public baths, theatres, and Christian basilicas with elaborate baptisteries, their colourful mosaics illustrating how early Christianity transformed Roman architectural forms. After lunch we continued driving south across landscapes that shift dramatically from Mediterranean fertility to Saharan vastness. This transition zone, the Sahel, has witnessed some of history's most significant cultural exchanges as trans-Saharan trade routes connected sub-Saharan Africa with Mediterranean civilizations. Our end destination for today was at the oasis town of Tozeur. This legendary oasis city controlled medieval caravan routes carrying gold, ivory, salt, and slaves between North and West Africa. Medieval accounts describe over 1,000 camels departing daily, laden with ‘deglet nour’ dates - the "fingers of light" still considered among the world's finest. We visited the Eden Palm Museum where a guide explained to us the oasis agriculture's sophisticated techniques: the three-tier cultivation system where date palms provide shade for citrus trees, which shelter vegetable crops below. This ancient agricultural wisdom maximizes water use in environments where every drop is precious. Inside the palmerie (palm forest) we could feel the coolness and shelter that the palm trees provide from the severity of the heat and sand of the surrounding area, which has drawn desert travellers to oases for millennia. We were encouraged to sample different products that they make from dates, from jams, jellies, almond date paste, date chocolate and others and then we had an opportunity to purchase anything we fancied. I didn’t. Then we drove to the Palm Spring Hotel, arrived at sunset and checked in. Too bad we arrived at sunset and were not able to utilize the beautiful pool. Unfortunately the hotel internet is down so I cannot phone anyone, find out how Dad is doing or do anything with the blog, frustrating. I was able to send a couple of notes using George’s hotspot during dinner. Then I retired to the room as I was tired and we’re up early tomorrow.
