Chott el Djerid — Lost Caravan Secrets

Your journey begins in Place Ibn Chabbat, the beating heart of Tozeur, where trade caravans crossing the Chott el Djerid gathered since the 17th century. This square is lined with traditional 19th-century mud-brick buildings, offering a glimpse into Saharan Tunisian architecture. It is here, following in the footsteps of these merchants, that the first clues to the Pact of the Sands are revealed to you, immediately immersing you in the history of this Sahara oasis and its ancient trade routes.

Continue your investigation in the Tozeur Medina, a historic quarter founded in the 12th century by Berber populations. Its paved alleys and monumental raw brick gates, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list in 2012, cover approximately 20 hectares. Less than 2 km from the central square, this walking route will lead you to the Zaouia Sidi Bouhlel, a 17th-century religious complex dedicated to the Sufi saint Sidi Bouhlel. This historic resting place for caravaneers is a Tunisian historical monument restored in 1995 by the Ministry of Culture, where a fragment of the Pact might be hidden.

The Rue des Potiers, an artisan street active since the 15th century, is your next stop in the Tozeur medina. 300 meters long, it is lined with family workshops using local clay from the Chott el Djerid. This pottery tradition was essential for the caravans' need for desert-resistant utensils. The patterns engraved on the pottery could conceal codes leading to the Great Mosque of Tozeur, built in the 13th century under the Hafsid dynasty. Its 24-meter minaret, restored in 1980, was a central landmark for merchants connecting Tozeur to the Saharan routes.

Your quest then takes you to the Tozeur Palm Grove, the largest in Tunisia with 250,000 palm trees over 1000 hectares, accessible 1 km on foot from the center. Irrigated by a system of canals (khottara) dug since the 11th century, it supported caravans with its annual production of 100,000 tons of dates. The shadows of the palm trees might hide messages to decipher the Pact. After this exploration of the Sahara oasis, head to the Tozeur Souk, a covered market dating from the 18th century, a vital commercial center for the exchange of spices, salt, and dates from the Chott el Djerid caravans.

This souk, with its more than 200 stalls over 1 hectare, accessible 500m on foot from Place Ibn Chabbat, was the historic negotiation place for Berber caravaneers. It is here that the last fragments of the Pact of the Sands will be revealed to you, allowing you to reconstruct the entire document. This thematic circuit in southwestern Tunisia will have introduced you to the heritage of Tozeur, from historical monuments to ancestral traditions, offering a unique interactive visit. You will have uncovered the legends of the Chott el Djerid and understood the role of Tozeur, a Sahara oasis, in the history of caravan routes.