Sahara, May 2010,
We took an excursion to the Sahara in May 2010.
The organized excursion took place along the route Souss-El-Jem - Matmata - Douz - Salt marsh Chot El Jerid - Tozeur - Kairouan. . Therefore, I will write only my comments and suggest reading the previous review.
Jeep riding is different for everyone. Some men said that extreme is not enough. I've had enough. Some of the women were slightly motion sick. There were really a lot of slides, and if the driver wanted to, it was possible to roam more. It definitely captures the spirit when the jeep drives down the steep hill. In the front seat you can see the nose of the car and the outgoing earth. On the middle rows it is more convenient, because you can stretch your legs. The scenery for the film "The English Patient" is almost completely covered with sand - the dunes are moving. But the scenery for "Star Wars" was restored last year. On the territory there is a cafe and a toilet; Very clean. The photos turned out beautiful. By the way, those who do not ride camels are left to wait for the rest at the place of departure. And those who do not ride jeeps are sent by bus to the place where the rest are waiting. And while riding camels and jeeps, you will go out and the sand will clog into your shoes. Socks need to be changed for sure. You can take sandals - they hold tight on the leg and you can shake it out later. It is harder to shake fine sand out of sneakers.
Camel riding is interesting in order to understand what it is. But for us it was exhausting. We drove for about half an hour to a certain area, a small parking lot and back. Camels were African one-humped. They have something like a saddle tied on top of them. While the camel gets up and sits down, it is important to hold on tight so as not to fall off. And then he does it abruptly. There are no stirrups and your legs dangle all the way, and since you stagger on the road, you have to press your legs against the camel. The internal muscles on the legs then hurt; The sand in the sandy desert (where the camel rides) is as fine as dust. After skating, all the clothes were covered with this dust and the face too. Therefore, it’s better to either buy an araratka (head scarf) in El-Jem for 1 dinar, or rent their striped robe with a scarf from them. Bathrobes are huge without a belt and buttons, so they don’t protect much from sand. And they tie a scarf quickly, then some of them are untied. Ask for a quality bandage. And be sure to take your glasses. It's very sandy in the eyes. But maybe you are lucky and there will be no wind. We walked in a bunch of three camels. The driver led two bundles. Two camels were racing. And one of them is so funny and wayward caught. At first I didn't want to get up. Then all the way he barked something at the driver.
In general, my personal conclusion is that you should definitely go on a tour of the Sahara. Otherwise, after a holiday in Tunisia, you will not feel the difference between Tunisia and Turkey, for example. The tourist areas on the coast are almost the same everywhere. And here they show the exotic of the country in an organized manner. Most importantly, we had a great guide. Since you will spend a lot of time on the bus, this is very important. I never remember the correct name of the guide. It seems Himshet or Hamshid. The guide talked all the way to the Sahara and most of the way back. He told not only historical facts about Tunisia and some cities, about the flora and fauna of Tunisia, but also about customs, life, religion, modern life. Since he lived in Ukraine for a long time, he understands what is unusual for us and draws parallels between countries. He also spoke about abusive words that are similar in pronunciation to ours. Therefore, say "Hello" instead of Good afternoon, because "good" means not quite good. But it is easier for the locals to remember and pronounce this particular greeting. Do not speak well - the pronunciation is similar to their phrase, also indecent. Don't say country, fence. The word tooth is similar to their word, which we have consists of three letters and is written on fences; He has a lot of funny blanks and impromptu that affect the mood and help pass the time on the road. And the funny stories are just lovely. What is the story about brothels in Tunisia and their workers, who are listed as employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in their local identification card (since they have this official business, they hire them to work in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and to hide a secret; in the map, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is designated as a place of work).
Everyone is talking about the cheap souvenir shop in Kairouan. I will give you an example of prices - and you look at the prices at your resorts. Because we have in Yasmine Hammamet in shops with a fixed price (if you go from the Medina to the Bravo supermarket) the same prices for some things, but the choice is much wider. For example, magnets in both Yasmin and Kairouan cost 1 dinar. Plates also cost the same. Well, there are 11 postcards for 1 dinar, not 10, as in Yasmine-Hammamet shops. Women's simple camel leather slippers cost 5 dinars there, and men's 9 dinars. In my opinion, near the El Mouradi El Menzah hotel, I saw flip-flops on sale for 4 dinars. The camel leather bags seem to be cheaper than the fixed price shops in Yasmine. But in those shops where they are traded, you can bargain cheaper. Carpets in Kairouan in this shop are on the second floor. We did not look - it seems that someone is buying.
On the way, our guide also said where you can buy dates of a different variety that are not in the city - this is on the salt marsh. The way it is. In the penultimate place, which was made specifically for relaxation and shopping, the guide advised me to buy cold-pressed first-pressed oil of a small local production in round bottles. We bought a bottle of oil. Already tried - really excellent oil. Everything else in this store is overpriced.
When we rode in a car, in the capital Tunisia (and in my opinion they saw very beautiful mosaics in Hammamet) in such a Roman style. But somehow they didn’t buy it right away. In Tunisia, by the way, their prices near Carthage (Anthony Baths) were high. But in Kairouan they don't sell it. In Yasmine Hammamet, in a large store, which is along the street from the medina to Bravo, there are such mosaics, but the choice is small.
Even in the city of Tunisia, I saw in the windows low prices for clothes, sneakers for 15 dinars. But we didn't have time, so I can't comment on the quality.
Sweets at the airport cost the same as in any store in the city. You can throw off the rest of the dinar at the airport before passing control, because then only euros and dollars go.
Drawbacks: The journey to the Sahara begins in Sousse. We were picked up from Yasmine Hammamet in the morning in a minibus like our gazelle, and it seems that to save money, the driver drove us for 1 hour on a free road with one-lane traffic and potholes, instead of a toll freeway. To spend the night in the Sahara Multivoyage takes you to the 3-star Toureg hotel in Duza (although the guide called back in front of us and told us that the hotel was 4-star). The hotel is old, it is hot in it, the air conditioner is buzzing and not cooling, the smell and towels are terrible. The hotel does not have a hair dryer, and after a camel ride everything is covered with fine sand (the face looks like it has been smeared with a fine scrub) - so take a hair dryer with you for those who cannot just leave their hair to dry after swimming.
And we were not shown the promised dawn in the Sahara. In my opinion, simply because we left later - at 5 in the morning from the parking lot in Duza. And we did not reach the salt marsh (salt lake) a little. Therefore, if the guide starts to say that it is not a fact that we will meet the dawn in the desert, but you really want to see it, tell him about it and maybe then your group will leave earlier. Well, we didn’t see a sunset or a mirage either. And there were no other shortcomings. And they can be forgiven only in order to go with this guide.
