Djerba, Tunisia : Travel Guide

Jerba hosts some paradoxes. It' a fairly big island, just off the North African coast, which has almost no islands. And it' a tourist resort, a big one, giving room for easy living, at the same time as a portion of the inhabitants here are

Kharijites, the third group in Islam, next to Sunnis and Shi´is. And the Kharijites have always been known for their unwillingness to get in touch with other people. There are still some Christians as well as about 1,000 Jews living here.

Jerba is not only appreciated for it' architecture, made up of square whitewashed houses all over the island. The whole island is like a little world of its own, so compressed that lazy traveller' can cover most of it. Yet, there is enough here to make globe-trotters have a great time here for a good fortnight. The topography of Jerba is simple, and there are some kilometres between each village, each telling its own story Jerba is smooth, sometimes startling, and just as charming as enthusiastic Tunisians tell you it is.

The touristic life of Jerba is both for foreigners (you' meet lots of Libyans and Europeans here) and Tunisians. Tunisians are throwing old limitations behind them when coming here. As so many can stay here without meeting neighbours or relatives, Jerba is the one place in Tunisia where some Tunisian women appear in only the lower halves of their bikinis.

On the island of Jerba, there are many villages, but almost no towns (click here

to open interactive map). The only real town is the beautiful Houmt Souq, while the second town, Midoun, is less exciting. Many travellers arriving at Jerba pass through the village of Ajim, but more picturesque is the little visited Guellala.

Many visitors are intrigued by the presence of Jews, whose main synagogue is in Hara Sghira, while the majority lives in Hara Kebira. One of the most photographed places in Jerba is the mosque in El May. Unfortunately, many of the people visiting Jerba, only stay in the Zone touristique, and never get to see any of the great small places of this island.

Almost Greece

Houmt Souq is the only place on Jerba that really is a city, even if there are not many thousands living here. The city, close to the sea, is all centered around the beautiful and lively markets. There are two, one vaulted suq, and another for foodstuffs. The small and colourful suq ends in a couple of squares that are filled with outdoor cafés, cafés that are more used by Tunisians, and which have normal prices, and normal (=better) quality.

It could be said that Houmt Souq has been turned into a tourist trap, but this is only partially true. The style have been here longer than the German tourists that seem to be making up the clear majority of the foreigners here. And almost all the time you will not be the object of troublesome vendors or hustlers.

Diversity

Houmt Souq is quite different from any other Tunisian town south of Sidi Bou Said, which could be considered as its lost brother.

One of the great things about Houmt Souq are the funduqs that have been hotels (and more) for sometimes hundreds of years. The still run after old patterns, few accomodities have been added, but at a price of maximum US$10 each per night, you're in for a memorable experience. I myself stayed in a hotel, with vaulted rooms, shaded by a chalk-white arcade, and with doors facing the atrium that was full of green plants and red flowers, and a small pool in the middle. This atrium was a restaurant with traditional music performed live every evening. One of those things you never forget. The upper picture is from this hotel, the Arischa.

Houmt Souq holds a nice little church lying just between Hotel Arischa and the Mosque of the Turks (picture higher up). There is still performed services here, but the church is now mostly used for non-religious activities among Jerban youth. The other noticeable mosque in Houmt Souq is the Mosque of the Strangers (just above). Down by the sea side, the fort Borju l-Kabir, has admission and is well worth the walk down from town centre.

Borj el-Kebir

Borj el-Kebir, sometimes called Borj Ghazi Mustapha, has had many owners over the years. It was the Romans building the first recorded stronghold here, but it was the king of Sicily, Roger de Lluria, who in 1289 built the very first fortress.

In 1560, the Spanish (who had it transferred from Sicily earlier in history) were driven out by the Ottoman forces. Hundreds, if not thousands, of skulls from the Spanish soldiers were kept on display inside a tower for almost 200 years.

Most of the fort was rebuilt by the Ottomans, and hence little would date back as far as to the time of the Sicilians.

Aerobics on the Beach

It's apparently Germans that fill up the touristic zone of Jerba, as all small vendors and hustlers down here address you first in German, before they try their crumbling French. It's the standard sentences: "Wie geht's?", "Eine Frage bitte". Unfortunately the touristic zone which could have been the base and starting point for some lazy and pleasurable explorations of the island, seems to have turned into a ghetto. Every hotel comes with at least one restaurant, bar and discotheque, as well as 'animators', people that have actually gone to school for a couple of years to learn how to amuse charter tourists. Fake Tunisian folklore, jokes and aearobics on the beach seem to have been dominating their curriculum.

In a place like Jerba this is sad. Great things are so close, and so easy to get to, people so friendly. So, even if the beaches are great, and you have a good time, mindless holidays on Jerba is really a waste.

The synagogue

The little community of Hara Sghira is not really remarkable, a main street with some grocery stores and a café or two. But just out of the centre, to the east, past the school, and a mosque in typical Jerban style, the main centre of the Jerban Jews are found, the Ghriba synagogue. This synagogue serves as the focal point of Jews in North Africa. This place is the place where a stone fell from heaven, and where miracles were performed when the sanctuary once was built. While this has been a holy place for 1400 years, the present buildings are not more than 75 years old. Most of the construction is a hostel for pilgrims, but rarely fills up very much anymore.

The synagogue can be entered by non-Jews, as long as they leave a small gift (money), and the men wear kippahs. The interior is only slightly more interesting than the modest exterior, a little bit to glaring for most people' taste, but it is told that the inner sanctuary contains one of the oldest Torahs that is still preserved.

The relationship between the 100 Jews and the Muslim majority seems to be relaxed, but the Jews of Jerba is counted as very conservative, and have faced anti-Jewish acts many times. Last time was in 1985 when three worshipers were gunned down inside the synagogue.

Hara Kbira: Still quite Jewish

There are as many as 11 synagogues here, and close to 1,000 Jews make up a substantial part of the population. As this is a place where people work, there are little to see of normal tourist attractions, but while walking around the place, you can look out for the signs in blue colour that have been painted on doorways to guard the families against the evil eye. These signs vary, but are fish, hands, or candelabras.

Magic Camels

Do not let the main street packed with souvenir stalls, misguide you. Most of the time while you're in remote Guellala, there are no other tourists around. And unless you run into some of the timid Kharijis (the third, and smallest, group in Islam,- the Kharijis of Jerba still speak their own language and participate little in the society) who live in this part of Jerba, people down here are very friendly.

The main attraction in the main street is the only souvenir stall that comes without strong colours, the underground one, just where the street bends. This is the only one left in Guellala that shows how ceramics were made before in this town, and the only one selling stuff without the totally inaccurate paintings.

The things here are very simple, and there is less need for heavy haggling on the prices. The people running the shop will in a friendly manner show you the different parts of the workshop, and if you leave without buying anything, they just say good bye with the same friendliness, before lying down on the bench next to the tiny door leading up into the kitchy main street.

If you give yourself some minutes, you will soon have the local speciality demonstrated, the magic camels: A mug with a spout as a camel's head, and then a hole in the bottom and the top. You pour water into one hole, turn the camel, and the water doesn't leak out.

Lonely Mosque

Walking down to the beach mosque, leads past lived in quarters, and people will stare and smile, and shout friendly greetings while you walk past. The mosque is brilliantly set next to the sea. It's kind of weird,- mosques do almost always represent the centre of a village or a town. This one, 500 years old, has nothing but palm trees and the sea surrounding it.

Mosque of the Turkish mother

Somewhat disappointing, mainly because of the the glaring gaz station 5 metres away, the Turkish mosque is strongly reduced in its appearance. Photographers, who can not enter if they're Muslims, find themselves fighting with cutting out the cables streched over the mosque, the neighbouring houses as well as the dominating strong red of the gaz station, in order to make their photos capture the idea of Jerba's tranquility.

The mosque as it stands is small, but simply beautiful. The minaret stretches no more than 5-6 metres, and everything is whitewashed and the walls are soft, almost as if it was a cream covered cake.

El May as a village is quite normal, but has a feeling of always being in the rush hours, as the main road has many cars passing through. The market of El May is small and charming, and is set in a backstreet, about 200 metres from the mosque of the Turkish mother.

Jama' Fadloud

As this mosque, just few kilometres out of Midoun, is apparently out of use, it is also fully open for explorations inside.

What it tells its visitors, is that the elegant minimalism of Jerba mosques, is continued on the inside. There are no mosaics, no colours, only white walls and vaults. Even the niche in the wall indicating the direction of Mecca, is unadorned.

Jama' Ghizen

This small mosque, is only few kilometres from the northern coast, and easy to get to when you drive along the main road. It is the focal point of a small village of houses scattered arounf the palm trees. Note its distinct minaret, where we see a rather unusual fusion of Jerba's coned roofs and the more standard Tunisian pointed roof.

Jama' Mastiri

There is only very little that makes this mosque a mosque. Most of the structures are typical for Jerba' profane architecture, but from one corner a one-of-a-kind minaret points to the sky.

Since the minaret is small, and doesn't really look like a minaret, someone must have come up with the idea of emphasizing its functionality with a light bulb - an element I have never seen used like this before.

Jama' Mazline

This mosque is located half way between Jama' Fadloud and Jama' Tajdid, and is typical of most small mosques that you stumble over on Jerba. There is little special to it, but easy to find, it is worth a short stop.

Jama' Mezraya

This mosque lies right before Midoun and serves a larger audience than most other small mosques of Jerba. It is a mix of Jerba mosque structures and a standard Tunisian minaret.

As I visited I asked about the minaret, but none of the locals could tell me whether it belonged to the original structures or was a newer addition. I'm inclined to believe that it is fairly new compared to the rest of the mosque.

Jama' Tajdid

Of all small mosques around Jerba, the one of Tajdid is among the most likely to see in brochures or on wall posters in the hotels. The main reason is the nice setting: Out in the fields with many trees around it.

The mosque itself is in full use, and is closed to visitors. Even entering the open air courtyards appear to be beyond what the local guards can accept.

It takes a little bit of work to locate it, as it is a bit off the main road, and only dirt tracks lead to it.

Midoun: Underground oil-presses

Somewhat less exotic today, the camel that used to trod around in circles, running the olive oil press, has retired and a profane machine does the job today. Nevertheless, the underground construction, resembling what is found in the Matmata area, takes care of the humidity that is vital for the production of olive oil during the winter. Today Midoun has one left, but this is easy to visit in the months of winter, from November to January.

Real Jerban life is not really on display in Midoun, the town is too close to the Zone touristique, to have preserved the safety of the local society,- people here have since long adjusted to the presence of photographing, ultra-light dressed foreign tourists. Visitors are principally appreciated by vendors in fairly ordinary souvenir shops. Some of the old life returns on Fridays, which is market day.

Aghir

Of Aghir there is less and less of what used to be. Today all that is visible of this village is a string of package hotels, no houses, simple cafés or hole-in-the-wall shops.

Tunisians' own beach. People camp here, and have good swim in one of the few remaining zones that have not been annexed by a huge hotel.The beach is still divided into two zones, where one is open for all. This is a cherished place for normal tunisians, and both the sea and the beach is full of people. But never more than a few hundred metres away is the closed beach of the white and posh hotels.

And this is where it will all end, I think. Closed hotel beaches with all amenities.

Ajim

The octopuses of Ajim never learn. Every evening they take refuge in nice hiding places, but they have not yet discoverd that anyone using one of those nice smooth ceramic pots will never return.

The fishermen in the small port of Ajim - which is the first settlement you get to when you arrive with the ferry from the main land - puts out a loads of grey ceramic pots into the sea the evening, in order to pull them out every morning, to the great surprise of the hiding octopuses.

Sponges are the other catch of the local fishermen. Sponges of high quality are taken from the sea bed, and sold at relatively inflated prices in Houmt Souq.

Your own swimming in these waters should be careful as there are many large jellyfish out here.

Practicalities

Hotels And Alternatives
Being such a tourist magnet, Jerba has plenty to offer of hotels. Package travellers are placed in one of the many tourist complexes in the northeastern corner of the island. If you have hotel included in your ticket, you can expect good value for money. If you' an independent traveller, these hotels charge up to 3 times more per night than charter tourists pay. Through the winter, however, you will be able to strike some good deals.

Independent travellers are better off in Houmt Souq, which has plenty of good value hotels to choose from. Value for money is good even through high season, mainly because Jerba has tourism all through the year.

Midoun has one basic but good hotel. In other parts of Jerba, I have no record of any hotels. That is however no problem, as it is almost impossible to be more than 30 minutes away from your hotel on Jerba.

Restaurants and Alternatives

Jerba is not the greatest place to go eating, if you plan to do it outside your tourist complex. And not even the best place if you plan to stay there, many hotel restaurants serve rather uninspiring meals. There are some non-hotel restaurants in this area too, with variable quality.

In Houmt Souq you will find some nice restaurants, some quite cheap yet good.

Midoun has some places to eat too. In other parts of the island, the best solution is to enter one of the foodstores, and ask the keeper to prepare you a cassecroute, a sandwich with tuna, sausage or whatever else is to find of canned food in his store.

Nightlife

The tourist zone offers good night life. This is dominated by Western travellers. But there is always a good number of Tunisian men, and in recent years more and more of Tunisan women, too.

Change Money

Change money in your hotel. The banks in Houmt Souq (which is the place with most banks) are often crowded, and it can take some time to change money.

Transport

If you' going anywhere outside Jerba, do it from Houmt Souq. Here are the only real stations for shared taxis and buses.

If you're moving around Jerba, consider renting a small motorbike. This is slightly expensive, but still well worth the cost. Otherwise, use Jerba's system of buses and small taxis. This is damn cheap, but will involve some waiting.