Tataouine

Tataouine lies in the far south-east at the edge of the Sahara and is known for its ksour: communal granaries of vaulted rooms stacked in tiers, built by Amazigh and Arab communities to store their harvests. The best known is Ksar Ouled Soltane, four storeys high around two courtyards.

On the surrounding hills are Amazigh villages such as Chenini, with houses cut into the rock and a white mosque on the crest. To the north-west, Matmata has homes dug into the ground around round courtyards, one of them a hotel that appeared in the first Star Wars film, whose desert planet Tatooine took its name from the town.

Tataouine is about two hours from Djerba, so we arrange it as a day or a night from the island, or as a stage on a desert tour between Tozeur and Djerba. October to April is the season.