What to see in Gabès

6 places worth the drive in Gabès, with the time to allow and the best period for each. Every place has its own page: history, customs, food and directions.

1. 1.Matmata

   Berber homes dug into the earth

   Amazigh families have lived for centuries in troglodyte homes: rooms carved around a deep circular courtyard, cool in summer and warm in winter.

   Time : Half day · Best : Oct to Apr

2. 2.Jara Market, Gabès

   The henna souk of a seaside oasis

   In the old Jara quarter, stalls sell henna grown in the Gabès oasis, spices, baskets of palm leaves and dates, a short walk from one of the world’s rare seaside oases.

   Time : 2 hours · Best : Oct to Apr

3. 3.Chenini Oasis, Gabès

   A seaside oasis

   Gabès is one of the very few oases in the world that touch the sea. At Chenini, 5 km inland, palm trees shade three layers of crops: pomegranates and fig trees, then vegetables and fodder below.

   Time : Half a day · Best : Sep to May

4. 4.Tamezret

   A stone village in the Matmata hills

   Ten kilometres from Matmata, Tamezret climbs a hillside at about 480 m, its stone houses stacked around a white mosque. Berber is still spoken in the village.

   Time : 1–2 hours · Best : Oct to Apr

5. 5.Toujane

   A Berber village on both sides of a valley

   On the mountain road between Matmata and Médenine, Toujane is split in two by a deep valley, its stone houses following the slopes. The drive itself is one of the most beautiful in the south.

   Time : 1–2 hours · Best : Oct to Apr

6. 6.Mareth Line and Museum

   Bunkers of a 1943 battle

   Built by the French in the 1930s, the Mareth Line ran from the sea to the Matmata hills. Rommel’s forces held it in March 1943 until the British Eighth Army broke through. Bunkers remain, and a museum in Mareth tells the story.

   Time : 1–2 hours · Best : Oct to Apr