60. From Sfax to Metlaoui viâ Gafsa.
151 M. Narrow Gauge Railway (Comp. des Phosphates et du Chemin de Fer de Gafsa), in 9¾–10¼ hrs. (27 fr. 20, 20 fr. 65, 14 fr. 60 c.); to Gafsa, 127 M., in 8–9 hrs. (22 fr. 95, 17 fr. 45, 12 fr. 30 c.; return-ticket, valid for 5 days, 32 fr. 15, 24 fr. 40, 17 fr. 20 c.). Railway Restaurant at Graïba only; it is advisable to take provisions.
Sfax, see p. [380]. The train skirts the inland side of the town and then runs to the S.W., near the coast. To the left rises the lighthouse of Râs Tina (p. [405]), near the ruins of Thaenae, once the chief harbour for the export of olive-oil from the interior.
18 M. Oued-Chaffar. 22½ M. Maharès (pop. 1000), a fishing village and market for the Mehadla Tribe, is the last fruit-tree oasis to the S.W. of Sfax. Above it rises an old fortified Bordj. On the left, close to the shore, near the Gabes road (R. 62), is seen the castle of Ounga, with its eight towers, which is said to have been built by the knights of Malta (p. [398]).
Leaving the coast the train runs to the W., through an almost uninhabited sandy waste, to (39½ M.) Graïba (Rail. Restaurant), from which a diligence plies to Gabes (p. [389]).
In the distance appears the bare S. Tunisian hill-country, with Jebel Bou-Hedma (2559 ft.). On the left lie the flats of the large Sebkha en-Nouaïl.
61 M. Mezzouna, at the N. base of Jebel Mezzouna (1329 ft.), where alfa abounds. 76½ M. Maknassi (hotel), a village of colonists, with olive-groves, and an important alfa station, lies in the Bled Maknassi, a monotonous plain on the N. spurs of Jebel Maknassi (1332 ft.). To the N.W. appears Jebel Majora (2871 ft.).
98 M. Sened (1575 ft.), the highest point on the line, with large alfa-stacks, is the station for Sened (1706 ft.), a village 5 M. to the S.E., on the olive-clad slope of Jebel Biadha (3248 ft.).
We now descend through cactus plantations, and in spring through corn-fields, to the Bled el-Hamra, a lofty plain to the N. of Jebel Oum el-Alleg (3839 ft.), in the territory of the great nomadic tribe of the Hamama. 110½ M. Aïn-Zannouch, the only station with good drinking-water. On the right are extensive dunes, formed by disintegration.
The train rounds Jebel Orbata (p. [385]) and then enters the valley of the Oued Baïech.
127 M. Gafsa.—The Station (about 1000 ft.) lies on the left bank of the stream, 2¼ M. to the S.E. of the old town (diligence twice daily in ½ hr.).
Hotels. Hôtel de France, Place de la Kasba, R. 3–5, B. ¾, déj. or D. 3, pens. 8–10, omn. 1 fr., plain; Buffet-Hôtel, at the station.
Post & Telegraph Office, Place de la Poste.
Carriages (limited in number), 20–25 fr. per day; to Tebessa (p. [315]) or to Kairwan (p. [372]) 120 fr.—Diligence to Tebessa, see p. [318].—Horse or Mule (3–5 fr. per day), best obtained through the Contrôle Civil, where tickets for the mosques also are obtained.
Gafsa (1067 ft.; pop. 4500, incl. about 1000 Jews and 360 Europeans), the ancient Capsa, is a peaceful little oasis-town, with two hot springs (88–91½° Fahr.) and several cold, rising in or near the river-bed. The old town lies on the edge of the plateau, on the right bank of the Oued Baïech, which almost everywhere else is dry. It has formed a valley about 3 M. broad, between Jebel Orbata (3839 ft.; p. [385]), on the E., and the spurs of Jebel Bou-Ramli (3609 ft.) on the N.W., this being the only considerable pass between the S. Tunisian steppe and the shotts (p. [320]). The town is sheltered by Jebel Ben-Younès (3002 ft.) and Jebel Assalah from the cold N.W. and N. winds, and like El-Kantara (p. [276]) is a portal of the desert. Its mild climate and beautiful oasis render it a fine winter residence for persons of moderate requirements.
Capsa is said to be one of the oldest towns in the interior of Tunisia. Owing to its remote situation in the extreme southern part of his dominions Jugurtha (p. [321]) made it one of his headquarters and his treasury; but one morning at dawn, after a nine days’ march from Lares (p. [360]), so graphically described by Sallust, it was surprised by Marius and razed to the ground in 106. Under Augustus the town was still in ruins, yet in the 2nd cent. it vied with Thelepte (Feriana, p. [371]) as one of the wealthiest towns in S. Tunisia. Through Capsa ran the important caravan-routes between Tebessa and Gabes, those to Feriana, Sbeïtla, and Susa, and viâ Tozeur to the Limes Tripolitanus (p. [412]). With the exception of the Piscinæ (see below) all the Roman structures have been demolished for modern building purposes. The town-walls were rebuilt by Solomon (p. [315]) in Justinian’s reign, and in the Moorish period were succeeded by a triple mud-built wall, of which scarcely a trace is left. The Byzantine citadel, built of Roman materials, was succeeded by the Moorish Kasba, which the French have now converted into barracks. Since the entry of the French troops in 1881 the mosques have been regarded as desecrated.
From the new Gafsa-Gare quarter a street leads to the Oued Baïech, crosses it, where native washerwomen and thirsty camels often present an entertaining scene, and ascends on the border of the oasis (p. [385]) to the old town, dominated by groups of palm-trees and two minarets.
The large Champ de Foire and the Fondouk (p. [281]), on the E. side of the town, are full of life when caravans arrive with their dates from the Djerid (p. [386]). The corn-market in the Halle aux Grains also is of some importance.
From the Place du Marché (market on Wednesday), at the S. end of the Champ de Foire, the Rue du Gén.-Philebert leads through the town to the Place de la Kasba. Here, on the W. side, rises the Kasba, with its towers and white pinnacled walls, once the chief sight at Gafsa, but now the barracks of military convicts. View from the Poste Optique (adm. on application). The Jewish Quarter with its narrow streets, lies to the N.E. of the Place de la Kasba, on the N. side of the town.
The dilapidated Roman Piscinæ (Arabic Termid, from ‘thermæ’) are still used as baths. The Jewish Bath is fed by the Kasba spring. The largest basins, supplied by the hot spring outside the Kasba and chiefly used by the Moslems, are in the Dâr el-Bey, to the S.E. of the Place de la Kasba. The men’s bath (Termid er-Rayel), where the children love to dive for sou-pieces, is worth seeing. In the beautifully clear water tiny fish (Chromis, occurring also in the underground waters of the Sahara), little black snakes, and small tortoises disport themselves among the bathers.
A little to the S. of the Piscinæ are the Souks. Foremost among their wares are bright-coloured blankets (frechias), burnouses, and carpets (guétifs), mostly made by the Hamamas (p. [383]).
The Sidi Yakûb Mosque (Grande Mosquée), to the S.W. of the Dâr el-Bey, one of the oldest in Tunisia, is noteworthy for its interior with nave and eighteen aisles, in the style of the Sidi Okba mosque at Kairwan (p. [374]). The minaret, especially towards evening, affords a charming *View of the town and the oasis, and of the finely shaped hills and the yellow desert to the S.
The **Oasis, nearly 4 sq. M. in area, the richest and greenest palm-oasis in all Barbary, offers many delightful walks. Most of the paths conveniently overlook the little gardens lying below them, watered by numerous runlets from the Piscinæ.
In the shade of the palms grow apricots, peaches, figs, pomegranates, quinces, almonds, pears, and olives, and here and there oranges and lemons. The vine, with its vigorous and picturesque tendrils, climbs up the palm trees or the nettle-trees (Celtis australis) planted for its support, yielding ripe grapes as early as June. Below all these trees the soil is carpeted, in the cooler season, with vegetables, melons, wheat, and barley. The W. margin of the oasis, however, where water is scarce, yields olives only.
Fine points of view are the hill of Sidi Bou-Yahia, crowned with a kubba, on the N.W. margin of the oasis, the Ksour Nala, a spur of Jebel Ben-Younès, and, separated from the latter by the depression of the Foum el-Maza, Jebel Assalah, whence we survey also the steppe stretching to the N. to Jebel Sidi Aïch.
From Gafsa to Maâjen Bel-Abbès (Feriana), see p. [372]; viâ Feriana to Tebessa, see p. [318].
A Road leads to the S.E. viâ the olive-oasis of El-Ksar to (3¾ M.) Leïla, a charming little palm-oasis; then, aside from the Sebkha d’el-Guettar, to (12½ M.) El-Guettar (952 ft.; two caravanserais; pop. 1800), a palm and olive oasis at the S. base of Jebel Orbata (3839 ft.; fine view from the Poste Optique; ascent by bridle-path 2½–3 hrs.). The route from El-Guettar to (83 M.) Gabes (p. [389]), leading almost all the way through an arid wilderness, is fit only for those who are used to fatigue and privations. (Poor quarters at Bir Saâd and El-Haffey only.)
Beyond Gafsa the train crosses the Oued Baïech and beyond the oasis it enters the sandy and stony waste between the salt-marsh Garaet el-Oglal (on the right) and the chain of Jebel Rosfa (1411 ft.) and Jebel Jellabia (1346 ft.; to the S.). Beyond the dry bed of the Oued Melah the long range of Jebel Tarfaoui (p. [388]) appears far to the left.
We skirt the S. base of Jebel Stah (2953 ft.), Jebel Tarfai (2166 ft.), and Jebel Metlaoui (1805 ft.), all rich in phosphates. These hills, overgrown with alfa-grass only, are, like those near Gafsa, a favourite haunt of the gazelle; the maned sheep (p. [277]) also occurs.
151 M. Metlaoui (643 ft.; Hôt. Rey, R., déj., D., 3 fr. each, quite good), Arabic Metlâwi, on the S. slope of Jebel Seldja, not far from the Oued Seldja (p. [372]), lies in the heart of the S. Tunisian phosphate-region, which extends to Redeyef (p. [372]), to Aïn-Moularès (p. [372]), and to Jebel Mrata on the Algerian frontier. The phosphate is detached from the hill-sides by blasting (foudroyage) and then spread out to dry on the ground, where it is turned over several times by ploughs. The works employ about 5000 hands, mostly Italians and natives, and yield about 800,000 tons per annum. Adm. to the ‘Grande Recette’ of the works by leave of M. Bursaux, the manager.
Interesting walk or drive to the (3 M.) *Gorges du Seldja, a wild rocky defile (about 4½ M. long) between Jebel Seldja and Jebel Alima (2559 ft.).
For the new railways to Henchir Souatir, Redeyef, and Aïn-Moularès, see p. [372].