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.