Not far from the delta of the Oued Melah we near the Chott Rharsa, which in the hot season is reduced to a few streamlets and pools, and next reach the E. border of (30 M.) the oasis of El-Hamma du Djérid (164 ft.; Bordj, quarters 1 fr.). This oasis, the smallest in the Djerid, with 900 inhab., about 54,000 palms, and a few olive-trees, has of late had mud-walls (tabias) built to shelter it from sand-drift. The Hammâm, a piscina in a kind of palm-hut, whose water (109° Fahr.) is in high favour with the natives, is of Roman origin.
The road crosses the (32½ M.) downs of Drah Tozeur or Drâht en-Nadour (269 ft.), and reveals a striking *View of the green oasis of Tozeur and the glittering surface of the Chott Djérid.
35½ M. Tozeur (197 ft.; Hôt. Bellevue, R. 3, B. ½, déj. or D. 3 fr., unpretending, with attentive landlady; pop. 10,000, incl. 65 Europeans), the ancient Tusuros, Arabic Tûzer, is the seat of the authorities of the Djerid. The houses, mostly one-storied, built of crude (tobs) and burned bricks, have a peculiar geometric ornamentation in brick network, which differentiates them from most of those in the other oases. The Souks are less important than those of Nefta (see below). Interesting *Views are obtained from the minarets of the Zaouïa Sidi Abid and the new Sidi Mouldi Mosque (tickets at the Contrôle Civil).
The *Oasis, which is hardly inferior to that of Gafsa in richness and variety of vegetation (p. [385]), contains about 420,000 palms. Several hours may be pleasantly spent in riding to the chief points of interest. Leaving the town we ride to the W., viâ Chabia village, with its curious huts of palm-logs, to the Râs el-Aïoun, where 194 springs unite to form the Oued el-Mechta. We then skirt the S.W. border of the oasis and descend viâ the villages of Zaouïet-Sahraoui, Djehim or Djem, and Abbas or Abbès to the kubba of Sidi Ali Bou-Lifa, near the shott, with a huge and venerable lotus-tree. Thence we should return to Djehim and ride to Bled el-Adhar, a village in the W. half of the oasis. The interesting mosque here, the oldest in the Djerid, stands on the site of a Roman temple, which is said to have been converted into a Christian basilica. The *Mihrâb, or prayer-niche, unfortunately whitewashed, dating from 1194, is most elegantly decorated in stucco. We return thence to Tozeur, where the half-dead lotus-tree and the little mosques present a picturesque bit of scenery.
A Road, with fine points of view, leads from Tozeur to the W., viâ Chabia (see above) and along the S. margin of the dunes of Koudiat Oum el-Arouah (558 ft.), to (51 M.) Nefta (200–300 ft.; Djerid Hotel, R. 3–4, B. 1, déj. or D. 3–4, pens. 8–10 fr., quite good; carr. at the Khalifa’s only; pop. 14,000, incl. many Jews but only a few Europeans), the Roman Aggarsel Nepte. The houses resemble those of Tozeur in style, but blocks of gypsum from the vicinity also have been used as building-material. We are struck with the great number of small mosques and zaouïas, among which is the zaouïa of the Kadria (p. [361]), the most important in S. Tunisia and a religious house of the Rahmania order. The souks, which are much patronized by the Sahara caravans, offer all the products of the Djerid, such as white frechias (p. [385]), burnouses (‘djeridi’), silk haiks, etc.
Before riding through the *Oasis (2–3 hrs.; mule with guide 3–4 fr.), the finest in the Djerid, with its 187,000 palms, we proceed from the souks to the so-called *Corbeille (Arabic Kasr el-Aïn, ‘castle of the springs’), a grand gorge in the middle of the town, where the copious springs (152, it is said) unite to form a brook. We then ride to the N.W., past the Zaouïa of the Kadria (p. [387]) and along the mud-walls (p. [387]), to the Parcelle Forestière (fine view), or to the Poste Douanier, another good point of view. We then return, past the mosque of Sidi Merzoug and the palm-garden of Ghitane ech-Chorfa, to the Barrage, a Roman dam below the Corbeille (at the weir, a little lower, good bathing-place), and visit the elegant kubba of Sidi Bou-Ali, in the heart of the oasis.
El-Oudiane, the eastmost oasis of the Djerid, with 6000 inhab. distributed among six villages, lies 6¼ M. to the N.E. of Tozeur and 3 M. to the E. of El-Hamma (p. [387]), on the slope of Jebel Bou-Hellal (624 ft.), the W. offshoot of Jebel Tarfaoui (1821 ft.). This oasis, 4½ M. long, watered by a number of small springs, possesses about 185,000 palms and 25,000 olive-trees, while numerous orange and lemon trees add a special charm. The chief village is Deggach (180 ft.; pop. 3000), built partly of stone. Thence we ride past Zaouïet el-Arab, with its minaret (fine view), and Kriz, on the slope of Jebel Nadour (519 ft.), to the walled village of Cedadda (230 ft.). At Guebba, a village adjoining Kriz, close to the shott, are some Roman ruins.
The Trik el-Oudiania, a caravan route once used by the Romans but sometimes impassable after heavy winter rains, leads from Kriz across the Chott Djérid, to the S.E., to the Caïdat du Nefzaoua, a part of the S. Territories (p. [390]) between the shott and the Erg Oriental (p. [285]). The first oasis beyond the salt-marshes is (30½ M.) Debabcha, on the peninsula of that name. 43 M. Telmine, the ancient Turris Tamaleni, was the westmost frontier-fortress on the Limes Tripolitanus (p. [412]). 47 M. Kebilli (quarters in the Bordj), the ancient Vepillium (?), is now the chief town in the Nefzaoua, with 5000 inhab., a market well attended by the Sahara caravans, and the finest palm-oasis in this region.
Roads lead from Kebilli: (1) To the N.E., through the waterless sandy waste between the Chott el-Fedjedj (p. [389]) and Jebel Tebaga (1608 ft.) and past (9½ M.) Limagues and (34½ M.) Oglet Nakhla, to (53 M.) El-Hamma (quarters at the Bordj), the ancient Aquae Tacapitanae, with hot springs (118° Fahr.) and a charming palm-oasis; then past the S. base of Jebel Dissa (492 ft.; Poste Optique) to (74 M.) Gabes (p. [389]).—(2) To the S.E., through the desert on the S. side of Jebel Tebaga (see above), past Henchir Bou-Garfa and Tamezred, to (about 68 M.) Matmata-Kebira (p. [391]).