Tamezret Berber village

Tamezret Berber village, which is normally pronounced Ath Mizret, means “the children of Mizret”, is a village to discover, 50 km from Gabès and 10 km from Matmata, famous for its troglodytes. This Berber village in the Matmata mountains is one of the oldest. Tamazight (Berber) is still spoken there.

Tamezret is located 450 m above sea level and is part of the chain of historic villages in the Dahar mountains.

The paved National Road (RN20) linking Medenine to Hazoua via Matmata, passes through Tamezret to end in Douz. It has contributed enormously to breaking the isolation of the village and allowing tourists to discover it.

The preservation of the architectural aspect of the village is one of the objectives that motivated the creation of the “Association for the Preservation of the Cultural and Architectural Heritage of the Village of Tamezret” in 1992.

The village of Tamezret, as is the case with Berber mountain towns, has a framework built on five well-defined districts:

El Ghirane where we find the primary school, the youth center, the open-air theater
El Mezanna houses the dispensary and the post office
Minej “Berber word meaning “west” or “western part”, Mehaia and Tazet, residential neighborhoods

The Mosque and the Moorish café crown the top of the village, from where you can enjoy a panoramic view of the Matmata both at sunrise and at sunset.

Due to its geographical position and its climatic conditions, the economy of the village was for centuries essentially based on agriculture: Arboriculture, Cereals and Livestock. Today, agricultural activity is reduced and Tamezret is much more oriented towards tourism and crafts.
Dar Tamezret, the museum
Unique in its kind and born from the will of a man who will also be your host and your guide, you will discover the Berber traditions but also their history like that of this woman, ElKahina, emblematic figure of the Berber resistance. You will also discover, at the rhythm of the houses visited, an ingenious organization of underground galleries, a real defense system against the invader.

Tamezret Berber village in Pictures

Le village berbère de Tamezret
The village of Matmata : Le village berbère de Tamezret

Tamezret in video

Tamezret on the map

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