The medina of Tozeur

The Medina of Tozeur, also called the district of old Ouled el Hadef, is one of the best preserved in Tunisia. It has a magnificent stone wall that surrounds it. We notice at the entrance the traditional stone of the region: the briquette. All the walls and most of the administrative buildings are made with this material built in the southwest of the city. You can also visit the factory.

As soon as you enter the city, you will be bewitched by the charm of the beautifully well-preserved small vaulted streets. A visit is essential to fully understand the city. This very pleasant visit will allow you to walk the narrow streets of the fortified Medina without having to consult a map.

At the bend of a path, you will come across one of the oldest and most beautiful doors in Tunisia. This one is worked in palm wood. At the heart of the city, there is also the Koranic school and its imposing minaret, as well as the house of the bey, a sort of local governor. This house is also famous since it was used by Anthony Minghella to shoot some scenes of The English Patient. There is also a remarkable mashrabiya, a kind of palm wood window, allowing the woman to look outside without being seen. The visit lasts approximately one hour.

The medina is not very large, It has some covered streets and small squares, but it is known for its unique traditional architecture which uses bricks on the facades of buildings, forming a characteristic geometric decoration. Apart from the market, the narrow streets and the small shops of the souk, it is interesting to visit the small museum of archeology and popular traditions, located in the old Koubba of Sidi Bou Aissa.

The best preserved areas of the medina are to the left (east) of the museum, which houses the palace of the former governor (Dar-Bey). There is also the Medina and Sidi Sidi Lakhdar Ben Abi Taleb mosque.