A glimpse of this region is obtained by driving from Gabes to (28 M.) Matmata-Kebira or Kalaâ-Matmata (1838 ft.; p. 388; quarters at the Kaïd’s), on the Matmata plateau, whence an excursion (on mule-back) should, if possible, be taken to the picturesque rock-village of Hadege. A new but very hilly road leads from Matmata-Kebira through the mountains viâ (12½ M.) Toudjane (919 ft.), a village grandly situated on the slopes of Kef Toudjane (2090 ft.), direct to (37½ M.) Métameur (see below).

The Médenine Road (diligence, see p. 388) now leads to the S.E. through a steppe-like hill-country, fringing the Monts des Ksour (p. 390) and intersected by many valleys, passing the small oases of Menara (200 ft.) and (55 M.) Teboulbou (artesian wells; much olive-culture). Next come the valleys of the Oued Merzig and Oued Ferd, with the small oasis of (56 M.) Ketena.

74 M. Mareth (Bordj), a large palm-oasis on the Oued Mareth. We then cross the Oued Zigraou to (77 M.) Aram. Beyond the spurs of Jebel Touati and Jebel Souinia rises the main range of the Monts des Ksour (p. 390).

Beyond the valleys of the Oued Zeus and Oued Hallouf the road rounds Jebel Tadjera (968 ft.; Poste Optique). 97½ M. Métameur, formerly a ‘camp militaire’, on the brook of that name, below the small oasis and (½ hr.) Berber village of Ksar Métameur (391 ft.), whose storehouses (rhorfas), with keel-arched vaulting, recall very ancient buildings in Asia Minor.

101 M. Médenine (361 ft.; Médenine Hôtel, R. 2½, B. ½, déj. 2½ fr., good; pop. 1000, incl. 100 Europeans), capital of the Ouerghamma (see above), the league of the Berber tribes Khezour, Touazine, Ouderna, and Accara. The high-lying Camp Militaire, with its garrison of Spahis (p. 390) and Infanterie Légère d’Afrique (‘Joyeux’), is the largest on the Tripolitanian frontier.

The deserted and ruinous *Ksar, in a small palm-oasis, consists of a great number of the old storehouses of the League, some of them in four or five stories, now replaced by retbas or rabtas (p. 338). They are dug deeply in the hill-side, and are accessible only by stairs of mud or stepping-stones.

Travellers used to privations and content with such poor quarters as the natives can offer may, after consulting the military authorities at Médenine, visit the S. part of the Monts des Ksour (p. 390). The best centre there is (34 M.) Tatahouine, the seat of the military and civil authorities, with an important market, well attended by caravans on their way from the Sahara and the Sudan by way of Ghadâmes in Tripolitania (p. 285). The chief villages of the cave-dwellers (Ksûr) near this are Tlalet, formerly Talalati, a frontier-fortress on the Limes Tripolitanus (p. 412), Beni-Barca, *Chenini, and *Douirat (2090 ft.).

The Zarzis Road (37½ M.) descends to the E. from Médenine through the sandy coast-plain to (15½ M.) Aïn-Mader, near the saline marshes of that name on the S. bank of the Mer de Bou-Grara (see below), and then traverses the hill-region of the Accara tribe (p. 391), between the sea and the large Sebkha el-Melah.

To the left, a little off the road, 4 M. from Zarzis, are the ruins of the little Roman town of Zita, now Zian, where the small forum is still enclosed with the remains of its colonnade.

37½ M. (or from Graïba 138½ M.) Zarzis (accommodation at the Bordj), on the site of the Roman seaport Gergis, amidst extensive olive-groves famed for their oil, has two artesian wells and a small harbour for fishing-boats. Important sponge-fishery.

A road (the chief route to the island of Djerba) leads to the N.W. from Zarzis across the Péninsule de Zarzis or des Accara to (14½ M., or, from Graïba, 153 M.) Marsa el-Kantara, a village near the Râs Marmor, on the S. side of the E. entrance (1¼ M. wide) to the Mer de Bou-Grara (see below). The dilapidated Roman dam which crosses the strait here to El-Kantara is still used by camel-caravans at low tide (6½ ft. below high-water), but it is better to cross by fishing-boat. From El-Kantara to Houmt-Souk, see p. 394.

The Djorf Bou-Grara Route to Djerba is shorter (30 M.) and will repay antiquarians. The rough road (mule preferable to carr.) leads from Médenine to the N.E. viâ Bir Saâdou, and then past some small salt-marshes, to the Mer de Bou-Grara, a large landlocked bay between the mainland and the island of Djerba, accessible for large vessels by the Canal d’Adjim only (not quite 1 M. across; see p. 393). This bay, in which fish abound, and Lake Bizerta (p. 352) are the best natural harbours in Tunisia.

17½ M. (or from Graïba 118½ M.) Djorf Bou-Grara (no inn) is near the site of *Gightis, a small Punic-Roman seaport, which attained great prosperity in the 2nd cent. A.D. The harbour, which was always shallow at low tide, is now entirely silted up. Excavations begun in 1896 have revealed the ruins of curiously cramped and irregular streets, with various public buildings, villas remarkable for their coloured incrustation and rich mosaics, and Byzantine houses built of Roman materials.

A broad street ascends from the harbour to the Macellum, with fountain and exedra similar to those at Timgad (p. 295). The small Forum, 60 by 44 yds., has on the E. side an archway, the Curia, and the Market Basilica, with the tribunal, while the Severus Arch on the N. side formed a lateral entrance. On the S. side rises the Capitol (see p. 288), in the style of the capitol or ‘Jupiter temple’ at Pompeii.

The Temple of Mercury, to the S. of the forum, has columns in its peribolos, or outer wall, with curious capitals adorned with cables, in allusion to the occupation of the founder. The building is curiously planned, having several small rooms or ‘sacristies’ behind the cella; it is adjoined by a chapel of Mercury and one of Minerva.

A Temple of Isis (?), a Temple of Hygiea, the Thermae, and a late-Punic Cemetery also have been unearthed.

If a fishing-boat is available at Djorf Bou-Grara we may sail direct to Adjim (p. 394; 13½ M. in ca. 1½ hr.). If not, we must go 12½ M. farther to (30 M., or from Graïba, 131 M.) Marsa el-Adjim at the Râs el-Djorf, the N. point of the peninsula, opposite Adjim (1⅓ M. distant; boat in ¼ hr.).

The Island of Djerba (highest point 118 ft.), 17½ by 14 M., is the largest on the N. African coast. From the lotus-tree (Zizyphus Lotus; Arabic nebga, Fr. jujubier), which thrives here, Homer called it the island of the Lotophagi. It was later named Meninx and was the birthplace of the Roman emperors Vibius Gallus and Volusianus (251–3). It is now one of the most fertile and prosperous regions in Tunisia. Secure in their insularity against the attacks of the nomadic Arabs, the inhabitants (about 40,000), mostly Berbers of the Kharijite sect (p. 323), have retained their old language and customs. They vie in industry with their kinsmen the Mozabites (p. 216) and go forth as traders to all the seaports of the Orient. Agriculture also thrives. There are 1,300,000 date-palms, 500,000 olive-trees, and as many orange, lemon, and peach trees; early vegetables too are now largely grown. The sponge, polypus, and other fisheries and the oyster-beds in the Canal d’Adjim (p. 392) are very productive.

Djerba has four harbours, Houmt-Souk, Adjim, El-Kantara, and Aghir. The only towns are Houmt-Souk, Hara-Kebîra, and Hara-Serîra; the villages are merely local markets for their districts. The countless little mosques have white domes like most of the houses, but are distinguished by conspicuous slender minarets of the Turkish type, resembling lighthouses. The farm-houses (menzel) scattered throughout the island often have a castellated appearance. In the entire absence of brooks the soil is irrigated from cisterns and wells, among which are two very copious artesian wells. The winter climate (p. 321) is the mildest in Tunisia, but gales are frequent. For excursions there are few carriages available (20 fr. per day); the usual conveyance is an araba or country-cart; for a mule the charge is 4–5, for a donkey 3 fr. per day. The tourist should beware of the countless scorpions, especially in the warmer season.

Houmt-Souk (Hôt. de l’Oasis or Crolet; Hôt. de France; Brit. cons. agent; pop. 5900, incl. 560 Maltese, French, Italians, and Greeks), the capital of the island, lies on the sandy N. coast, ½ M. from the sea and 5 M. from the anchorage of the steamers (comp. p. 405). The dilapidated Bordj el-Kebîr on the shore recalls the time of the Spanish domination. Near it is the Christian Cemetery, where repose the bones, collected in 1848, of the 18,000 Spaniards who were massacred here in 1560 after the naval victory of Dragut (p. 370) and Ochiali Pasha, and yielded trophies for the ghastly Bordj er-Rious (tower of skulls).

In the interesting Souks (Mon. and Thurs.) are seen all the products of the island. Among the numerous religious buildings may be named the Mosquée el-Gheriba and the Mosquée des Turcs.

A road leads to the S. from Houmt-Souk to the Jewish villages of (¾ M.) Hara-Kebîra (pop. 3500) and (4½ M.) Hara-Serîra or Hara-Sghîra (pop. 1500), where numerous goldsmiths make silver-gilt trinkets of antique and Byzantine patterns, with enamel and jewels (mostly imitation). The Gheriba, the synagogue of Hara-Serîra, where, according to an old tradition, one of the tables of the law of Moses was once found, is a great resort of Jewish pilgrims from S. Tunisia and Tripolitania, and is much revered by Moslems and Catholics also.—From Hara-Serîra the road leads to the S. to (14½ M.) Guallala, the centre of the pottery-manufacture carried on in Djerba ever since ancient times (oil-jars, porous water-jugs, vases, etc.). Near it is the hill of Dahrat-Guallala, which yields the clay.

A road leads to the S.E. from Houmt-Souk viâ Hara-Kebîra (see above) and (10⅓ M.) Cedouikeche (potteries) to (15½ M.) El-Kantara, the seaport for Zarzis (p. 392), not far from the extensive but unimportant ruins of Meninx, the ancient capital of the island.—Another road leads to the S.W. to (14 M.) Adjim, a rising little seaport and market (Wed.), with an artesian well 760 ft. deep. To Djorf Bou-Grara (and Gightis), see p. 392.

Near the E. coast of the island, on the roads to the Râs Taguermess (p. 406) and the small summer harbour of Aghir, lie the villages of Midoune (Frid. market) and Mahboubine, with many villas of the merchants of Houmt-Souk, situated amid palm and olive groves and charming *Fruit Gardens, where the oranges and lemons blossom in March. On the road to Midoune is the Mausolée de Borgho, the only intact Roman monument in the island.