Tunisia - Hot Sulphur Spring in the Yes-or-Maybe-Lost Place

Daniela - we met her "by mistake" in Douz - tells us something about hot springs near Tozeur. I only listen with half an ear to the name of the place, thinking to myself, oh, I'll probably find "hot spring" on Google Maps alone.

Fiddlesticks. That doesn't work so well here because Google Maps is used and filled by everyone in a rather freestyle way. So no hot sources this time. That's just the way it is.

So we drive towards the salt lake, pass Kebili, which is supposed to be the hottest town in Africa (but not today, we throw on a second cardigan) and continue to a somewhat remote campsite directly at the lake, which, by the way, turns out to be a sandy area.

Before we get there, however, we discover a bit off to the left of us a huge building steaming out of the roof. Gerd turns the steering wheel in his well-known racing manner (he brakes, turns in 5 moves, just like "my racing driver" does) and we decide to take a closer look.

Zaouiet el Anes Hot Springs

When we get out, we are astonished: a huge open building that lets water bubble down with - let's say - an interesting tangle of pipes. The whole building is steaming, and on the lower floor men of all ages sit in swimming shorts and let the warm water splash down on their backs.

Why all this?

100 metres underground there is a hot spring that lives up to its name: it is 95° Celsius hot. The water would probably be used for the palm trees, but it is clearly too hot. So it is pumped up onto the roof of this strange building with a pompous pump and inside it simply falls down through this tangle of pipes and distribution system. So the air cools the water. Sometimes it's that simple.

So the men shower in water that is about 40 to 50° warm. Downstairs, the water is collected again in a basin and passed on to the individual plantations via Maya-like structures. 

The whole thing looks so surreal. 

I would love to jump in here, too, but my uncertainty about how it will be perceived here when a woman sits down almost naked (okay, bikini is almost like naked here) next to the men prevails and so we just climb along the water rows.

On leaving the complex, we also see lost-place-like ticket booths and an overgrown hotel complex. Obviously, the whole place used to be a wellness area. But those days are probably long gone.

We end the evening in one of the nearby palm groves with a fantastic sunset and trillions of flies (good thing we have a good insect net on Felix's door) and great conversations with our loved ones back home.

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Merci for "travelling with us

We are thinking about taking another break from travelling in the summer and visiting our families in Germany and Switzerland. One of the ideas is to organise a Lecture about our long journey to the Persian Gulf to prepare. If you would like to, what would interest you the most? We will also tell stories here that don't find a place here on the blog. We're thinking of the Bern and Berlin area - simply because we have family there. But other places are also conceivable. Feel free to write to us.

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