Tunisia - The multi-day Sahara Festival in Douz

Tunisia - The multi-day Sahara Festival in Douz

We are a super-smart team, we book a pitch at the campsite in the centre of town. 

As soon as we arrive, we first discover that we are standing next to an illegal rubbish dump. In addition, the pitches are almost double sold, there is hardly any space for table and chairs. 

Okay, then let's get into the festival city life: We don't have to ask for directions, the acoustic guidance is clear.

Here, everyone honks, roars, shouts and whistles against each other, but still can't manage to drown out the noise of the procession. And we are right in the middle. For the beginning still okay, because of the badly slept night and the rising heat at some point difficult for me (If only I had a little of Gerd's coolness).

Instead of discovering the restaurants Traveller-style, we aim straight for the one restaurant we got as a recommendation from other travellers. Inner courtyard. Quiet. And once again, friendly people around us and delicious food on the table. 

Thanks to Jochen and Petra for the tip!

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In the afternoon, the action continues: apparently camel, horse and whatnot races take place on the festival grounds. 

People are crowded together in the blazing sun. Time to watch the people again. The festival is a huge gathering of people from Tunisia, Algeria and Libya. Everything is peace and quiet. No sign of border disputes. 

The stadium presenter also manages to bring us out of our sunshine lethargy again and again: loudly, with drums and in two or more languages (who knows exactly?) he calls out things, reports on the arrival of some minister or other and, I think, calls all the animals and riders by name, including their pedigrees. 

Two hours of speeches later: the races. But they are so fast that we don't even notice the first one: in no time, they are already past the grandstand.

We pay more attention at the next race: As the camels race past, we catch everything. Unfortunately, we also see how a jockey (is that what you actually call a camel?) almost hits his camel because the camel just doesn't want to go. The crowd booed and whistled, he jumped off and the camel was taken aside by a groom. Not nice.

We save ourselves the dog chase, we have seen enough (animal suffering) for today. We stroll slowly back, stroll through the makeshift Berber village and simply marvel at the colourful hustle and bustle. Somehow we find the hustle and bustle at such a festival almost nicer than the organised "highlights".

In the evening at Felix, a stupid "mimimi" argument ensues. The noise, the heat, the many animals that have to suffer and the masses of impressions lead to an overload in my head. We retreat, wait until the party music stops and an idea forms in my head: just get out of here. And I already have an idea. I told you: Team Super Smart.

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Merci for "travelling with us

Here you can find our future lectures:

Our current and past lectures are listed here. You can register via the links next to the dates. There will probably be new ones every now and then, so make a note of the link!

Date: 25 & 26 October 2024
Our lectures: 25. 10. 14:00 & 26.10. 10:40
Location: Switzerland, two Vanlife lectures at the Suisse Caravan Salon Bern
Registration: not necessary, but you have to pay admission to the Caravan Salon (or contact us, we can give away a few day tickets).

Date: 25 & 26 October 2024
Our lectures: 25. 10. 12:00 & 26.10. 14:00
Location: Switzerland, two Vanlife lectures at the Suisse Caravan Salon Bern
Registration: not necessary, but you have to pay admission to the Caravan Salon (or contact us, we can give away a few day tickets).

Date: 24 November 2024 4 pm (doors open at 3 pm)
Location: Germany, Landgasthof zum Mühlenteich 15345 Eggersdorf near Berlin
Registration: https://forms.gle/5XFgSz31NKzmCzmT8


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Rachel
Rachel
1 year ago

Oh,oh ...don't argue. ☝️
The space in Felix is too small for that and you don't have enough china! 🤣😂
Besides, what for ? 🤷

I couldn't pack this festival halligalli either.
Especially in these countries, as far as my experience allows, always a noisy affair with a lot of bustle .
This overtaxes the mind that tends towards calm and stillness. 😁
My next experience:
Too much silence and stillness makes you even more sensitive in this respect. 🥴
So, since I can't reread the text I already wrote because I can only see the last 3 lines, I hope there are no mistakes. 😂
Have a great day and take care of yourselves!
Kind regards from Racheli

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