Tunisia Guide
The Tell
Much of central Tunisia lies within the Tell, a region which begins to the southwest of Tunis with fertile plains – good, well-watered farming land – but rises quickly into the Dorsale mountains, the highest in the country, forming a barrier from Zaghouan to Kasserine. Beyond, to the south, lie empty and infertile steppes which fade towards the east into the Sahel.
Tour groups make their way from the coast to the main Roman sites of Thuburbo Majus, Maktar, Sbeïtla and, above all, Dougga, but they largely neglect the region's less obvious attractions. Zaghouan, an unspoilt market town just an hour from Tunis, sits below the country's most spectacular mountain, Jebel Zaghouan, whose foothills harbour a group of isolated Berber villages. Testour was built up by Andalusian settlers and retains a very Spanish flavour, with a glorious seventeenth-century minaret more like a Toledo church tower. Over by the Algerian border is Le Kef, a historic mountainside town that looks out over landscapes reminiscent of the American West. Hidden here, and virtually unvisited, are Haïdra, one of the most majestic Roman sites in the country, and Jugurtha's Table, a flat-topped mountain that served as a bandit's lair for many centuries.
Highlights
1 Zaghouan A pretty market village with an alpine feel, clinging to the slopes of Tunisia's most spectacular mountain.
2 Thuburbo Majus Perhaps the most idyllic of the major Roman sites, surrounded by rolling wheat fields.
3 Dougga The largest and most dramatic Roman site in the country, with a majestic Capitol looking out over the town and valley below.
4 Le Kef A little-visited town in a breathtaking location, sprawling down the side of a mountain beneath its historic Medina and Kasbah.
5 Jugurtha's Table Spectacular Tell scenery from this rugged flat-top peak, and not another tourist in sight.
6 Haïdra An old Roman border town, minimally excavated but stunning in its remoteness, close to the Algerian frontier.
7 Sbeïtla The remarkably well-preserved Roman Forum here offers the ultimate photo opportunity.