Experience the best of Tozeur

Tozeur lies in the Djerid, the string of oases in south-western Tunisia, close to the Algerian border. Hundreds of thousands of date palms grow in gardens watered by springs, with pomegranates, citrus and vegetables in their shade. The old Ouled el-Hadef quarter is built of sand-coloured brick laid in raised geometric patterns, and narrow lanes run between its walls.

Beside the town the Chott el Djerid, a salt lake that is dry crust for most of the year, shimmers with mirages. To the north-west lie the mountain oases of Chebika, Tamerza and Mides, where palm groves, canyons and small waterfalls cut into the rock. The dunes and salt flats around Tozeur and Nefta stood in for the desert planet in the Star Wars films, and the Dar Cheraït museum shows traditional Tunisian life.

Dates are the town's wealth, and the Deglet Nour variety from these oases is exported widely. Meals bring lamb and couscous, brik pastries filled with egg, and the Tunisian tajine, a firm baked dish of egg, cheese and meat that has little in common with the Moroccan stew. Winter days are mild and sunny, and midsummer heat is fierce.