Every December, two towns in the southern region of Tunisia, share festivals dedicated to oasis life. Tozeur and Douz, about 65 miles apart schedule festivals back-to-back to honor their ancient history of nomadic life, camel caravans and traditional music.The very first festival, called the Camel festival, began in 1910 when Tunisia was under French rule. In 1967 it took on its modern identity according to the will of Habib Bourguiba, Tunisia’s first president of the new republic, to become the country’s oldest and best-known festival. M’hammed Marzougui, who dedicated his life to making people aware of and appreciate nomadic way of life and traditions, was mainly responsible for the festival’s foundation. Since then, every year at the end of December for four days, thousands of people, mostly from all over Tunisia and other Maghrebien countries flock to Douz.
