City of the date palms
25.000 inhabitants and over 400.000 palm trees - that is Tozeur, the governorate and capital of the Bled-El-Djerid oases. As an important station for monitoring the caravan routes, Tozeur was first mentioned in the 2nd century AD under the name "Thusuros". In the 11th century, the Arab geographer El Bakry wrote about the 10 square meter oasis that its wealth of dates was so great that 1.000 camels could be loaded with them every day. The adobe architecture with beautiful geometric decorations is typical of the region.
Tozeur is the hometown of the greatest Tunisian poet Aboulkacem Chebbi (1909-1934). Among other things, he wrote the national anthem.
The date palm, which can live up to 200 years, has male and female trees. Only one male plant is required to fertilize around 50 female palms. Pollination by natural means is insufficient, which is why farmers can often be seen climbing onto the tall trunks at the time of flowering in March. The dates are ripe between September and November, depending on the variety, a tree can carry up to 150 kg of them. The decapitated palm, which is fermented into wine, is a special delicacy. The dates grown here have always been the livelihood of the inhabitants.
