Douz

Douz
Commune and town
Douz during the Festival of the Sahara
Douz is located in Tunisia Douz Location in Tunisia
Coordinates:
Country	Tunisia
Governorate	Kebili
Population (2014)
• Total	47,182
Time zone	CET (UTC1)

Douz (Tunisian Arabic: دوز‎ <phonos file="Douz.wav">dūz</phonos>) is a town in the Kebili Governorate in the south of Tunisia, known as the "gateway to the Sahara." By road it is located 31 kilometres (19 mi) kilometres southwest of Blidet, 125 kilometres (78 mi) southeast of Tozeur, and 475 kilometres (295 mi) south of the Tunisian capital of Tunis. It has been called the "ultimate palm oasis", because it has over 500,000 palm trees in the area, and it is a major producer of "diglat noor" dates. In previous times it was an important stop on the trans-Saharan caravan routes. Today, it is destination for tourists who are interested in seeing the desert, and a starting point for desert treks by camel, motorcycle, or four-wheel-drive vehicle.

Desert oasis of Douz

Douz Hospital

Every year Douz hosts the International Festival of the Sahara, a four-day celebration of traditional desert culture. The festival, usually held in November or December, features traditional music and dancing, poetry readings, camel wrestling, and racing of horses and salugis. Douz is home to the Museum of the Sahara, which showcases displays on traditional nomadic desert culture of the Mrazig people who now mostly live a settled life in the town.