In March of every year, the state of Tataouine and its provinces live to the rhythm of the naja, folk poetry, Bedouin song and artistic evenings, as part of the activities of the International Festival of Desert Palaces in Tataouine, which opens in the city square in the presence of a large crowd as part of an opening carnival that includes equestrian performances, traditional clothes and desert Bedouin melodies secured by teams from the state and some of its agencies, in addition to other performances from brotherly and friendly countries, especially Libya, Egypt, and Palestine, in addition to others
The festival features a parade of old classic cars, as well as giant puppets and stilt walkers, before the official opening of the festival is announced
After the opening folkloric and carnival performances, major artistic evenings will continue throughout the days at the state’s cultural centers with artists from the region and from abroad who present musical performances inspired by the Tataouine heritage, and huge performances in several localities by artists from the region and from abroad amid audience interaction for songs from the southern and Libyan heritage, songs that inflame the throats of the audience with singing and dancing
On the third day of the major evenings, and amidst a large crowd, the “Al-Maqouq” evening kicks off, where folkloric groups present some of the traditional paintings with the passage of the Jahfa and dancing with sticks in a musical accompaniment of some artists and Okazi poetry in Tunisian Darija, before the ceremony concludes with a singing and poetry recital
Between poetry and singing, the festival in its latest edition attached great importance to the tourism dimension, as festival guests from Tunisia and abroad visit the mountain caves and Berber villages distributed throughout the province, which extends over a total area of 39,000 square kilometers, including: Chenni village, Bani Baraka village, Duwairat village, and some desert palaces, including Haddada Palace, Awlad Sultan Palace, and Bani Bilal Palace
Palaces… a history steeped in antiquity
Despite the passage of about a thousand years since their construction, desert palaces are still an important historical and cultural heritage and a cultural tributary that lives during the beginning of spring every year, as part of the International Festival of Desert Palaces in Tataouine and throughout the southernmost governorate of the country, to revive this historical and architectural heritage that tells important aspects of the region’s history
“If some Tunisian coastal cities have gained their civilizational components and their economic and tourism pillars from their presence on the coasts or from the extension of their fertile plains, a visitor to the southernmost city of Tataouine cannot go unnoticed by the palaces that have survived in the desert for more than nine centuries since their construction in the mid-11th century AD until today,” says Ibtisam Sabri, treasurer of the Women’s Association in Douirat (an Amazigh village)
There are many palaces in the southern Tunisian regions, especially the states of Medenine and Tataouine, which are home to dozens of ancient palaces with architecture steeped in history that takes from solidity and immunity at one end and beauty and geometric symmetry at the other
History says that Berbers and Amazighs were the first to build these palaces in the Middle Ages, specifically in the middle of the fifth century of the Hegira or the eleventh century AD
Ali Al Thabti, a researcher in history and archaeology in the southern Tunisian region, confirms that the palaces can be divided into three generations, the first generation, which is the oldest, which came on the mountain peaks and was characterized by the design of its palaces not subject to straight geometric shapes, but rather took into account the shapes of the peaks on which they were built with the absence of courtyards, but rather corridors leading to the rooms
The second-generation palaces were built later, and were more regular with square and rectangular courtyards and up to five floors. The third-generation palaces were built in the contemporary period, characterized by large courtyards and usually consisting of one or two floors
The first to build desert palaces were the Berber tribes who inhabited these areas in Tataouine and Medenine in southern Tunisia: Beno Slim, Ghadiri, Douiri, Hadad and others built these palaces to store and preserve agricultural crops for as long as possible, and the palaces also had security purposes, as they served as fortresses that protected the population from invasions by other tribes
According to geology researcher Habib Aljan, the desert palaces represented an important tributary to the history of the southern Tunisian regions, specifically Tataouine and Medenine, a civilizational legacy that contributed in one way or another to being a pillar of desert tourism in Tunisia
The main purpose of the palaces was to store agricultural products such as oil, wheat or barley, since there are special methods of storage that allow preserving the integrity of these materials for more than five years, and at the same time the palaces were a refuge for the Berber tribes to repel enemy invasions
There are approximately 160 desert palaces in the states of Tataouine and Medenine, including Qasr al-Haddada, located in the city of Ghamrasen, Qasr Oulad Dabab, and Qasr Oulad Sultan, one of the most important palaces in southern Tunisia, located near the city of Tataouine
Qasr Awlad Sultan is divided into two courtyards surrounded by rooms built on different levels and of varying sizes, while Qasr Beni Baraka is a palace located on the top of the Beni Baraka Mountain, east of the city of Raqqa in Tataouine Governorate
There is also the Chenni Palace, which is located i state, at a height of about 150 meters, while the number of rooms varies from one palace to another, usually around 200 or 300 rooms, depending on the number of floors
