Tunisia Trip -- Part Thirty One

Then it was on to Gabes, where we would spend the night. Gabes is reputed to be the world's only seaside oasis and was a major manufacturing and trading center in the ancient world. Today it is overshadowed by other cities in the region.

Our first stop was at the spice market.


My wife informs me that the green material in the foreground is henna, one of the city's local products.


In the following two photos you can see shops selling baskets, another local product for which the city is known.



The oasis contains approximately half a million trees and produces dates, apricots, figs, olives and pomegranates. None of these are of particularly high quality, though, so the town earns much of its living from the sea.


Mmmmmm. Dried anchovies.

The central mosque.



We wandered around shopping for a while, then got on the bus and went to the hotel where we checked in, rested up, and then ate dinner.