Djerid

The Bled el Jerid (Arabic بلاد الجريد, DMG Bilād al - ǧarīd, land of date palms ') is a region in southern Tunisia at the northwestern edge of the salt lake Chott el Jerid. The main places of Bled el Jerid are the cities of Tozeur and Nefta. Livelihood of the region has always been the oases. The 50,000 residents of the Bled el Jerid consist of Arabs and Arabized Berbers and Haratin, descendants of black slaves, together.

History

The Bled el Jerid was already inhabited in Numidian time. The Romans erected on the southern border of their province of Africa border fortresses to protect against nomadic desert tribes. In early Christian times the Bled el Jerid was a stronghold of Christianity with episcopal sees in Thusurus ( Tozeur ) and Nepte ( Nefta ). After a brief period of rule of the Vandals and Byzantines, the Bled el Jerid was, like the rest of Tunisia, conquered in the 7th century by the Arabs who introduced Islam. In the Middle Ages the cities of Djerid experienced by the caravan trade between Black Africa and the Mediterranean, an economic boom, which also came many black slaves in the region. During the Turkish period led uprisings against the high taxation and nomadic incursions to a decline in the region.

Economy

The Djerid is with about 1.6 million palm trees oasis the most profitable area of Tunisia. The eponymous date palms provide over half of the annual date harvest in the country. Despite extreme climatic conditions ( high temperatures up to 50 ° C, annual rainfall between 80 and 120 mm ), the oases are very fertile, because they are powered by fossil water supplies. For irrigation traditionally artesian wells, and recently also used drilled wells. The water is directed by a set in the 13th century distribution system through a complex system of canals. The country is very unequal between a few large landowners and many small tenants who each have only a few palm trees, distributed.

The increased drilling of wells, the population growth in the region and not least the advent of tourism leads to exploitation of fossil water supplies. The lowering of the water table threatens the livelihoods of oasis farmers. 33.9161805555568.0067444444444Koordinaten: 33 ° 54 ' 58 " N, 8 ° 0' 24" E

  • Geography (Tunisia )
  • Region in Africa
  • Governorate of Tozeur
DIN 31635 Chott el Djerid Nafta, Tunisia Arab people Berber people Africa (Roman province) Slavery Phoenix (plant)
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