Douz
{{Distinguish|text=Douze, a river in France}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name =Douz
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|settlement_type =Commune and town
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|image_skyline =Tunisia 10-12 - 064 - Douz and the Festival of the Sahara (6609290791).jpg
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|image_caption = Douz during the Festival of the Sahara, 2010
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|pushpin_map = Tunisia
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|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = 25px Tunisia
|subdivision_type1 = Governorate
|subdivision_name1 = Kebili Governorate
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|population_as_of =2022
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|population_total =34221
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|coordinates = {{coord|33|27|N|9|1|E|region:TN|display=inline,title}}
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Douz ({{langx|ar|دوز}} {{audio|help=no|Douz.wav|dūz}}) is a town in the Kebili Governorate in the south of Tunisia, known as the "gateway to the Sahara."{{cite book|last1=Trillo|first1=Richard|last2=Gregg|first2=Emma|title=The Rough Guide to First-Time Africa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TJvfP3sglfQC&pg=PA385|access-date=28 January 2013|date=1 April 2011|publisher=Rough Guides Limited|isbn=978-1-84836-481-3|page=385}} By road it is located {{convert| 31|km}} southwest of Blidet, {{convert|125|km}} southeast of Tozeur, and {{convert|475|km}} south of the Tunisian capital of Tunis.{{Google maps | url =https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=33.45,9.016667&spn=0.1,0.1&t=h&q=33.45,9.016667 | access-date = 28 January 2013 }}
History
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 a 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.{{cite book|last=McCloskey|first=Joseph|title=Memoirs of a Biker: Traveling the Long Road|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m2sT1TsKXT4C&pg=PA108|access-date=28 January 2013|date=14 October 2009|publisher=Trafford Publishing|isbn=978-1-4251-1021-5|page=108}}{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=January 2018}}{{cite book|last=Hureau|first=Jean|title=Tunisia today|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t5gJAQAAIAAJ|access-date=29 January 2013|date=June 1977|publisher=Éditions J.A.|page=87|isbn=9782852580527}}
Culture
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.{{cite book|last1=Magi|first1=Giovanna|last2=Fabbri|first2=Patrizia|title=Art and History: Tunisia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6EqO8WHEa4oC&pg=PA103|access-date=28 January 2013|date=20 January 2008|publisher=Casa Editrice Bonechi|isbn=978-88-476-2177-0|page=103}} 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.{{cite book|title=Unesco field mission reports on Muslim countries: an annotated bibliography from 1947-1991|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0ZTgAAAAMAAJ|access-date=28 January 2013|year=1995|publisher=Vikas Pub. House|isbn=978-0-7069-9860-3|page=134}}
Demography
The majority of inhabitants of Douz are from Arab descent (Banu Sulaym){{cite journal |last1=Anagnostou |first1=Paolo |last2=Dominici |first2=Valentina |last3=Battaggia |first3=Cinzia |last4=Boukhchim |first4=Nouri |last5=Ben Nasr |first5=Jaâfar |last6=Boussoffara |first6=Ridha |last7=Cancellieri |first7=Emanuele |last8=Marnaoui |first8=Marwa |last9=Marzouki |first9=Meriem |last10=Bel Haj Brahim |first10=Hedi |last11=Bou Rass |first11=Mongi |last12=Lernia |first12=Savino |last13=Destro Bisol |first13=Giovanni |title=Berbers and Arabs: Tracing the genetic diversity and history of Southern Tunisia through genome wide analysis |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |date=December 2020 |volume=173 |issue=4 |pages=697–708 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.24139 |pmid=32936953 |s2cid=221770812 |hdl=11573/1438607 |hdl-access=free }}
Douz is the home of Mrazig people.
{{Clear}}
Gallery
File:ASC Leiden - van Achterberg Collection - 4 - 002 - Une femme en robe brune traditionnelle avec un foulard blanc au marché - Douz, Kébili, Tunisie, 2-16 décembre 1997.tif|A woman in red traditional clothing on the market, Douz 1997
File:ASC Leiden - van Achterberg Collection - 4 - 003 - Une rue avec des maisons basses. Pylônes électriques. Trois femmes. Un homme sur un cyclomoteur - Douz, Kébili, Tunisie, 2-16 décembre 1997.tif|Douz street view with motorcyclist, 1997
File:ASC Leiden - van Achterberg Collection - 4 - 005 - Trois dromadaires sur une plaine sablonneuse devant un village de palmiers - Douz, Kébili, Tunisie, 2-16 décembre 1997.tif|Three dromedaries, Douz, 1997
File:ASC Leiden - van Achterberg Collection - 4 - 008 - Un palmier dattier avec des grappes de dattes en plastique blanc pour les protéger - Douz, Kébili, Tunisie, 2-16 décembre 1997.tif|Date palmes with dates in plastic for protection, Douz 1997
File:ASC Leiden - van Achterberg Collection - 3 - 093 - Un marché de bétail avec des moutons et des chameaux, entre autres - Douz, Kébili, Tunisie - décembre 1997.tif|Dromedaries at a market, Douz, 1997
HospitalDouz.JPG|"Hôpital de Douz", Douz Hospital, 2007
Datellager in Douz.jpg|Harvested dates waiting for further processing, 2016
Donkey cart in Douz.jpg|Donkey cart, 2016
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category-inline|Douz|Douz}}
{{Communes of Tunisia}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Populated places in Kebili Governorate
{{Tunisia-geo-stub}}