Sahara desert Village

The mysterious country of the warm sun, desert heat and cool oases, date palms and spiced jasmine is magical Tunisia. For many vacationers this is the country of the cleanest sandy beaches, a serene rest in an atmosphere of warmth and peace, but certainly there is something to see in Tunisia and outside the beach, going on a trip to interesting places such as sacred temples, the magnificent Carthage, the Colosseum, the hot Sahara and other memorable sights of Tunisia.

One of the most famous and mysterious places in Tunisia is undoubtedly the Sahara desert. It occupies about 30% of the total area of Africa and is the largest in the world. In addition to Tunisia, it captures the territories of such countries as Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, Chad, Mali. The name Sahara comes from the Arabic word (sahra), which means "desert".

The vast territory of the Sahara is almost uninhabited, and that few of the ethnic groups that live here lead a nomadic lifestyle and settle near water sources and vegetation. Desert vegetation is scarce. Occasionally, there are only a few shrubs and herbs on the way; in the mountainous areas, you can see olive, cypress, acacia, oleander, date, fig, ziziphus. As for the fauna, there are only a few dozen species of mammals and birds (antelope, cheetah, jackal, hyena, donkey, ram, jerboa, hare, mongoose, raven, owl, grouse, sparrow) in the Sahara. In the sandy and stony areas of the Sahara, vipers and cobras lurked. One-humped camel, has become a hallmark and a kind of synonym for the Sahara desert.

The Berbers are a North African people, artificially divided by the borders of the Maghreb countries. Before coming to this land in the VII - VIII centuries. Arabs Berbers did not know the obstacles to the free movement of the expanses of North Africa. Now, in all countries of the region, they are in the position of national minorities, although in real numbers they are far from everywhere in the minority. Accurate data on the number of Berbers not. According to various sources, there are up to 20 million people in the world.

Most of the Berbers live in Morocco (according to official data, they make up 60% of the population of this country), another 30% live in Algeria, the rest are distributed in approximately equal proportions between Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. In addition, substantial Berber groups live in France (1.2 million people), Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, the USA and Australia.

The history of the Berbers has, according to various sources, from 3 to 11 thousand years. According to some reports, it was the Berbers who created a civilization in North Africa, the heirs of which were the ancient Egyptians, and the culture of the Berbers gave rise to the entire Maghreb culture. In any case, by the time the Arabs arrived here in the 7th - 8th centuries. Berbers were the undivided masters of the entire territory of North Africa, having survived the Phoenician and Roman civilizations, traces of which have been preserved in the territory of the Maghreb countries to the present.

Berbers prefer to use unglazed pottery. In their houses you can find modest ceramics decorated with simple patterns of conservative colors - black and brown. In those areas where there are almost no tourists, dishes are made without the use of potter's wheel. Masters stack flagella from wet clay in a spiral, this is how tableware is formed. Before roasting, dishes are processed with a smooth object until shine appears. After heat treatment, the surface becomes moisture-proof. The patterns depicted in Berber ceramics are usually associated with nature and agriculture. On the dishes you can see images of the sun, natural elements and protective symbols. On the real Berber ceramics, you can often see geometric shapes: triangles, crosses, circles, spirals, etc.

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