Full Day

FULL DAY TOUR TO OUDHNA,ZAGHOUAN & ZRIBA OLIA

08h00: depart to Oudhna
10h00: Arrive and visit the Uthna Amphitheater
11h00: Drive to Zaghouan
12h00: Arrive and visit the Water Temple and the Andalusian city of Zaghouan
13h00: Drive to Zriba Olya
13h30: typical lunch
14h30: Visit the Berber village of Zriba Oliya
16h00: return to your hotel of stay

After pickup from your hotel or port in La Goulette, heading to Zaghouan means preparing for a bucolic day in the heart of a city that jealously preserves its Andalusian heritage. From Tunis, the road runs alongside a partially restored Roman aqueduct, a reminder that Tunis has been drinking from spring water from the mountain overlooking Zaghouan since ancient times. Along the way, archaeology enthusiasts will appreciate the site of Oudna, a Punic city that later became Roman. The villa known as "Laberii," with its thirty rooms and 2,300 m², is worth a special visit for its mosaics.

Thirty kilometers away, Zaghouan is nestled on the verdant slopes of the mountain of the same name. A small town with Andalusian ceramics and hanging balconies, it invites you to stroll and explore. Arriving in Zaghouan
We'll first stop to visit the Nymphaeum or the Temple of Waters, which marks the location of the spring. This semicircular collection basin was a public fountain, protected by Neptune. A café, adjacent to the temple, in a small wooded park, will allow you to quench your thirst.
We'll head to the heights of the city to discover the Andalusian soul. A refuge for Moorish women fleeing the Inquisition, it perpetuates its own traditions, including the distillation of rosehip flower, whose water flavors "Kaak Ouarka," a delicious local pastry.
We'll visit the Temimi Foundation, in the heart of the historic center, which preserves documents on the Moriscos as well as their relationship with the Mediterranean environment. We'll stop to make a wish at the zaouia of Sidi Ali Azouz, the city's patron saint, whose mausoleum is a marvel of Arab-Andalusian architectural art.
After lunch, not far away, the ancient village of Zriba Olia (Upper Zriba), of Berber origin, is located about three kilometers south of Hammam Zriba. Built between two rocky peaks, the now ruined village offers a view of Jebel Zaghouan, the fourth highest peak in Tunisia after Jebel Chambi.
In the middle of the ancient village stands a zaouia dedicated to Sidi Abdel Kader Jilani, founder of the Qadiriyya, buried in Baghdad. This zaouia, built in the 17th century, has undergone extensive restoration; it houses ancient architectural elements and served as a Koranic school (kouttab) for young villagers.
Zriba was deserted by its inhabitants in the 1960s, after the development of the new town on the plain. In 2010, the four or five families still living there totaled around twenty souls. Most of the vaulted houses, although in ruins, serve as sheepfolds.