Music fans are Mad for it
of clay honeycombs used as a filming location for Star Wars, and of course Matmata, where the local Berber people still live in holes in the ground. Tozeur and Douz These two date palm oases have been here for centuries, but it was the movie business which really put them on the map.
Big hits like Star Wars, Gladiator and the English Patient were filmed here and bits of film set have been left standing in the desert.
Today, Tozeur has a well-connected airport and a labyrinthine old quarter with delicately-patterned brickwork. But everyone should visit the palmerie (where the date palms grow) whose green filtered light comes as real therapy for eyes that have IF you want a weekend of Madness you can get it at Portsmouth next weekend. Tickets are still available for the Victorious festival, which in includes Suggs and his b band, the Stereophonics, E Elbow, Ritaa Ora, Olly Murs, F Franz Ferdinand nand and grown weary with the endless beige of dry deserts. Leaves overhead twitter and rustle, distant voices argue over irrigation and old men lurch down pathways patched with squashed dates, seeking fresh grass for their donkeys. The Chott El Jerid Although it’s best known for the Sahara, the south of Tunisia has another extraordinary landscape in the form of three salt lakes, which run all the way from the coast to the Algerian border.
The biggest is the Chott El Jerid, a 5,000 sq km expanse which is pancake flat and covered in a vast crust. Alas, there’s practically no water here, despite what the mirages suggest.
The Tozeur to Douz causeway is the only way of others. There is also a KidsArena, Real Ale Village and Happy’s Circus. Prices for the three-day festival at Southsea Seafront start at £35. Go to victoriousfestival.co.uk for more details. crossing the Chott with safety, avoiding the quicksands. On first sight of this part of Tunisia, you might be reminded of that old Morecambe and Wise exchange: Ernie: “Isn’t the desert romantic?” Eric: “Ah, but what will it be like when the tide comes in?” Limited options Most big tour operators are not re-starting their programmes until next season, which means no direct charter flights to the resorts. But you can fly in to Tunis on scheduled airlines with a tour operator like Tunisia First, tunisiafirst.co.uk, who currently offer seven nights half board in a four star hotel in Hammamet for £565 per person, including international flights and transfers. I WANT to take my husband on holiday for our anniversary next month where we can see a grand prix. What do you suggest? YOU will have to get your skates on and it will not be cheap, but Iglu Cruise has got just what you are after – a 13-night trip including a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas for £1,599pp, flying from London on September 7. The deal includes flights, a two-night Hong Kong hotel stay and four nights in Singapore for the grand prix, F1 Grandstand Tickets and after race concerts featuring Duran Duran, Ariana Grande and Seal. Then the cruise to Vietnam, including stops at Hue and Nha Trang. Call 0203 733 5557 or see iglucruise.com.