Douiret (

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

: Eddwirat or igherman, ar, دويرات) is a ruined

village in the

Tataouine Tataouine ( ber, Tiṭṭawin; ar, تطاوين) is a city in southern Tunisia. It is the capital of the Tataouine Governorate. The below-ground "cave dwellings" of the native Berber population, designed for coolness and protection, render the ...

district in southern

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. Located on a hilltop near a modern village of the same name, Douiret was a fortified

granary A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animal ...

, or

ksar Ksar or qsar (Maghrebi Arabic: wiktionary:قصر, قصر ''qṣer'' or ڭصر ''gser'', plural ''qṣur''; Berber language, Berber: ⵉⴴⵔⵎ ''aghrem'' or ''ighrem'', plural: ''igherman''), plural ksars, qsars, ksour or qsour, is the Nor ...

(plural ''ksour''.) Like other ksour created by North African Berber communities, Douiret was built on a hilltop to help protect it from raiding parties. Douiret is a regular stop on southern Tunisia's

trail, along with the villages of

Chenini Chenini ( ar, شنيني) is a ruined Berber village in the Tataouine district in southern Tunisia. Located on a hilltop near a modern village of the same name, Chenini was a fortified granary, or ksar (plural ''ksour''.) Like other ksour crea ...

Ksar Ouled Soltane Ksar Ouled Soltane ( ar, قصر أولاد سلطان ) is a fortified granary, or ksar, located in the Tataouine district in southern Tunisia. The ksar is spread out over two courtyards, each of which has a perimeter of multi-story vaulted granary ...

and

Ksar Hadada Ksar Hadada ( ar, قصر حدادة), sometimes known as Ksar Hedada, is a village in southeastern Tunisia. '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' was filmed here. The population at the 2004 census was 1298, and 1142 in 2014. Geograph ...

. The old village of Douiret is located 22 km southwest of Tataouine in a rugged mountainous region. The old village transformed into ruins is surmounted by its citadel or ksar overlooking troglodyte houses dug in the mountain and aligned in a meandering fashion along its cliff. A path of about 3 km is lined up with abandoned dwellings mostly in ruins with the exception of the eye-catching white mosque (known as 'the palm tree mosque' or Jamaa ennakhla) at midway and a couple of renovated dwellings serving as a showcase and/or an atypical motel to host visitors and tourists.

History

The ancestry of Douiret is believed to be traced back to a founding father with the name of Ghazi Ben Douaieb Bou Kenana, who migrated to the region more than 600 years ago – possibly coming from the Moroccan region of Tafilalet (Louis, A. 1975. Douiret: Étrange Cité Berbère. Societé Tunisienne de Diffusion, Tunis). In 1850, Douiret population was around 3500 inhabitants. It has been an important caravan stop between Gabès to the north and the Libyan city of Ghdamès to the south. In 1882, Douiret was chosen temporarily by colonial France as the center for its military administrative authority in the southern part of Tunisia before abandoning it in favor of Tataouine soon after that. In the 20th century, Douiret had seen its population progressively decrease as many of its inhabitants migrated mainly to the Tunisian capitol Tunis. By the close of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, the old village of Douiret has virtually transformed into a ghost town in ruins as the few remaining families opted to move to the new village of Douiret built at the mountain foothills not far from their ancestors' historic site. Source: Douiret.net

Language

Douiri language is one of the many closely related varieties the Berber language, a branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Today's Douiri language is infused with many Arabic words as well as Tunisian dialect with a myriad of foreign terms namely French and Italian. All inhabitants of Douiret, however, do speak Arabic as well.

References

External links

Website
– Douiret.net

– the Ruins of Douiret Berber populated places Berbers in Tunisia Former populated places in Tunisia {{Tunisia-geo-stub