Ksar Ouled Soltane: the best-preserved fortified granary in southern Tunisia
Two closed courtyards, hundreds of vaulted cells stacked over four levels, outer staircases climbing in zigzags: Ksar Ouled Soltane is the most impressive ksar in the Dahar, and a setting from The Phantom Menace.
- From Djerba
- ≈ 170 km
- Driving time
- ≈ 2 h 30
- Suggested time
- 45 min on site
- Best season
- all year round
22 km south-east of Tataouine, on a hill overlooking the plain, Ksar Ouled Soltane is the perfect example of the ksar, the collective fortified granary that made the Dahar famous. Built in the 15th century by the Ouled Soltane tribe and enlarged in the 19th, it lines up its ghorfas (vaulted storage cells) on four levels around two courtyards, linked by outside staircases that give the whole a beehive look.
How a ksar worked
Each family owned one or more ghorfas, closed by a palm-wood door: barley, wheat, oil and dates were stored there, safe from raiders and from the heat. The ksar's keeper lived on site; the courtyard served as market, court of law and festival ground. Ouled Soltane was used until the 1960s and remains, even today, the heart of the festivals of the neighbouring village.
What to see
- The old courtyard: the most photogenic, with its four levels of ghorfas and zigzag staircases; this is where the slave quarter of Mos Espa was filmed.
- The recent courtyard: larger, it hosts a small café and craft exhibitions.
- The upper terraces: a view over the Tataouine plain and the hills of the Dahar.
On our tours
Ksar Ouled Soltane is on the programme of the Tataouine, Chenini & Berber ksour day (in the morning, after Ksar Haddada and before Chenini; entrance included). The 3-day Star Wars tour stops here on the first day, between Matmata and the night in Tataouine.
Practical information
- From Djerba: about 170 km, 2 h 30 via Tataouine.
- Best season: all year round; in the morning or late afternoon for the light on the ghorfas.
- What to bring: closed shoes, and care on the staircases.
