De Boe Hedma in Zuid-Tunis

A weary traveler rides the newly laid Sfax‑Gafsa railway, winding past the crumbling walls of Sfax that loom like an opera set among ancient burial grounds. The train skirts the last olive groves before spilling into a stark desert, its only relief a tiny fishing hamlet with white domes that flicker in the thin foliage. Along the way, the narrator notes the sparse stations—mere shacks that hint at future colonies—and the rhythmic pulse of a landscape that shifts from flat plains to rugged cliffs.

At the remote Boe Hedma station, a modest outpost of English traders, a Tunisian Jewish merchant, and a station master marks the first foothold of settlement. The narrator meets two dignified Arab guides and a young camel‑herder, whose sturdy beasts become essential companions under the blazing May sun. As they descend into the wadi Hadedj valley, the harsh limestone glare gives way to a surprising splash of white salt flats and a rare stand of gombo trees, offering a brief oasis of shade and wonder in an otherwise unforgiving terrain.