The palmery at Douz is a large oasis of date palms that edges the town and provides a vivid contrast with the dunes that begin immediately to the south. Walking through the cool shade of the palms after the heat of the desert is one of those simple pleasures that rewards a morning's time.
The harvest happens in October and November, when clusters of dates are cut from the high fronds using long poles. At other times of year, the palmery is quieter and more meditative — irrigation channels run between the trunks, small vegetable plots fill the gaps, and the deep green of the canopy is a relief from the sand. The eastern edge of the palmery gives a clear view toward the first dunes of the Grand Erg Oriental.