International Festival of the Sahara

The International Festival of the Sahara is held in Douz each year in late November or December, filling the town with music, horsemen, and desert culture for three or four days. The centrepieces are the fantasia displays — elaborately dressed riders charging at full gallop and firing muskets — and the camel races across the dunes.

Alongside the spectacular events, the festival includes traditional Bedouin poetry recitation, musicians from across the Maghreb, folk dancing, and craft displays. The atmosphere is genuinely festive and draws a mix of Tunisians, Algerians, Libyans, and international visitors. Accommodation books out well in advance; arriving early is essential.

things to do sight
A story
The festival began in 1910 as a local celebration of Bedouin culture and was revived in its current form in 1967. It was initially designed partly to encourage nomadic communities to maintain traditions that were disappearing as desert populations settled. Today it has grown into a significant cultural event drawing visitors from across North Africa and beyond, though the core activities — camel races, fantasy horse riding, traditional music — remain close to their origins.