Metameur lies about 6 km west of Medenine, just off the road to Tataouine. Its ksar is one of the best surviving in Tunisia — three storeys of ghorfas wrapped around a central courtyard, much of it in active use as storage by the families who own the cells. Unlike the partly demolished ksar in Medenine, Metameur is largely intact and gives a clear sense of how these fortified granaries functioned.
The ksar is open to visitors and there is usually someone around to show you up to the higher levels. The view from the top floor stretches out over the plain to the Matmata mountains. A small basic hotel (the Ksar Metameur) operates inside some of the lower ghorfas — a memorable place to spend a night if you want a ksar experience without the tourist polish. Like much of the south, this is a place where the architecture is alive rather than preserved.