Chebika
|
الشبيكة Chebika |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|||
| Coordinates | 34 ° 19 ′ N , 7 ° 56 ′ E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | Tunisia | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | TN | ||
| height | 105 m | ||
 The old, destroyed village in front and the new village in the background (2007)
|
|||
Chebika ( Arabic الشبيكة, DMG aš-Šabīka ) is a Tunisian mountain oasis near the border with Algeria , 60 km northwest of Tozeur .
The place is at the transition of the plain to the mountains of Djebel En Negueb , a southeastern foothill of the Aurès and part of the Atlas Mountains. In the north there are other mountain oases: Tamerza and Mides . The salt lake Chott el Gharsa extends to the south .
Springs feed a small stream that flows over small waterfalls through narrow gorges. The water enables palm trees to be grown. The lush greenery between extraordinary rock formations provides spectacular views and attracts many tourists who stop here as part of bus trips through southern Tunisia.
The place was already known in antiquity as a Roman outpost under the name Ad Speculum . Later Berbers settled here and, in addition to oasis farming, also operated dry fields . In 1969 the old village, which stood next to the oasis directly on the mountain slopes, was destroyed by floods after heavy rainfall. The new village was built away from the slopes and should have a few hundred inhabitants.
The road P16 connects the town with the cities in the southeast and leads north into the mountains to Tamerza.
The area was the setting for scenes from Star Wars in 1976 . Many scenes from the film The English Patient were filmed in the oasis in 1996 .
Nearby is the place of worship (mašhad) of a marabout .
