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JERBA The paradoxical tourist magnet  Jerba hosts some paradoxes. It's a fairly big island, just off the North African coast, which has almost no islands. And it's a tourist resort, a big one, giving room for easy living, at the same time as a portion of the inhabitants here are Kharijites, the third group in Islam, next to Sunnis and ShiŽis. And the Kharijites have always been known for their unwillingness to get in touch with other people. There are still some Christians as well as about 1,000 Jews living here.  Jerba is not only appreciated for it's architecture, made up of square whitewashed houses all over the island. The whole island is like a little world of its own, so compressed that lazy traveller's can cover most of it. Yet, there is enough here to make globe-trotters have a great time here for a good fortnight. The topography of Jerba is simple, and there are some kilometres between each village, each telling its own story Jerba is smooth, sometimes startling, and just as charming as enthusiastic Tunisians tell you it is. The touristic life of Jerba is both for foreigners (you'll meet lots of Libyans and Europeans here) and Tunisians. Tunisians are throwing old limitations behind them when coming here. As so many can stay here without meeting neighbours or relatives, Jerba is the one place in Tunisia where some Tunisian women appear in only the lower halves of their bikinis.On the island of Jerba, there are many villages, but almost no towns (click here to open interactive map). The only real town is the beautiful Houmt Souq, while the second town, Midoun, is less exciting. Many travellers arriving at Jerba pass through the village of Ajim, but more picturesque is the little visited Guellala.Many visitors are intrigued by the presence of Jews, whose main synagogue is in Hara Sghira, while the majority lives in Hara Kebira. One of the most photographed places in Jerba is the mosque in El May. Unfortunately, many of the people visiting Jerba, only stay in the Zone touristique, and never get to see any of the great small places of this island.
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