This town is called the gateway to the desert, a good meeting point with the enigmatic Sahara that begins just 10 kilometers away. A sea of dunes that disappears into the horizon of the largest desert in the world. The town was founded by a tribe of nomads and, since then, it became a key point on the southern routes. It is also known as the “ultimate palm oasis”, because it has more than 500,000 palm trees in the area and is a major producer of “Deglet Nour” dates. In previous times it was an important stop on the trans-Saharan caravan routes. Today, it is a destination for tourists interested in seeing the desert and a starting point for desert treks by camel, motorcycle or all-terrain vehicle.