Mos Espa - Ong Jemal

Thu 11/5/23

Today we would be making our way to the Sahara desert in Naftah. We searched in googlemaps and it seemed possible to drive there with a normal car. It is located about 40km from Tozeur. The review is correct, we were able to reach there with our compact sized car. There is a tarred road to Mos Espa, although the path is not as smooth nearing to Mos Espa. Mos Espa is yet another Star Wars film location for Episode 1 and 2. 

Since there was no other visitor yet at Mos Espa, it was still early at 8.50am, we flew the drone first to capture the view of the sand dunes of the desert. It was also my first experience at a desert, so I was excited. There were also some unattended camels around, so we took some pictures too, to avoid being harassed by the owners. However, while we were flying the drone, there were 2 camel operators who came to approach us but we managed to divert their attention as they were asking us some questions about the drone, so they didn't ask us to ride their camels.

lone camel

sand dunes

sand dunes from the drone

sand waves

At around 10am, a group of 4WD arrived at Mos Espa, so it was a good time for us too to visit Mos Espa as the locals would be focused on the tourist groups rather than us. We didn't manage to dodge the locals entirely, but only 1 or 2 persons approached us. We were also engrossed with taking pictures with the Lego Stormtrooper and droid that they didn't bother us too much. There is no entrance fee and parking fee at Mos Espa.

Mos Espa

Mos Espa

Mos Espa at the back

Next destination Ong Jemal was a bit tricky. Ong Jemal, or camel's neck is a large rock that is shaped like a head and neck of a camel in the desert, located near the salt lake Chott el Gharsa. We decided to give it a try and see if could make it there with our car. We drove slowly on the hard surface clear of sand as a few other 4WD passed us by effortlessly on the sand dunes. We stopped at a point where the sand looked deeper, got out from the car to assess the situation. However, another compact car overtook us. Since the other car managed to pass through, we decided to proceed. 

the road to Ong Jemal

Not far ahead, we saw the same car which overtook us stuck in the sand. We parked a bit further behind and tried to help, but was not successful. Another car then passed by to help, but to no avail. Finally, a 4WD passed by. The driver of the 4WD seemed to know what to do - he began to rock the car to the right and left, so we also helped to rock the car. Then the 4WD driver took over the steering wheel, and managed to get the car out of the sand. 

We didn't want to take the risk, so we just parked further away and decided to walk the remaining 500m or so to Ong Jemal. Ong Jemal was also used as a filming location for Star Wars The Phantom Menace. We flew the drone here to capture the view of the desert.

the camel's neck (Ong Jemal) jutting out 

Ong Jemal at the back

landscape around Ong Jemal

the rock of Ong Jemal

taking pictures from the top

From Ong Jemal we made our way back to Tozeur and had lunch at the same restaurant yesterday. We requested for rice (riz) and ojja, but they were not available so we had the same dish as yesterday. We finished the day by lounging at the hotel rooftop to view the sunset from there.