Trip to Burdj el Kastir
We returned to Lacandra and found that everything was ready for us to leave. At 7:30 we were already on the saddles. After climbing a small hill, we reached a flat salty plain ( sepha) which joins the sea on heavy rains and reaches to Burdj El Kastir fortress rising up out of a field of rushes. We rode through a grove of palm trees and then through Djama Sug El Djebbli, which is a bit raised; behind it are palm trees reaching almost to the area full of rushes. We found a small outcropping and turned towards the low salty area covered by salicornias [= commonly known as the edible glasswort, pickleweed or marsh samphire]. We headed towards Burdj El Kastir, with the lagoon to our right and the sea to our left. The point towards the lagoon is tongue-shaped and is divided by a small canal. After a short trek through rushes and some bushes, we reached Burdj El Kastir where four soldiers currently live.
From the upper terraces is a splendid view over the rush-covered point with the marabout Sidi Mersil’s shrine and its flagstaff situated on the last point which reaches the lagoon and the mountainous coast in the blue background. In front of us was Zarsis’ coast with Zirt El Baus, and two small, flat valleys. Between the latter and the fortress is a deep, blue canal, four arm length’s deep, connecting the sea and the lagoon.
Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria, Ed. by Leo Woerl, Eine Yacht-Reise an den Küsten von Tripolitanien und Tunesien, Wurzburg and Vienna ( 2nd ed.)
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