The story
International Date Festival Kebili in Kebili
The Festival International des Dattes de Kebili is a long-running festival in the Saharan gateway town of Kebili, whose governorate produces roughly 58 percent of Tunisia's prized Deglet Nour dates. Held most years in the autumn or winter harvest window, it centers on date markets connecting producers directly to buyers, craft fairs, cooking contests, folk performances and a staged reenactment of local oasis customs called Bab Al-Rahba.
Kebili sits at the edge of the Sahara in southern Tunisia, in a governorate that produces roughly 58 percent of the country's Deglet Nour dates, the amber-fleshed variety Tunisians nickname fingers of light and which forms one of the country's most important agricultural exports.