Youssef Ben Amor, 54, runs a traditional pottery workshop in Guellala, the hilltop village on Djerba's south coast that has been making ceramics for centuries. His family has been potting for five generations. He speaks Arabic, French, and enough English to argue with anyone about olive oil quality.
His whole life. His grandfather taught his father, his father taught him, and he started shaping clay at eight years old. At 54, that's 46 years at the wheel — hands that know the clay better than they know anything else.
Guellala has been a pottery village for perhaps a thousand years. The clay comes from the hill behind the workshop, a specific red clay that fires well, worked with techniques that haven't changed since the Romans were here. Nobody wants to change them — they work.
Q: What do tourists usually get wrong about Djerba?
Too many treat Djerba as just a beach. They fly in on a charter, settle into an all-inclusive resort on the northeast coast, lie on the sand for a week, and fly home — never seeing Guellala, never visiting El Ghriba, never eating at a local restaurant. That hotel buffet food? Honestly, it isn't Tunisian food. It's tourist food.
Djerba is the largest island in North Africa, with 2,500 years of history. Jews, Muslims, Christians, Berbers, Arabs, Ottomans, French — all of them lived here and left something behind. You can't understand that from a beach lounger.
Q: Tell us about El Ghriba Synagogue.
El Ghriba is one of the oldest synagogues in the world, maybe 2,500 years old. The Jewish community on Djerba is one of the oldest in Africa, here since before the Romans.
Every year during Lag BaOmer, thousands of Jewish pilgrims arrive from around the world. It's beautiful — the synagogue full of candles, people praying, families reuniting. Muslims and Jews on Djerba have lived together for centuries. They share the island. They share the olive oil. They argue over whose grandmother made the best couscous. As Youssef puts it: that's how it should be.
Q: What about the Djerbahood street art project?
In 2014, 150 artists from 30 countries were invited to paint the walls of Erriadh — the village where El Ghriba stands. Many residents were skeptical at first. Paint our old, beautiful, whitewashed walls?
But the result is special. The art and the architecture work together. Turn a corner and a three-story mural stands beside a 200-year-old doorway. Some of it is political. Some is funny. Some is strange. It brought visitors to Erriadh who never would have come otherwise, and the artists respected the village — they worked with residents, asked permission, used the architecture.
Youssef still prefers the whitewashed walls. His daughter loves Djerbahood and calls him old-fashioned. She's right.
Q: What food should visitors eat?
First: couscous. Djerba couscous is made with fish, not lamb like the rest of Tunisia. The Friday couscous with grouper and harissa is the meal every Djerbian mother is judged by — and Youssef swears his wife's is the best on the island. Don't tell his mother.
Second: brik. Thin pastry wrapped around a whole egg and tuna, fried until crispy. You eat it with your hands and try not to let the egg yolk run down your chin. Most visitors fail at this. It's entertaining to watch.
Third: ojja. Eggs poached in a spicy tomato and pepper sauce with merguez sausage. Perfect for breakfast. Or lunch. Or dinner. Locals eat ojja at every meal and nobody complains.
And the olive oil. Djerba produces excellent organic olive oil — better than Italian, Youssef will tell you, though an Italian would argue. They'd be wrong, but they'd argue. Buy a liter at the market for 15-25 TND. Use it on everything.
Q: What's the best time to visit?
April to June is the favorite. The weather is warm but not the scorching 38°C of July and August. The tourists are fewer. The flowers are out. You can sit in the workshop courtyard and drink tea without sweating through your shirt.
September to November is also good. The sea is still warm from summer, the crowds have gone home, and the light in the afternoons turns golden.
July and August are for Europeans who want to lie on beaches and turn red. Youssef doesn't quite understand it, but he appreciates the business.
Q: Any local customs tourists should know?
Djerba is more relaxed than mainland Tunisia, but it's still a Muslim island. Dress modestly in villages and markets — cover your shoulders and knees. On the resort beaches, bikinis are fine. But walking into Houmt Souk in a swimsuit is not.
During Ramadan, many local restaurants close during the day while the resort restaurants stay open. If you're not fasting, don't eat or drink openly in the streets during daylight hours — it's disrespectful. But the iftar (sunset meal) atmosphere is wonderful, and some restaurants run special Ramadan menus that are incredible.
Bargaining is expected in Houmt Souk. Start at 40-50% of the asking price, but be friendly about it — it's a conversation, not a battle. And if you buy ceramics in Guellala, buy from the workshops, not the tourist shops. You'll get better quality and a fair price.
Q: What do tourists never discover about Djerba?
The south coast. Everyone goes to the northeast resort beaches. Almost no one comes south — to Guellala, to the fishing villages along the coast, to the flamingo lagoon near El Kantara. There's a beach near Aghir where Youssef swims on weekends. Maybe ten people. Beautiful water. No loungers, no hotels, just sand and sea.
There's also the Djerba Heritage Museum in Guellala, which covers all the island's cultures — Jewish, Muslim, Berber, Ottoman. It costs 5 TND, and most tourists don't know it exists.
Q: What do you hope for Djerba's future?
Youssef hopes his grandchildren can still make pottery from the clay of this hill. He hopes the Jewish community stays — they're part of what makes Djerba special. He hopes the hotels don't swallow the whole northeast coast.
But mostly, he hopes visitors come with curiosity, not just sunscreen. Djerba has so much to offer once you leave the resort. All you have to do is walk into the village and say hello. The locals will do the rest.
For more on what to do beyond the pottery, the top 9 things to do in Djerba covers the cultural highlights. Comparing Mediterranean options? The Djerba vs Malta comparison breaks it down. For another North African cultural immersion, Chefchaouen in Morocco offers a similarly atmospheric medina experience.
