el-Djerid "Palm Leaf" (Classical Arabic al-Jarīd الجريد , Darija l-Jrīd) is a semidesert region comprising southern Tunisia and adjacent parts of Algeria and Libya. It is characterised by bare pink hills with oases and several chotts (salt pans} (notably Chott el Djerid in Tunisia). Economically the area is important for phosphate mining. Major towns include Gafsa and Tozeur.

It remains the principal center of Ibāḍism in North Africa, with remaining Ibāḍī communities on Djerba in Tunisia, in the Mzab in Algeria, and in Jabal Nafusa in Libya. In medieval times, it often formed a politically separate entity under the control of Ibāḍī imams.

[edit] See also

• Ifriqiya
• Maghreb

Coordinates: 33°54′58″N 8°00′24″E / 33.91611°N 8.00667°E / 33.91611; 8.00667