In the south-west of Djerba, between Erriadh and the pottery village of Guellala, the island's farmland is at its most traditional, and the mosque of Ben Biene sits among it. This is the part of the island where the compounds stand furthest apart, each one an island of white wall and green trees in the middle of a field, and where the lanes are quiet enough for a rider to hear the pigeons and the wind in the palms.
The Ibadi mosques of the island belong to a tradition that stresses simplicity and community, and many of them were built in a style quite unlike the minaret-and-courtyard mosques of the Arab world. Instead they look like fortified houses, with thick, sloping buttresses, a flat roof of domes and vaults, and an interior that is cool, dim and quiet. Some are partially underground, designed to be safe from raiders, and a few have small schools attached, where children once learned the Koran. Their whitewash is renewed each year, so the shapes look soft and clean even when the walls are many centuries old.
Guellala, a few kilometres south, is where the island's pottery is made. The potters dig clay from nearby pits, shape it by hand and fire it in kilns, and the village is lined with workshops selling amphorae, jars and plates, most of them in plain terracotta. A small museum shows how islanders lived, with scenes of weddings and trades. Not far away is the ferry at Ajim, which connects Djerba to the mainland over a narrow channel, and the old Roman causeway at El Kantara lies at the south-east corner.
Riding in the area is relaxed, with straight roads and rough patches on the lanes, and a strong wind can blow in from the coast. The mid-afternoon sun in summer is harsh, so ride early or late. The nearest town of any size on the map is Erriadh, about three and a half kilometres away, with Houmt Souk to the north offering fuel and the fullest range of services. A stop at one of the potters' shops, where you can watch clay being thrown, is a good way to spend an hour.