Tozeur, Tunisia  - Two beeps issue from the backpack in the pebbly Tunisian desert. A text message says that the cell phone is tuned to an Algerian network. How marvellous to have cell-phone reception even in the middle of nowhere!

But wait... Algeria is nearby? A slight sense of unease arises. Did not the travel advisory on the website of the foreign ministry back home warn of dangers in Tunisian regions close to the Algerian border?

Tozeur, Nefta, Douz, and the mountain oases of Chebika, Tamerza and Mides are all on the edge of the Sahara Desert. In terms of tourism, this is not always a plus when many people nowadays associate desert tours with kidnappings.