The Garden of Whispers (Le Jardin des Murmures)

At Dar Jbel, the garden becomes a work of literature. Trees carry texts, herbs tell stories, voices rise between the olive trees. On 16 October 2026, the house will open the project for the first time to an audience of artists, curators and cultural professionals.​

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What is the Garden of Whispers?

The Garden of Whispers

is an artistic and literary project born in 2025 at Dar Jbel. It starts from a simple question: how do you tell the story of a place without simply describing it?

 

It is neither an ornamental garden nor a botanical trail. It is an author’s garden. Here every plant becomes a character, and every visitor becomes a reader. People come to walk, read, listen, sit beneath a tree, or simply do nothing at all.

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Seven trees, seven plants, seven fables

Seven trees form the first landmarks of the Garden. Each one speaks in the first person and shares its own confidences:

 

• The olive tree bequeaths.

• The fig tree welcomes.

• The bitter orange tree reveals the invisible.

• The pomegranate tree promises.

• The almond tree dares the first spring.

• The carob tree nourishes without being seen.

• The cypress keeps watch.

 

Closer to the ground grow the more intimate voices: rosemary, thyme, jasmine, sage, mint, lemon verbena and myrtle. For each of these plants, Amel Djait has written a fable that moves between ancient knowledge, Tunisian custom and imagined story. The fables are already offered to Dar Jbel’s guests, printed on literary cards and paired with an aromatic plant from the garden.

 

At the heart of the Garden lies SELEM, a labyrinth traced among the olive trees. Its name means peace.

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What is the Invisible Museum of Zhar?

The Invisible Museum is a concept created by Amel Djait: a museum without walls or display cases, whose collections are gestures, scents, know-how and voices. It does not preserve these memories by locking them away, but by keeping them alive.

 

Its first chapter is devoted to Zhar (the H is not silent so it's pronounced "Z'har"), Tunisian orange blossom water. Every spring on Cap Bon, the blossoms of the bitter orange tree are picked by hand, then distilled. Zhar perfumes festive pastries, soothes children and refreshes the hands of guests at the threshold of the home. It is handed down from generation to generation, along with the still and the family secrets.

 

At the Invisible Museum of Zhar, you don’t look at orange blossom water behind glass: you receive it on your hands. Its first gesture is the "Cercle du Mrash": poured from the "Mrash", the traditional sprinkler flask, the water passes from hand to hand, from one guest to the next.

 

Other invisible museums will follow, each devoted to another plant memory of Tunisia.

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Why a preview during the Biennale de Paris in Tunis?

The Biennale de Paris takes place in Tunis from 10 to 17 October 2026. Its visit to Dar Jbel on 16 October is an opportunity to present Le Jardin des Murmures to contemporary art and culture professionals from Tunisia and abroad.

 

The project rests on one conviction: Tunisia’s living memory, its gestures and its scents, can be a reason to travel in its own right.

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Who is Amel Djait?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amel Djait is the founder and director of Dar Jbel. A print and radio journalist (Mosaïque FM, Express FM), founder of 1001Tunisie and creator of the podcast DAR, la maison qui parle (DAR, the house that speaks), she has published books on Tunisian land and heritage in collaboration with GIZ. For twenty years, she has been telling the story of Tunisia through articles, broadcasts, books and podcasts. With the Garden of Whispers, the land becomes the page.

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How to visit the Garden of Whispers

The Garden of Whispers can be discovered at Dar Jbel during a stay or an experience, by reservation. can be discovered at Dar Jbel during a stay or an experience, by reservation. It is a living work, still growing: new trees, fables and voices will join it over the seasons.

 

You can book your room here, or write to us at contact@darjbel.com.

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Frequently asked questions

• Where is the Garden of Whispers?

At Dar Jbel, in Bir Bouregba, in the countryside of Hammamet, on Cap Bon (Nabeul governorate, Tunisia).

• Is the Garden of Whispers open to the public?

For now, it can be discovered during a stay or an experience at Dar Jbel, by reservation. Opening it to the public (schools, students, people of Cap Bon) is one of the project's next steps.

• What is Zhar?

Zhar is orange blossom water, made by distilling the blossoms of the bitter orange tree. On Cap Bon, making it is a family tradition passed down from generation to generation.

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What is SELEM?

SELEM is Dar Jbel's labyrinth, traced among the olive trees at the heart of the Garden of Whispers. Its name means peace.

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Foundations, partners and speaking invitations

Le Jardin des Murmures is looking for partners to help it grow: foundations, patrons, cultural institutions and garden networks, in Tunisia, around the Mediterranean and beyond. Write to contact@darjbel.com to receive the presentation file.

 

Amel Djait also gives talks, readings and literary walks on storytelling, living heritage and culture-led travel in Tunisia, at Dar Jbel or elsewhere.

 

You can write to contact@darjbel.com or send us a message on WhatsApp +216 29 965 177