Things to Do in Libya: Ghadames Tour
Ghadames, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is an ancient medina located near the borders with Algeria and Tunisia. Known as the Jewel of the Sahara, this is a fascinating desert outpost, where whitewashed alleyways hide vividly decorated interiors.
Ghadames Tour
Ghadames, Libya
Ghadames, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is an ancient medina located near the borders with Algeria and Tunisia. Known as the Jewel of the Sahara, this is a fascinating desert outpost, where whitewashed alleyways hide vividly decorated interiors.
There have been settlements in the area of Ghadames since 3000 BC, but the town became known after occupation by the Romans in 19 BC. In the 6th Century AD the town came under Byzantine control and then, just a century later, was taken over by the Islamic armies.
The main parts of the old town still in existence today were constructed about 800 years ago. The medina was still inhabited up until the late 1980s, but now most of the population live in the new town and merely visit their old houses, especially during the hot summer months and Ramadan.
The city was designed to keep out the hot summer sunlight, so many of the alleyways are extremely dark, with the odd skylight helping to guide the population. The houses themselves were also designed to avoid the worst effects of the heat, so the main rooms have no windows, with mirrors and white paint helping to increase the amount of light available. Kitchens were located on the roofs of the houses, to keep out both heat and smoke.
The city had a number of traditions and these impacted women's lives in particular. Women had their own way to walk around the city without being seen by non-family members, using a system of rooftop pathways. Men and women had to signal their arrival at a house by knocking either twice (men) or three times (women). All of the Ghadames houses feature a small room, or alcove, known as Al Qubba, where the bride was to receive her husband on the first night of their marriage.
The city also had a special method for distributing water from the main springs. It was directed along five channels, first serving the mosques and then the farmland and orchards. The distribution was controlled by one man in the main square, ensuring a fair share for every family and also providing a way to calculate time.
The tour of Ghadames starts at the museum, located in the town's Turkish fort, and will continue through the old town, taking in the main points of interest. Duration of the excursion is approximately six hours.
In the evening you will be collected for a drive into the desert, so you can visit Ras Al-Ghoul and watch the sunset.
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