DOCSLIB.ORG

The Jebel Nafusa & Ghadames

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Jebel Nafusa & Ghadames © Lonely Planet Publications 157 The Jebel Nafusa & Ghadames The barren Jebel Nafusa (Western Mountains) is Libya’s Berber heartland and one of Libya’s most intriguing corners, a land of stone villages on rocky perches and otherworldly Berber architecture. The fortress-like architecture of the jebel reflects the fact that this is a land of extremes. Bitterly cold winters – snowfalls are rare but not unheard of – yield to summers less punishing than elsewhere in Libya, though the southern reaches of the Jebel Nafusa merge imperceptibly with the scorching Sahara. It was to here that many Berbers retreated from invading Arab armies in the 7th century, and the Jebel Nafusa remains one of the few areas in Libya where Berber culture still thrives. Con- sequently, the jebel’s human landscape is as fascinating as its geography and architecture. The Jebel Nafusa merits as much time as you can spare. From the underground houses of Gharyan in the east to the crumbling qasr (fortified granary store) and old town of Nalut in the west, imagination and necessity have fused into the most improbable forms. Nowhere is this more true than in Qasr al-Haj and Kabaw where the wonderful qasrs look like a back- drop to a Star Wars movie. Elsewhere, the abandoned stone village of Tarmeisa surveys the coastal plain from its precipitous rocky perch, while Yefren makes an agreeable base. Beyond the jebel on Libya’s western frontier lies one of the world’s best-preserved oasis towns. Ghadames is an enchanted spot, a labyrinthine caravan town of covered passageways, intricately decorated houses, beautiful palm gardens and a pace of life perfectly attuned to the dictates of the desert. Ghadames one of our favourite places in Libya. THE JEBEL NAFUSA HIGHLIGHTS & GHADAMES Qasr Lose yourself in the labyrinthine lanes of the magical old al-Haj Nalut city in Ghadames ( p164 ) Yefren Tarmeisa Imagine yourself in a galaxy far, far away in the Kabaw perfect Berber granary store of Qasr al-Haj ( p160 ) Pick your way through the best preserved old town in the Jebel Nafusa at Nalut ( p162 ) Picnic amid the enchanted troglodyte qasr at Kabaw ( p162 ) Ghadames Crawl to the edge of the precipice at the abandoned stone village of Tarmeisa ( p161 ) Watch the sunset from the terrace (or your balcony) in the Yefren Hotel ( p159 ) 112-jebel-nafusa-ghadames-lib2.indd2-jebel-nafusa-ghadames-lib2.indd 115757 222/03/20072/03/2007 22:07:43:07:43 PPMM 158 THE JEBEL NAFUSA & GHADAMES •• Gharyan lonelyplanet.com The Jebel Nafusa & Ghadames 0 100 km THE JEBEL NAFUSA & GHADAMES 0 60 miles To Medenine To Zuara To Surman To L'Aziziyah (5km); (90km) (30km) (25km) Tripoli (30km) Bughilan Remada Qasr Rabta Badir Bir Ayyad Soffit Gharyan Borj Bourguiba Tiji al-Haj Al-Ghala Nalut Geush Jadu Zintan Abuzeyan Dehiba Ain az-Zarqa Yefren Kabaw Tarmeisa Wazin Ruhaybait To Bani Walid (25km) T U N I S I A J e b e l N a f u s a To Bani Walid Mizda (30km) Nisma Fassanu Bir-Alagh Sinoun Tiaret A L G E R I Hamada al-Nasla Ras al- Ghoul Burj Burj el-Khadra Al-Qaryat Messouda Ain ad- Debanem Mantras Ghadames Derj Deb-Deb H a m a d a a l - H a m r a Touneen To Sebha (420km) To Al-Aweinat (Serdeles) (500km) of the area and provided a refuge from ﻏﺮﻳﺎن GHARYAN x041 / pop 87,142 cold winters, hot summers and invaders – Gharyan sprawls across the top of the pla- the houses were invisible to all but those teau at the eastern end of the Jebel Nafusa. within a few hundred metres. All of Ghary- Although not the region’s most picturesque an’s houses have been abandoned by their town, it’s worth a quick stop to see one of owners for modern housing and some are the underground Berber houses, buy some now used as storage pens for animals. Sadly pottery or break up the long journey south – many have also fallen into disrepair. this is one of the last towns of any size be- To reach the best preserved dammous (ad- fore Sebha, 690km south across the desert. mission 5LD), walk 400m south from Funduq Rabta (right as you leave the hotel) and & GHADAMES Orientation & Information then turn right again. One is about 50m THE JEBEL NAFUSA Most of the facilities you’ll need are within along on the left behind a 3m-high wall easy walking distance of Funduq Rabta (see with two decrepit pottery amphorae atop opposite ) on Sharia al-Jamahiriya. The post the gate. Back where you left the main road, office is two blocks east of the hotel (look ask for the key (miftah) at the coffeehouse. for the telecommunications mast) and there The living quarters are at the base of a are a couple of banks nearby. In the same dramatic circular pit, with a radius of about complex as the hotel is Gharyan’s most 10m, cut three storeys deep into the earth; convenient internet café (per hr 0.75LD; h9am- the depth of the houses varied as the inhabi- midnight Sat-Thu, 5pm-midnight Fri). tants dug until they found sufficiently hard rock. The wooden door at ground level opens Sights to a tunnel that leads down into the house, DAMMOUS (BERBER HOUSES) which consists of living rooms, a kitchen, Gharyan’s underground houses (dammous) bedrooms and storage areas that were cut were built by the ancient Berber inhabi tants into the base of the walls. Animal bones were 112-jebel-nafusa-ghadames-lib2.indd2-jebel-nafusa-ghadames-lib2.indd 115858 222/03/20072/03/2007 22:07:49:07:49 PPMM.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Between Modernization and Preservation: the Changing Identity of the Vernacular in Italian Colonial Libya
    Between Modernization and Preservation: The Changing Identity of the Vernacular in Italian Colonial Libya BRIAN MCLAREN Harvard University This paper concerns the changing identity of the vernacular The architecture of this tourist system balanced a need to project architecture of the Italian colony of Libya in architectural discourse, an image of a modern and efficient network of travel, with the desire and the related appropriation of this re-configured vernacular by to preserve and even accentuate the characteristic qualities of the architects working in thls region. In this effort, I will describe the indigenous culture of each region. In the first instance, the tourist system difference between an abstract assimilation of these influences in the in Libya offered an experience of the colonial context that was early 1930s and a more scientific interest in the indlgenous culture of fundamentally modern-facilities like the dining room at the Albergo Libya in the latter part of this decade. In the first case, the work of "alle Gazzelle" in Zliten conveying an image of metropolitan comfort. architects like Sebastiano Larco and Carlo Enrico Rava subsumed In the second, a conscious effort was made to organize indigenous cultural references to vernacular constructions into modern aesthetic practices. manifestations that would enhance the tourist experience. One In the second, archtects llke Florestano Di Fausto evinced the material prominent example were the musical and dance performances in the qualities of these buildings in works that often directly re-enacted CaffeArabo at the Suq al-Mushr, which were made in a setting that was traditional forms. However, rather than dlscuss the transformation of intended to enact the mysteries of the East.
    [Show full text]
  • HIGHLIGHTS of LIBYA 11 Days & 10 Nights
    HIGHLIGHTS OF LIBYA 11 Days & 10 Nights A thousand miles wide, reaChing from the and temple. Linger in fabled Leptis Magna, swallowed Mediterranean to the Sahara and bearing traCes of by the desert for hundreds of years nowadays one of history’s greatest empires, Libya is overflowing with the most magnifiCent Roman Cities anywhere in the arCheologiCal treasures, piCturesque Berber villages and world. Explore the oasis town of Ghadames on the breathtaKing desert landsCapes. From the faded trans‐Saharan Caravan route, and wander through the Italianate grandeur and medieval medina of ‘the white old medina’s alleys and doorways unChanged for bride of the Mediterranean’, Tripoli, journey to its sister Centuries. City, Sabratha, to admire the splendid Roman theatre Day 1: Tripoli: Fly from your designated airport to Tripoli international airport, on arrival you will be transferred to your hotel for a 2‐ night stay. Later you will be taKing for a short tour of modern of modern day Tripoli before heading to one of Tripoli’s lively restaurants for a welCome dinner. (LD) O/n Tripoli Hotel. Day 2: Sabratha, Tripoli: Drive out of Tripoli westwards along the Coast past orange groves to one of the greatest Cities of the anCient world, Sabratha. Under the blue sKy and with the murmur of the sea in your ears, step baCK in time to the days of the Romans when this was a bustling, prosperous port that exported gold and ivory to the Middle East and Europe. Admire the publiC baths, fountains, mosaiCs and lavatories, the temple sand, the Carefully restored theatre, and enjoy them the more for being nearly deserted, undeservedly so, but you are well off the usual tourist trail here.
    [Show full text]
  • Libyan Eclipse 2006
    Libyan Eclipse 2006 HIGHLIGHTS PACK Libyan Eclipse 2006 By Anthony Ham Anthony’s love affair with Libya began on his first visit in 2001, and by the time he’d fin- ished Lonely Planet’s guide to Libya a few months later, the country had won his heart. First drawn to the country by its isolation and by his experience elsewhere of the Arab hospitality that puts to shame media stereotyping about the region, Anthony quickly made numerous Libyan friends and set about pursuing his new passion with them – exploring the inexpressible beauty of the Sahara. A full-time writer and photographer, Anthony returns to Libya from his home in Madrid whenever he can and loves the fact that the world is finally discovering that Libya is so much more than Colonel Gaddafi. ALSO AVAILABLE FROM LONELY PLANET Eclipse predictions courtesy of Fred Espenak, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. For more information on solar and lunar eclipses, see Fred Espenak’s eclipse home page: http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/eclipse.html. © Lonely Planet 2006. Published by Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd ABN 36 005 607 983 © photographers as indicated 2006. Cover photographs by Lonely Planet Images: Shadows along a ridge of sand dunes in the Awbari Sand Sea, Jane Sweeney; Halo of sunlight glowing around the silhouette of the moon during a total solar eclipse, Karl Lehmann. Many of the images in this guide are available for licensing from Lonely Planet Images: www.lonelyplanetimages.com AVAILABLE APRIL 2006 ORDER NOW All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, except brief extracts for the purpose of review, and no part of this publication may be sold or hired, without the written permission of the publisher.
    [Show full text]
  • The Human Conveyor Belt : Trends in Human Trafficking and Smuggling in Post-Revolution Libya
    The Human Conveyor Belt : trends in human trafficking and smuggling in post-revolution Libya March 2017 A NETWORK TO COUNTER NETWORKS The Human Conveyor Belt : trends in human trafficking and smuggling in post-revolution Libya Mark Micallef March 2017 Cover image: © Robert Young Pelton © 2017 Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the Global Initiative. Please direct inquiries to: The Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime WMO Building, 2nd Floor 7bis, Avenue de la Paix CH-1211 Geneva 1 Switzerland www.GlobalInitiative.net Acknowledgments This report was authored by Mark Micallef for the Global Initiative, edited by Tuesday Reitano and Laura Adal. Graphics and layout were prepared by Sharon Wilson at Emerge Creative. Editorial support was provided by Iris Oustinoff. Both the monitoring and the fieldwork supporting this document would not have been possible without a group of Libyan collaborators who we cannot name for their security, but to whom we would like to offer the most profound thanks. The author is also thankful for comments and feedback from MENA researcher Jalal Harchaoui. The research for this report was carried out in collaboration with Migrant Report and made possible with funding provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, and benefitted from synergies with projects undertaken by the Global Initiative in partnership with the Institute for Security Studies and the Hanns Seidel Foundation, the United Nations University, and the UK Department for International Development. About the Author Mark Micallef is an investigative journalist and researcher specialised on human smuggling and trafficking.
    [Show full text]
  • International Medical Corps in Libya from the Rise of the Arab Spring to the Fall of the Gaddafi Regime
    International Medical Corps in Libya From the rise of the Arab Spring to the fall of the Gaddafi regime 1 International Medical Corps in Libya From the rise of the Arab Spring to the fall of the Gaddafi regime Report Contents International Medical Corps in Libya Summary…………………………………………… page 3 Eight Months of Crisis in Libya…………………….………………………………………… page 4 Map of International Medical Corps’ Response.…………….……………………………. page 5 Timeline of Major Events in Libya & International Medical Corps’ Response………. page 6 Eastern Libya………………………………………………………………………………....... page 8 Misurata and Surrounding Areas…………………….……………………………………… page 12 Tunisian/Libyan Border………………………………………………………………………. page 15 Western Libya………………………………………………………………………………….. page 17 Sirte, Bani Walid & Sabha……………………………………………………………………. page 20 Future Response Efforts: From Relief to Self-Reliance…………………………………. page 21 International Medical Corps Mission: From Relief to Self-Reliance…………………… page 24 International Medical Corps in the Middle East…………………………………………… page 24 International Medical Corps Globally………………………………………………………. Page 25 Operational data contained in this report has been provided by International Medical Corps’ field teams in Libya and Tunisia and is current as of August 26, 2011 unless otherwise stated. 2 3 Eight Months of Crisis in Libya Following civilian demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt, the people of Libya started to push for regime change in mid-February. It began with protests against the leadership of Colonel Muammar al- Gaddafi, with the Libyan leader responding by ordering his troops and supporters to crush the uprising in a televised speech, which escalated the country into armed conflict. The unrest began in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, with the eastern Cyrenaica region in opposition control by February 23 and opposition supporters forming the Interim National Transitional Council on February 27.
    [Show full text]
  • Petroleum Generation and Migration in The
    Petroleum generation and AUTHORS Ruth Underdown North Africa Research migration in the Ghadames Group, School of Earth, Atmospheric and En- vironmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Basin, north Africa: Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom; [email protected] A two-dimensional Ruth Underdown obtained her first degree in geology from the University of St. Andrews, basin-modeling study Scotland, an M.Sc. degree in petroleum geo- science from Imperial College, London, and a Ph.D. from the University of Manchester, Ruth Underdown and Jonathan Redfern United Kingdom, in 2006, funded by the North Africa Research Group. She is currently teach- ing in the United Kingdom. ABSTRACT Jonathan Redfern North Africa Research The Ghadames Basin contains important oil- and gas-producing res- Group, School of Earth, Atmospheric and En- vironmental Sciences, University of Manchester, ervoirs distributed across Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. Regional two- Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, United dimensional (2-D) modeling, using data from more than 30 wells, Kingdom; [email protected] has been undertaken to assess the timing and distribution of hydro- carbon generation in the basin. Four potential petroleum systems Jonathan Redfern obtained his B.Sc. degree in geology from the University of London, Chelsea have been identified: (1) a Middle–Upper Devonian (Frasnian) and College, in 1983, and a Ph.D. from Bristol Uni- Triassic (Triassic Argilo Gre´seux Infe´rieur [TAG-I]) system in the versity, United Kingdom, in 1989. He worked central-western basin; (2) a Lower Silurian (Tannezuft) and Triassic in the oil industry for 12 years, initially with (TAG-I) system to the far west; (3) a Lower Silurian (Tannezuft) and Petrofina in the United Kingdom, southeast Asia, Upper Silurian (Acacus) system in the eastern and northeastern and Libya, and subsequently with Hess.
    [Show full text]
  • Splendors of and Made Themselves Accessible for Questions.”
    “Libya has some of the best Roman and Greek archaeological sites I’ve ever seen and they are not overrun with other tourists. Our leaders are excellent sources of information SplendorS of and made themselves accessible for questions.” “Excellent tour—the sites, people, libya guides and cultural experiences were wonderful. It’s a must see and March 16 – 30, 2011 (15 days) experience tour. Thanks for an out- October 19 – November 2, 2011 (15 days) standing experience.” Travel with Dr. Susan Kane, Director of the Cyrenaica Archaeological Project at Cyrene, Libya, and advisor to the Libyan Department of Antiquities. VISIT LIBYA’S SPECTACULAR UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES: • Spend a full day at Cyrene, one of the greatest ancient Greek city-states. Its vast ruins include the Temple of Zeus, which is larger than the Parthenon of Athens. • Admire the magnificent coastal site of Leptis Magna, one of the largest and Above, Leptis Magna’s 16,000 seat amphitheater overlooking the best-preserved Roman cities in the world. Mediterranean. Below, the theater at • Marvel at the Roman city of Sabratha, where the aquamarine sea surrounds Sabratha is considered one of the finest in the remains of partially excavated temples, houses and extensive baths. the Roman world. • Explore the legendary caravan city of Ghadames (Roman Cydamus). HISTORICAL & CULTURAL TREASURES • Discover Tripoli’s Arch of Marcus Aurelius, the Ahmad Pasha al Qaramanli Mosque, and lively souks with a myriad of wares. • Visit the traditional Berber village of Nalut, scenically situated alongside the Jabal Nafusa mountain range, where the Berber settlement dates back to the 11th century.
    [Show full text]
  • Libya, Final Report, General National Congress Election, 7 July 2012
    LIBYA FINAL REPORT General National Congress Election 7 July 2012 EUROPEAN UNION ELECTION ASSESSMENT TEAM This report is produced by the Election Assessment Team of the European Union (EU EAT) and presents the findings of the Mission on the election of the General National Congress in Libya. This report should not be relied upon as the opinion of the European Union. The European Union does not guarantee the accuracy of the data in this report, nor does it accept liability for any use made thereof. European Union Election Assessment Team in Libya. Page 2 of 118 Final Report – General National Congress Election - 2012 I. SUMMARY 3 II. INTRODUCTION 6 Political Context .................................................................................................................................. 6 Political landscape before the campaign............................................................................................ 7 III. LEGAL FRAMEWORK 8 Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 8 Electoral Framework .......................................................................................................................... 8 Suffrage Rights ................................................................................................................................... 9 Universal and Regional Standards ...................................................................................................... 9 Delimitation
    [Show full text]
  • The Tide Turns
    November 2011 Anthony Bell, Spencer Butts, and David Witter THE LIBYAN REVOLUTION THE TIDE TURNS PART 4 Photo Credit: Fighters for Libya’s interim government rejoice after winning control of the Qaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid, via Wikimedia Commons. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. ©2011 by the Institute for the Study of War. Published in 2011 in the United States of America by the Institute for the Study of War. 1400 16th Street NW, Suite 515 Washington, DC 20036. http://www.understandingwar.org Anthony Bell, Spencer Butts, and David Witter THE LIBYAN REVOLUTION THE TIDE TURNS PART 4 ABOUT THE AUTHORS Anthony Bell is a Research Assistant at ISW, where he conducts research on political and security dynamics on Libya. He has previously studied the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and published the ISW report Reversing the Northeastern Insurgency. Anthony holds a bachelor’s degree from the George Washington University in International Affairs with a concentration in Conflict and Security. He graduated magna cum laude and received special honors for his senior thesis on the history of U.S. policy towards Afghanistan. He is currently a graduate student in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University. Spencer Butts is a Research Assistant for the Libya Project at ISW. Prior to joining ISW, Mr. Butts interned at the Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute at the Army War College where he wrote a literature review of the Commander’s Emergency Response Program in Iraq.
    [Show full text]
  • Public Summary of Libya Request
    On June 16, 2017, the U.S. Department of State published notification in the Federal Register of the receipt of a request from the Government of Libya to the Government of the United States of America for import restrictions on archaeological and ethnological material from Libya representing its prehistoric through Ottoman Era heritage. This request is submitted pursuant to Article 9 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property as implemented by the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.). The following public summary, authorized by the Government of Libya, is derived from that request. It does not necessarily represent the position of the Government of the United States on this matter. In its request, the Government of Libya offers a general overview of its geography, climate, and socio-cultural history, evidence of pillage of and jeopardy to its archaeological and ethnological materials, measures Libya has taken consistent with the 1970 UNESCO Convention to mitigate the problem of pillage, analysis of the nature and extent of the U.S. and international market for Libyan cultural property, and description of the benefits that import restrictions might confer. * * * PUBLIC SUMMARY Request by the Government of Libya to the Government of the United States of America for Imposing Import Restrictions to Protect its Cultural Patrimony under Article 9 of the UNESCO Convention (1970) Libya is home to a significant cultural patrimony, which evolved over millennia of human habitation, trade, and development in a geographically vast and diverse setting.
    [Show full text]
  • Le Moschee Rupestri Di Sicilia
    OPERA IPOGEA Journal of Speleology in Artificial Cavities 1 / 2014 Rivista della Società Speleologica Italiana Commissione Nazionale Cavità Artificiali Opera Ipogea 1-2014 - Moschee rupestri di Sicilia (Italia) - Moschee rupestri nel Gebel Nefusa occidentale (Libia) - Moschea sotterranea di Sultan Seyyid (Turchia) - Moschee rupestri in Cappadocia (Turchia) ISSN 1970-9692 Estratto da: OPERA IPOGEA Journal of Speleology in Artificial Cavities 1 / 2014 Rivista della Società Speleologica Italiana Commissione Nazionale Cavità Artificiali ISSN 1970-9692 OPERA IPOGEA 1 - 2014 Indice Presentazione delle moschee .......................................................................... 3 Introduction to mosques Le moschee rupestri di Sicilia ........................................................................ 5 Aldo Messina Moschee rupestri nel Gebel Nefusa occidentale (Libia)................................ 9 Franco Dell’Aquila, Giuseppe Fiorentino La moschea sotterranea di Sultan Seyyid ................................................... 27 Roberto Bixio, Andrea De Pascale, Andrea Bixio, Alessandro Maifredi, İrem Yalçın Moschee rupestri in Capapdocia .................................................................. 45 Franco Dell’Aquila, Beniamino. Polimeni Segnalibri ...................................................................................................... 51 Carmela Crescenzi, Roberto Bizio, Massimo Gobessi Hypogea 2015 ................................................................................................ 53 Comitato
    [Show full text]
  • The Political Economy of Migrant Detention in Libya: Understanding the Players and the Business Models Arezo Malakooti DISCLAIMER
    APRIL 2019 The Political Economy of Migrant Detention in Libya: Understanding the players and the business models Arezo Malakooti DISCLAIMER This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report was prepared, researched and written by Arezo Malakooti. Fieldwork was conducted by Arezo Malakooti, Naji Abou-Khalil, Jerome Veyret, Chiara Fall and Jessica Gerkin. Support was provided by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime’s local network in Libya. The report also draws on the in-house expertise of Global Initiative Director and Deputy Director, Mark Shaw and Tuesday Reitano, and Senior Fellow Mark Micallef. The report was peer reviewed by experts from the Clingendael Institute: Fransje Molenaar, Floor el Kamouni-Janssen and Mariska van Beijnum. We are also indebted to the various migrants and key informants who graciously shared their stories and experiences with us. The research for this report was supported by funding under the North of Africa window of the EU Emer- gency Trust Fund for Africa. However, the contents of this document are the sole responsibility of the Global Initiative and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union (EU). The photograph on the front cover was taken by the author in a migrant ghetto in Agadez, Niger. Please do not hesitate to contact the author: [email protected] ABOUT THE PROJECT ‘Monitoring the Political Economy of Human Smuggling in Libya and the Greater Sahara’ is a project funded under the North Africa window of the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa.
    [Show full text]