The Lonely Planet says there is nowhere on earth quite Ghadames. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of the old city is a magical evocation of an idyllic caravan town of the Sahara – a palm-fringed oasis, the sense of an intricate maze, stunning traditional houses huddled together, and extensive covered walkways that keep the desert heat at bay. Around seemingly every corner is a world of wonder, a sense that here, at last, is a place where time has stood still.

Modern mosque in the modern city of Ghadames.

Ghadames, the principal trading center of the Sahara produced only one product of note: embroidered slippers. They’re still made today and Yvonne inspects a pair.

Yvonne also found another Tuareg in his souvenir shop who helped her with her head covering. He was very kind and nice.

This building is at the entrance of the old city of Ghadames. This is the distinctive architecture and colors.

In the following are mosques, walkways, courtyards, and buildings one encounters strolling through the old town. The restoration work is not finished yet.

There was a town near Ghadames’ current site around 3000 BCE but little is known of the area’s history prior to Roman occupation in 19 BCE. The Romans fortified the town which they called Cydamus and turned it into a regional center that provided the coastal cities with olive oil. Under the reign of Septimius Severus (193-211 CE, more about him in the Leptis Magna section), Ghadames became a garrison town for the Third Legion. The Roman occupation of Ghadames lasted for over 2 centuries during which time the ancient idols of the traditional religions lost influence in the town.

In the 6^th c. CE, the Byzantine armies of Justinian brought Ghadames under the empire’s jurisdiction, while Greek missionaries who followed in the army’s wake effectively turned the town into a Christian settlement. With the arrival of Islamic armies in Libya, the town was overrun in 668 CE and most of the Berber population converted to Islam.

The Ain al-Faras well supplies most of the water to the city.

Some of the houses are restored inside and open to the public. They are stilled owned/operated by the original owners even though it is a UNESCO site.

We had a traditional lunch in one of them.

In Ghadames, women led a life of concealment in keeping with the dictates of traditional Islamic society. The city was designed in such a way that Ghadames women could walk across the entire city on roof tops (off limits to men) without being seen by men.

Ghadames was renowned for the plentiful water from its well. The water management system was ingenious. The main water supply was connected to all points in the city through a network of underground canals. Water users were divided into three categories: private homes were the first to be supplied, followed by mosques which required water for ablutions, and general distribution to the gardens. To precisely calculate and distribute the water, a man would occupy the niche (picture below) in the main square into which water was fed from the spring and into canals. This guardian of the waters ensured that the large bottle that hung underneath the

outlet was filled each time. A hole in the bottle then released the water into the canal. The time it took to empty (about 3 minutes) represented a unit of measurement called one kadus. Each kadus was noted by making a knot in a palm leaf. Two men helped the main regulator by telling him how much water each district of garden was permitted. Each garden was fed off the main canals. When they had received the correct amount, a stone was placed over the opening to ensure that no one took more than their fare share. So regular was this process that time was measured for the whole city by measuring how many kadus had passed since sunrise. Anyone could find out

the time by visiting the main square and asking in the old kadus niche (above) thereby making Ghadames one of the few places to have devised its own independent system of time and water management. This square is currently undergoing extensive reconstruction.

We had an additional day in Ghadames (the day was planned for a Tuareg festival that was postponed) and we decided to go to the small village of Touneen 2 mi west of Ghadames. This city is like a miniature Ghadames but with no tourists. It’s being restored right now and, in the future, will be also visited by tourists. We had it to ourselves and we spent several totally unhurried hours exploring most of it. On the right is the entrance gate.

An old door with traditional decorations that indicates that the owner had completed a hajj.

Not hurried by a guide, we had opportunities to talk to the workers who worked on the restoration. All were from farther south in Africa. They didn’t get to nap in the afternoon like the Libyans always did.

Inside, the houses are not as fancy and polished as in Ghadames but it felt more genuine and original. We pushed open doors that were slightly ajar to find these rooms.

One of the central features of any traditional Ghadames house was Al-Qubba, a canopy set up in a room where a wife received her husband on their first night of marriage. This room was never used again. On the left is such a room.

Outside of Ghadames are nice sand dunes and we climbed around just before sunset.

We missed the Tuareg festival that we had planned to attend (last minute change of the date by them). However, in the hotel where we stayed in Ghadames, a large tour group arranged for a Tuareg performance in the hotel lobby. While the full festival would have been better, we got a good impression of costumes, dance, and music. Nothing is perfect, said the fox.

The Tuareg women made most of the music (they were led by one male). The males are veiled, the women not. They sang to the beat of one large drum.