Cave dwelling Jews, also cave Jews or troglodyte Jews (from the French phrase ), were Jewish communities that dwelled in man-made caves in the mountains. The best known communities of this type existed in the

Gharyan Gharyan is a city in northwestern Libya, in Jabal al Gharbi District, located 80 km south of Tripoli. Gharyan is one of the largest towns in the district. Prior to 2007, it was the administrative seat of Gharyan District. In 2005, the po ...

Plateau ("Jebel Gharyan") area of the

Nafusa Mountains The Nafusa Mountains () () is a mountain range in the western Tripolitania region of northwestern Libya. It also includes the regions around the escarpment formed where the northern end of the Tripolitanian Plateau meets the Mediterranean coasta ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

, and are commonly referred to as Gharyan Jews. These communities no longer exist today.Ken Blady, ''Jewish Communities in Exotic Places'', , 2000, Section "Cave Rabbis? Cave Synagogues?", pp.311-329"The Jewish Community of Gharian"

ANU - Museum of the Jewish People Anu ( , from 𒀭 ''an'' "Sky", "Heaven") or Anum, originally An ( ), was the divine personification of the sky, king of the gods, and ancestor of many of the deities in ancient Mesopotamian religion. He was regarded as a source of both divi ...

History

Jewish tribes living in manmade caves were known for centuries in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, and in

Tripolitania Tripolitania (), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province of Libya. The region had been settled since antiquity, first coming to prominence as part of the Carthaginian empire. Following the defeat ...

. Their homes and synagogues were in caves; only cemeteries were on the surface. Jewish cave dwellers of Libya were known since at least 70 CE, when Romano-Jewish historian

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

described the ''Troglodytis''.

Flavius, ''Antiquities'', 1.15.1 When Spain invaded Tripoli in 1510, many Jews fled to

(among other places), and these Jews brought with them

Sephardic Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

traditions. More information about the Ghayan Jews began to be published in the mid-19th century. The main groups of Jewish cave-dwellers were in the settlements of

, Tigrena/Tigrinna, and Beni-Abbas. In 1906, the archaeologist

Nahum Slouschz Nahum Slouschz (; November 1872 – December 1966) was a Russian-born Israeli writer, translator and archaeologist. He was known for his studies of the "secret" Jews of Portugal and the history of the Jewish communities in North Africa, mostly ...

visited the area and wrote a detailed account."The Troglodyte Jews of the Sahara"
(translated from the French of N. Slousch), ''⁨⁨The Reform Advocate''⁩⁩, 21 September 1907 After Libya gained independence, most Jews, including those of Gharyan, migrated to Israel to make ''

aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

'' due to worsened conditions such as ''

pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...

s''."The Jews of Libya"
, ''Jewish Renaissance'' , April 2005, p. 13-22 At present, many of these caves are occupied by Libyans, who modernized the dwellings, including the addition of electricity, running water, and sewage disposal. A number of advantages exist to this type of dwelling. Some of these cave homes are also rented out to tourists."Libya renovates ancient ‘cave houses"
''

Al Arabiya Arabiya (, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is a Saudi state-owned international Arabic news television channel. It is based in Riyadh and is a subsidiary of MBC Group. The channel is a flagship of the media c ...

'', 31 May 2012.

Description

Nahum Slouschz wrote:

From time to time the keen eye discovers, amidst olive and fig trees, or near a mosque or ruins, holes open in the declivity of a hill, resembling in form the door of a cave. A little, wooden door opens before the traveler, and he enters into a kind of dark and uneven gallery, sloping all the way, to traverse which safely'' ' practice alone is essential. After a walk of fifteen to twenty metres, one descends into a kind of court, feebly lighted from above by some rays of light; there is the stable, which precedes the central court, and which often serves as a workshop to the Jewish blacksmiths. Continually descending, a subterranean court is reached, which serves as a central dwelling, kitchen, and workshop, the compartments being in caves dug in the walls of the court, from which they receive a little light and air. The natives find subterranean life very natural and comfortable, though the traveler scarcely feels at ease. The Synagogue of the village Beni-Abbas is also situated in a cave, but the access is open and easy, and its roof is even above the level of the ground. At Tigrena a Synagogue has just been built entirely above the ground.

History

Description

See also

References

Further reading