Ghadames or Ghadamis (
Berber
Berber or Berbers may refer to:
Ethnic group
* Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa
* Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages
Places
* Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile
People with the surname
* Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
: ''ʕadémis''; ar, غدامس,
Libyan vernacular
Libyan Arabic ( ar, ليبي, Lībī) is a variety of Arabic spoken mainly in Libya, and neighboring countries. It can be divided into two major dialect areas; the eastern centred in Benghazi and Bayda, and the western centred in Tripoli and Mi ...
: ''ɣdāməs'',
Latin: ''Cidamus, Cydamus'', it, Gadames) is an
oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.”
The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
Berber
Berber or Berbers may refer to:
Ethnic group
* Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa
* Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages
Places
* Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile
People with the surname
* Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
town in the
Nalut District of the
Tripolitania
Tripolitania ( ar, طرابلس '; ber, Ṭrables, script=Latn; from Vulgar Latin: , from la, Regio Tripolitana, from grc-gre, Τριπολιτάνια), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province o ...
region in northwestern
Libya.
The indigenous language of Ghadames is
Ghadamès
Ghadames or Ghadamis (Berber: ''ʕadémis''; ar, غدامس, Libyan vernacular: ''ɣdāməs'', Latin: ''Cidamus, Cydamus'', it, Gadames) is an oasis Berber town in the Nalut District of the Tripolitania region in northwestern Libya.
The indi ...
, a
Berber language.
Ghadamès, known as 'the pearl of the desert', stands in an oasis. It is one of the oldest pre-Saharan cities and an outstanding example of a traditional settlement. Its domestic architecture is characterized by a vertical division of functions: the ground floor used to store supplies; then another floor for the family, overhanging covered alleys that create what is almost an underground network of passageways; and, at the top, open-air terraces reserved for the women.
Geography
Ghadames lies roughly to the southwest of
Tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
, near the
borders with Algeria and
Tunisia. Ghadames borders
Illizi Province, Algeria and
Tataouine Governorate, Tunisia.
The oasis has a population of around 10,000, mainly
Berbers
, image = File:Berber_flag.svg
, caption = The Berber ethnic flag
, population = 36 million
, region1 = Morocco
, pop1 = 14 million to 18 million
, region2 = Algeria
, pop2 ...
. The old part of the town, which is surrounded by a
city wall, has been declared a
UNESCO World Heritage site. Each of the seven clans that used to live in this part of the town had its own district, of which each had a public place where festivals could be held.
Climate
Ghadames has a
hot desert climate (
Köppen climate classification ''BWh'') with long, extremely hot summers as average high temperature is around 41 °C (105.8 °F) in July, the hottest month of the year as well as short, warm winters. The town receives little precipitation throughout the year as average annual precipitation is only 33.1 mm (1.30 in).
History
Ancient eras

It has been suggested, based on archaeological evidence, that this area has been settled since the 4th millennium B.C., and is one of the oldest pre-Saharan settlements. Its situation near a water source in the middle of a desert would have made it an important spot for anyone seeking to settle in the area.
The first written records about Ghadames date from the Roman period when the settlement was known as Cydamus, from which modern Ghadames derives its name. In the 1st century BC, the Roman
proconsul Lucius Cornelius Balbus invaded Cydamus during the reign of emperor
Augustus.
A permanent Roman garrison was established during the reign of
Septimius Severus, and the emperor may have visited the settlement around AD 202. However, the Romans withdrew from the area a few decades later during the
Crisis of the Third Century.
During the 6th century, a
bishop lived in the oasis, after the population had been converted to Christianity by
Byzantine missionaries. It became a stronghold of the
Donatist heresy until
its conquest by Muslim Arabs.
During the late 7th century, Ghadames was ruled by the Muslim Arabs. The population quickly converted to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
and Ghadames played an important role as base for the
Trans-Saharan trade until the 19th century.
Etymology
The etymology of the name Ghadames is very closely linked with its history. It is believed that the name Ghadames is originally connected to the name of the ancient
Berber
Berber or Berbers may refer to:
Ethnic group
* Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa
* Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages
Places
* Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile
People with the surname
* Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
tribe of
Tidamensi
Ghadames or Ghadamis (Berber: ''ʕadémis''; ar, غدامس, Libyan vernacular: ''ɣdāməs'', Latin: ''Cidamus, Cydamus'', it, Gadames) is an oasis Berber town in the Nalut District of the Tripolitania region in northwestern Libya.
The indi ...
, a tribe from
Fezzan. It is also believed that the name Tidamensi was corrupted by the invading Romans to form the name Cydamus, which in turn gave way to the name Ghadames.
1900s–present
In October 1911, shortly after the
Italo-Turkish War broke out, Ghadames was occupied by Italian soldiers marching from
Tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
. However, Italy's hold on the city was interrupted several times until June 1915, when a general rising throughout Libya caused the Italian garrison to retreat from Ghadames to the stronghold of Tripoli. Effective control over the city was restored in December 1918, but rebellion throughout
Fezzan kept Ghadames in a state of emergency until 1923.
In 1943, Free French forces occupied Ghadames and its surrounding area in the southern part of the former Italian colony of
Libya, forming the
Military Territory of Fezzan-Ghadames
The Fezzan-Ghadames Military Territory was a territory in the southern part of Italian Libya which was occupied and administered by Free France from 1943 until Libya gained independence in 1951. It was part of the allied occupation of Libya.
Fr ...
until Libyan independence in 1951. Ghadames was made the territory's capital during this time.
In the 1970s, the government built new houses outside of the old part of the town. However, many inhabitants return to the old part of the town during the summer, as its architecture provides better protection against the heat.
That same time, director
Moustapha Akkad chose Ghadames as a filming location for interior scenes of the city of
Medina in ''
The Message'', an Islamic epic drama film.
During the
Libyan Civil War,
National Transitional Council forces entered the town on 30 August 2011, which had been under siege by NTC forces since the beginning of the conflict. Until 2011, the city was under control by independent Tuareg troops. After being captured by the
Libyan National Army
The Libyan National Army (LNA; ar, الجيش الوطني الليبي, ''al-jaysh al-waṭaniyy al-Lībii'') is a component of Libya's military forces which were nominally a unified national force under the command of Field Marshal Khalifa Ha ...
, the entire Tuareg community was forced to flee in an act of
ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...
.
Old Town of Ghadames
The old town, inscribed in 1986 as a
UNESCO World Heritage site, was de-populated of its inhabitants throughout the 1990s, leaving the old buildings at risk of collapse due to a lack of maintenance. It has been listed on the
List of World Heritage in Danger since 2016 among four other sites in Libya, because of damage caused by the
Libyan Civil War affecting the country and the threat of further damage it poses.
Gallery
Image:Libya Ghadames Old Town Inside of small dwelling.JPG, Inside view of a small dwelling
Image:Libya Ghadames Old Town Rooftop View.JPG, Old Town Rooftop View
Image:Libya Ghadames Old Town Spring Water Pool.JPG, Old Town Spring Water Pool
Image:Libya Ghadames Old Town Wall Entrance.JPG, Old Town Wall Entrance
Image:Libya Ghadames Old Town Fruit Trees.JPG, Fruit Trees in the Old Town
See also
*
Ghadames Museum
*
Ghadames Airport
*
List of cities in Libya
References
Further reading
*
Lafi (Nora) "Ghadamès cité-oasis entre empire ottoman et colonisation" in Federico Cresti (ed.), ''La Libia tra Mediterraneo e mondo islamico'', Giuffrè, pp. 55–70, 2006
External links
* Azzouz, Intisar (1980
"Ghadames, Libya"''In'' Safran, Linda (ed) (1980) ''Places of Public Gathering in Islam: proceedings of seminar five in the series Architectural transformations in the Islamic world, held in Amman, Jordan, May 4–7'' Aga Khan Award for Architecture, Philadelphia, ; photographs of Ghadames.
{{Authority control
Populated places in Nalut District
Oases of Libya
World Heritage Sites in Libya
Tuareg
Tourism in Libya
Algeria–Libya border crossings
Libya–Tunisia border crossings
Baladiyat of Libya