Gaberoun (; , alternate spelling ''Gaber Awhn, Gabr Awhn, Gabr Own, Gabraun'') is an

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentIdehan Ubari desert region of the

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 ...

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

. Administratively, it is located Wadi al Hayaa District of the

Fezzan Fezzan ( , ; ; ; ) is the southwestern region of modern Libya. It is largely desert, but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys (wadis) in the north, where oases enable ancient towns and villages to survive deep in the otherwise in ...

region in southwestern Libya. A rudimentary tourist camp is located on the northeastern shore, including an open patio, sleeping huts, and a souvenir shop (attended by a

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym, depending on variety: ''Imuhaɣ'', ''Imušaɣ'', ''Imašeɣăn'' or ''Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group, traditionally nomadic pastoralists, who principally inhabit th ...

in full costume) in the winter. The lake is very salty; swimming can be pleasant despite the salt water

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

Mosquito Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...

es are abundant, especially in the summer. October to May is considered the best time to visit as the climate is milder.

History

A small tribe inhabited the oasis; the ruins of their settlement are scattered between the palms at the north-western shore of the lake. It is said that one of their sources of subsistence was the worm-like

s they fished from the salty lake. They were moved in the 1980s to a new location outside the

sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

s, in the ''Wadi Bashir'', south of the

erg The erg is a unit of energy equal to 10−7joules (100Nano-, nJ). It is not an SI unit, instead originating from the centimetre–gram–second system of units (CGS). Its name is derived from (), a Greek language, Greek word meaning 'work' or ' ...

, a settlement of concrete apartments built specifically for the resettlement of this tribe. The old

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

settlement by the western shore of the lake has been abandoned, and now lies in ruins.

Access

The oasis is accessible from the Sabha- Ubari road (150km west of Sabha and north in the sand dunes at the settlement of Qasr Larocu), by a 36 km 4WD ride through the

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

s of the Ubari sand sea (also called Ramlat al Dauada).

Nearby attractions

Other nearby attractions are the El Mandara oasis (), the Un Almaa oasis (), Mafo Lake in the same sand erg (''Ramlat al Dauada'') and the museum in Germa.

Games

The second mission from the

game A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...

Sniper Elite III ''Sniper Elite III'' is a 2014 Third-person view, third-person tactical shooter Stealth game, stealth video game developed and published by Rebellion Developments. The game is a prequel to its 2012 predecessor ''Sniper Elite V2'', and is the thir ...

'' takes place on the Gaberoun oasis.

References

External links