History

Ghadames or Ghadamis is one of the oldest and most celebrated Saharan cities. It has been suggested, based on archaeological evidence, that this area has been settled since the 4th millennium B.C. From at least the late first millennium BCE it was occupied by indigenous peoples, called the Phazanii, and has been a point of interchange between major cultures and religions from the Garamantes and Romans who called it Cydamae (from which modern Ghadames derives its name), the Byzantines, Christianity, the Islamic conquest, Ottoman control, visits by European explorers in the 19th century and subsequent interventions during the colonial period and WWII. It played an important role as base for the Trans-Saharan trade until the 19th century. Throughout, it has maintained its own particular customs and practices.

The Old Town

The old town of Ghadames, has been declared as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The historic fabric retains its form shaped by the combination of unique architectural structures The settlement is constructed around spring water, the ‘Spring of Filly’ called (Ain al-Faras) in Arabic. The architecture style that has been built to harmonize with climate, which made from local materials, such as palm tree, limestone ,and mud. The irregular shape designed to provide protection against undesirable winds from the south orientation sun radiation, 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.