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		Ghadames Once upon a time deep in the Sahara an ancient city lived under a spell defended by high walls and tens of triangular rooftop crenellations. A deep silence held in the narrow streets, the caravans from remote sudan no longer came. The story could continue with cliches of white robed figures and hot winds blowing over the oasis. The desert ghost town, Ghadames is real enough however famous among architecture lovers as a place perfectly adapted to a harsh environment. Ghadames is 640 km southwest of Tripoli. There are at least two buses a day from Tripoli, passing via Nalut. Ghadames is very much the legendary oasis town, even though the population has moved out of the labyrinthine old town into new modern housing areas. Exploring the twon and oasis is a pleasant day, and with four wheel drive could do a day trip out to the dunes. Located close the point where the international frontiers of Libya, Algeria and Tunisia join, modern Ghadames has an estimated population of around 10000. The residential area is divided into the old and new towns. The old town is situated within the oasis whereas the new town has been built on the dry slopes above the oasis. The old town has been uninhabited since 1986. The old town has not been simply abandoned and still plays an important role in the life of the inhabitants. In hottest days of the summer, the inhabitants of the new city return to their original quarters in search of shade and cool. Tourism is gaining importance and Ghadames now has a three day tourist festival held annually in October to coincide with the date harvest. There are displays of local traditions and horsemanship. From a difficult natural environment, the old Ghadames created perfect living conditions for isolated settlement in a harsh natural environment. The houses, built of pise bricks, lime, palm tree trunks and fronds, the only available building materials are elegant and practical. Built on two stories they have a central room of the first floor acting as a kind of courtyard with all the rooms leading off it. The rooms are lit by an ingenious hole in the high ceiling letting in sunlight that reflects off the white walls and provides sufficient illumination. The upper floors are supported by palm tree trunks covered with fronds and mud. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ghat Set in the heart of Fezzan, a region crossed by caravans that from Sudan headed towards the Mediterranean, Ghat was favored by its strategic position and an ancient time of over a thousand years ago, was a vibrant city, flourishing on trade and blessed with a kind and clement nature, which with its ample lakes and savannah-like vegetation, was a haven for hunters and farmers. Ghat is guarded by Akakus mountains and has grown around its oasis and enwraps it in an intricate web of alleys and houses, tightly intertwined to ensure a long, cool, uninterrupted shadow. The Tuareg, slender figures of lapislazzuli and cobalt on their ivory mehari pedestals, those white, enchanted, camels that come to life when the sun lights up the golden satin of the dunes. The elegant figures are animated by the sound of an invisible musical box which, during the Festival that is held in Ghat towards the end of December, accompanies the ritual dances and the complex figurative movements of these people that has become legendary presence in the immensity of the desert. It is a breathless moment when suddenly there is a glimpse of Lake Mandara, one of the many lakes that make up the Ramlat Daouada and Ramlat Zallaf, which shine like delicate jade against the silken velvrt dunes of the Adhane Ubari. Germa, the ancient capital of Fezzan, flourished in Ghat. Here, in the valley dominated by the mountain range of Messak Settafet, lived the Garamants, an incient people of shepherds and farmers, but above all warriors who originated from Tibesti. The flashes of vegetation that brighten the ruins of Germa testify to the immense resources of fossil water deposited in a prehistoric age, when this area was moist enough to support the growth of a rich vegetation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leptis Magna Leptis Magna is among the most complete magnificent of the 3 towns (tripolis) of North Africa. It began as a Phoenician port of call on the trading route across the region, though it was ultimately administered in the 6th century BC, it is thought, from Carthage. The city grew up at the mouth of the Wadi Lebda where a small port was developed over the years, exporting important volumes of grain and olives. It joined Rome in 111 BC and enjoyed full rights as colonia to Roman citizenship under the Emperor Trajan (98-117 AD). The early Roman period saw the construction of basic harbour works and a forum close by the original Punic settlement. The city flourished under the rule of and patronage of Septimus Severus (193-211 AD) who was born in Leptis Magna. Most of the major buildings at Leptis date from his time. The city spread along the coast and inland. All the important buildings can be reached adjacent to or just off the main paved monumental road from the present entrance through the new parts of the site. A full inspection of the wealth of monuments requires at least a full day and rather longer for visitors with a specialist interest since Leptis Magna is well preserved and has an unequalled range of buildings from the classical period. In summer the site is very hot and justice can be done only by a series of visits when the heat is less oppressive. Although now a UNESCO World Heritage site, few tourists get to see the wonders of this site in person. Lepcis Magana Excavation Site Lepcis Magana Page Archaeological Site of Leptis Magna ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sabha Deep in the interior is Fezzan, home of the finest natural gallery of prehistoric rock are in Africa. Sabha is the largest oasis and the major city in the Fezzan Region. It is situated in the middle of the desert where visitors may spend an enjoyable time in a quiet and peaceful atmosphere between golden sand dunes, green palm trees, clear water springs and the ancient ruins and civilization that surround it. The modern city of Sabha may be reached via a modern highway network across the desert or by air from Tripoli and Benghazi. It is built on the ruins of an ancient city where past civilizations such as that of the Garmantes thrived. Their drawings and engravings on the rocks of the Akakus mountains and their earliest artifacts date back to the first millennium B.C., telling the story of the great original Libyan civilization that flourished in this part of the country. Further north, across the sand-sea and the huge dunes one reaches the magnificent oasis of Gabroun which has been restored in order to cater for travelers. The original inhabitants, the Dawada, also known as the "Worm Eaters" have now moved to an area closer to the highway. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sabrata The city of Sabrata is located on the Mediterranean coast, one-hour drive west of Tripoli. It was founded by the Canaanites in the 6th century BC. A Phoenician trading-post that served as an outlet for the products of the African hinterland, Sabrata was part of the short-lived Numidian kingdom of Massinissa before being Romanized and rebuilt in the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D. Like Leptis Magna, Sabrata began as a settlement to service the coastal trade of the Carthaginians. It was developed as a permanent site in the 4th century BC to act as a terminal for the trans-Saharan trade since it had a natural harbor on an otherwise long and unindented coastline. The site was later to become of the 3 cities with Leptis and Oea (Tripoli). Sabrata prospered in the third century AD as a trading place for the Ivory coming from central Africa, through Ghadames and Fezzan. The Vandals who invaded North Africa from Europe abandoned it after its destruction. In 533 AD the Byzantines occupied the city and rebuilt most of it noticeably, the church of Justinian with its fine decorated mosaic floors. Amongst the walls and foundations of public buildings discovered in the city, are the market, tribunal and some temples. Among the most prominent features of the city during Roman times are the public arenas, the Temples of Liber Pater, Sirapis, Isis, and Hercules, the forum, the theatre, the tribunal arena, and the public paths. Ruins of the earliest Phoenician settlements have been found beneath the Roman town in the area between the forum and the Sea. The main monument is the Amphitheatre, used in modern times as a theatre and concert hall. There is a variety of public baths, temples and fountains, with many first class mosaics both on site and in the adjacent Museum, Some Byzantine remains are on show to exemplify the revival after the Vandal invasions. Sabrata is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shahat In ancient times Cyrene was considered one of the largest cities in the Mediterranean area, second only to Athens. It is the largest archeological settlement of the Pentapolis cities of the Green Mountain area. The city of Shahat lies on the ruins of Cyrene, 10 Km east of Al Baida. Cyrene was founded in 631 B.C., by some Greek adventurers coming from the island of Thera, known today as Santhorini. It was occupied in later times by the Romans, Byzantines. After the advent of Islam in 642 - 643 A.D., the new faith (Islam) has dominated the region ever since. The cultural influence and historical events that have shaped Cyrene's history can still be traced in the ruins of the temples of Zeus and Apollo, the theatre, the vast area of the Agora, the Acropolis, the wall built to its north during the 4th century B.C. and then rebuilt by the Romans in the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. and in some churches built during the Byzantine control of the city (533 A.D.). The city of Cyrene reached its peak during the Emperor Augustus's rule, it was both center and guiding force of the whole region. In the 2nd century A.D., a series of violent rebellions started the city on its way to a slow and inexorable decline. A severe earthquake hit Cyrene in the 3rd century A.D. reducing it to ruins. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sousa The city of Sousa was known as Apollonia during the Greco-Roman era. It is located on the Mediterranean coast, 20 KM North of Shahat (Cyrene), and is connected to the latter by a road excavated in the rocky ground of the area, and improved during Roman times. Apollonia served as a port for the city of Cyrene, when the once well-known silphium plant was exported. By the end of the 6th century A.D., its importance exceeded that of Cyrene and Ptolemais.. Visitors to this area will certainly enjoy the fine weather and the Mediterranean beach, as well as the Greek, Roman and Byzantine ruins. The Greek theatre, the Roman baths and the Byzantine Palace (which served as a government building in the 6th century A.D.) are few examples.