Ghadamès

E39478

Ghadamès is an ancient oasis town in western Libya, renowned for its well-preserved Saharan architecture and UNESCO-listed historic old quarter.


Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf World Heritage Site
archaeological site
human settlement
oasis town
architecturalStyle Saharan vernacular architecture
buildingMaterial lime plaster
mud brick
palm wood
climate hot desert climate
coordinateLocation approximately 30.133°N 9.500°E
country Libya
ethnicGroup Berbers
surface form: Berber

Tuareg
feature covered passageways for shade
separation of public and private spaces
vertical organization of domestic space
hasHeritageDesignation UNESCO World Heritage Site
hasPart Old Town of Ghadamès
modern town of Ghadamès
heritageCriteria UNESCO cultural criterion (iii)
UNESCO cultural criterion (v)
heritageListingYear 1986
heritageSiteId 362
knownFor ancient oasis settlement pattern
distinctive whitewashed facades
multi-storey mud-brick houses
traditional covered alleyways
well-preserved Saharan architecture
languageUsed Ghadamès Berber language
locatedIn Sahara Desert
Tripolitania
western Libya
locatedInAdministrativeTerritory Nalut District
locatedNear Algeria
Tunisia
locatedOn an oasis fed by underground water
edge of the Sahara Desert
historic trade routes across the Sahara
officialNameUNESCO Old Town of Ghadamès
partOf Fezzan region in a broad sense
populationTrend decline in permanent residents in the old town in the late 20th century
religion Islam
romanName Cydamus
roofType flat roofs used as terraces
timePeriod Roman period frontier town
inhabited since pre-Roman times
UNESCORegion Arab world
surface form: Arab States
urbanForm compact labyrinthine street network
usedToBe important trans-Saharan caravan stop
trading center between North and sub-Saharan Africa

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Old Town of Ghadamès locatedIn Ghadamès