It is one of the oldest pre-Saharan cities and an outstanding example of a traditional settlement.
Rooftop walkways allow women to move freely, concealed from mens view.
Overhanging structures cover the alleys between houses creating an almost underground connection of passageways.
Photograph by George Steinmetz
Ghademes is an old town.
Today it is a small oasis city situated next to a palm grove.
Roughly circular in layout, the historic city of Ghadames comprises a cluster of houses.
The reinforced outer walls of the houses on the edge of the city form a fortified wall.
This rudimentary urban enclosure is penetrated here and there by doors and bastions.
The houses have a minimum of two main floors.
At the back there is a staircase that leads to a much more spacious upper level.
The first floor generally includes a raised attic and bedrooms, and sometimes a sitting-room.
Sometimes there is a second floor with a similar layout.
The terraces of adjacent houses are joined with each other forming an open cityscape.
The terrace is the domain of women, and gives them a great deal of freedom.
Communicating between terraces they make friends with neighbours and can even move about the ‘roof’ of the city.
The covered arcades at ground level are generally reserved for men.
The old part of the town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986.
Photo credit
Sources:Wikipedia,UNESCO
