Ghadames

Situated at the beginning of the Sahara, Ghadames is an ancient caravanning centre. The city is still a ‘living bridge between traditional and contemporary architecture’ in the whole country. The Ghadames oasis forms a part of the sub region of Gharyan, one of the five sub regions of the Tripoli region. Moreover, it is one of the most important trade routes, connecting central Africa with the Mediterranean sea coast. One story records that a party of travellers from Yemen passed through the valley where Ghadames is located. They stayed overnight and when they moved on in the morning, they forgot their food container, later they remembered the container and they recalled that they had left it behind where they had eaten their lunch the previous day. A horseman of the party came back to the place to find the container, the horse dug with his leg in the earth and water came out and for this reason, the source of the existing spring is called “horse spring” (Eyn El- Faras). This story explains the origin of the name Ghadames which means ‘lunch of yesterday'. The Arabic name contains two words Ghada which means lunch or food and Ames which means yesterday. It has been inscribed on the World Heritage list of historic monuments by UNESCO since 1987.