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City and Oasis in central
Libya.
Capital of the Fezzan region. It lies in
27.67.27.1 latitude in the north and
14.29.14 in the east in the desert, 600
KM away from the sea shore. It is 470 KM
higher than the sea level.
Sebha is the largest and most important
settlement in Libyan Sahara. It is
located in the middle of Sahara desert.
Sebha is a fascinating place where sand
dunes and palm trees surround the town.
Its wide streets and white houses offer
an example of desert towns in Libya. The
lakes around the northern side of the
town are wonderful where you can have a
great time. It is hot and dry in summer,
severely cold in winter. There are the
sand dunes and fresh water springs. Its
sun is warm, its sky is clear, its
nights are moony, and its sand is
golden. It is rich in palm trees. The
economic base of the city is
administrative activities, trade,
transportation and some tourism. Sebha
is an important transportation hub in
the Sahara. While all is done by road or
air, many old patterns still applies.
The Italian Fort Elena rests on nearby
hill.
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800 km north:
Tripoli. |
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One of the wonders of the south-western
Fezzan is the sahara lakes It is marked
by wonderful lakes surrounded by sand
dunes and palm trees. There are about 13
lakes in Obari. The most important lakes
are: Gaber-oun, Mandra, Om-Almaa, maffo,
and Bas'Bahr-ald Doud. These lakes are
known for their high salinity, reaching 3 times that of the sea. Gaber-oun is
the largest lake in the area. It is
surrounded by trees and lines of high
sand dunes. The lake and the ancient
village of Gaber-oun are situated at an
altitude of 400m. The Gaber-oun lake
originally was known as 'Bahr-ald Doud'
(sea of worms) and is situated in the
north of the village of Bendbeiya at
approx 41km within the Erg.
The lakes lie only 30 kilometres north
of Germa but the journey involves some
difficult passages in the Ubari sand
dunes – a good 4 WD vehicle is
essential.
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Location: 24.9N, 17.7E
Elevation: 3936 ft (1200 m)
Waw-Alnamus is an exotic volcano deep in
the desert of Libya. A low caldera about
4 km in diameter is surrounded by a 5 -
10 km wide dark black deposit of ash
that stands out starkly against the
yellowish desert. The few people who
have visited have been struck by its
beauty. The mountain of Waw-Alnamus is
an extinct volcano, in the center of the
Sahara desert. It has a splendid view
that sticks in mind for thousands of
years. It gives you a
Feeling as if you were on the moon.
Waw-Alnamus lives up to this reputation
when you are driving to it. However is
also referred to as the eight wonder of
the world. The ancient volcano has
several superbly set lakes in its crater
and a full day can be spent here. It is
really a place that no one can forget. |
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This ancient city is located in southern
Libya, 160 KMS southwest of Sabha.
According to historians, the Germantes
are the first inhabitants of the region
.They were a warrior nation, dealing
with agriculture and breeding stocks.
The ancient city of the Germantes, built
around the 1st century AD. It is one of
the most important archaeological sites
in all of Libya. The city flourished
between 900 BC to 500 AD was the
dominate culture of the region and
Ancient Germa was the capital.
The importance of the area as a trade
link between Central Africa and the
Mediterranean was similarly recorded, as
were beautifully executed war chariots
and horse carts.
The ruins In Germa consist of numerous
tombs, water tunnels, forts, cemeteries,
ancient houses, temples and baths carry
the distinguished designs of the
different civilizations that existed in
this land: ancient Egyptian,
Carthaginian, Greek and Roman. Other
ruins in Germa suggest civilizations in
the area dating back to 10000 B.C., such
as that of Akakus, as evidenced by the
colored drawings in the nearby
mountains.
Germa city is situated on a hill, and it
has three gates:
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The eastern gate, known by: The
great gate.
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The southern gate, know by: The good
gate.
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The western gate, known by: Tl-kouja
gate.
Germa in an oval city in shape, it's
diameter from east to west it 5K.M. and
from north to south 3.5K.M. The hill is
surrounded by a trench of water,
bordered by moorland at the north side,
and thick forests of palm-tree at south
and west sides.
The remained ruins of Germa are:
The Germantes, with the help of their neighboring tribes,
resisted the Roman influence. Their
armies reached the fringes of Leptis-Magna,
hundreds of kilometers to the North.
Peaceful relations were not realized
until the end of the 2nd century A.D.,
at the time of Libyan born Emperor
Septimius Severus (193 - 211 A.D.).
Another potential source of information
is the abundant rock paintings, even if
many of these depict lifestyles prior to
the rise of the empire itself.
There is a good museum, burial sites in
the hills of Zinchecra.
The museum in Tripoli (Matthaf Al-jamahiria) exhibits the
various masterpieces and collections
discovered in the area, where the
earliest finds date back to the first
millennium B.C.
The new town is however prospering and
growing amongst the well-irrigated green
palms, fruit trees and fields of alfalfa
and wheat. |
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Wadi-Makthandush this deep rocky valley
(Wadi-Makthandush) that seems as if it
has been carved with a giant hoe. It
winds gently amongst cliffs of sandstone
out of which have been carved numerous
fine animals, some carvings as old as
12,000yrs. And depicting elephant,
hippopotamus, crocodile, giraffe and
ostrich all suggesting a much more
hospitable climate existed in the past
with water was abundant.
Wadi-Makthandush is about 12km long and
contrasts sharply to the barren stone
desert surrounding it. Makthandush is
lies just 30km north of the Murzuq-dunes;
it's the frontier between the barren
plateaus of the Messak Settafet and the
stretch of land towards the sand dunes
of Edhan-Murzuk. The route to
Wadi-Makthandush lies south of
Germa, about four hours by
4WD. At first you drive at up to 100kph
or more over a flat plateau of gravelly
sand which brings you to Wadi-berjuj, an
extremely wide sandy valley alive with
vegetation and herds of grazing camels.
Once you pass the control point in the
middle of nowhere which checks your
Akakus Desert permit, you climb up on to
a gravel ridge for more high-speed
driving, before dropping down halfway
along Wadi-Makthandush, over several
kilometers of large, uneven black stones
that slow you to a crawl. On one side of
the Wadi-Makthandush runs a bluff of
desert-varnished sandstone, and the
whole 12km stretch is home to
Petroglyphs (rock carvings), some of
which have been dated to 12,000BC, with
many between six and eight thousand
years old. Wild animals such as
elephant, giraffe, hippo and crocodile
are depicted, as well as domestic cattle
and some formless human bodies dating to
a later period. You will see no camel
carvings here which may seem strange
until you discover that the camel was
only introduced to the Sahara around
200BC. |
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Idehan Murzuq is about 250km south-west
of Sebha and perhaps 1,000km south of
Tripoli. It can be reached
only with a reliable 4WD vehicle. It is
the flower of the dessert. It is breezy
and nice in the morning, hot and sunny
at noon. The climate is dry hot in
summer and cold and dry in winter. It
scarcely rains. The winds are western
desert in winter and the southern winds
blow in summer. There are the western
winds in winter and the southern winds
in summer. It lies in a plain area
related to Gufra depression from the
west. It is surrounded by the desert
everywhere.
It lies 450 KM higher than the sea level
north Murzuq sand sea.
Historically speaking, it is the
fenced city that was built by Sultan
Mohamed Al Fassy in the 14th century.
Later it became the commercial and
departmental capital of Fezzan province.
The Murzuq consists of wave upon wave of
extravagantly shaped dunes, some as high
as 200-300 meters. With the sun low in
the sky the twilight bathes each angled
dune face with its own soft, subtle hue,
playing tricks of distance and
perspective on your eyes. If you see
nothing else of interest during a visit
to Libya, these few moments would make
the whole trip worthwhile. The erg is
very vast and so the ideal place for
camping. |
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Tadrat-Akakus is
a mountainous region in the
southwest of Libya. It is
situated near the country's
southwest border, east of the
city of Ghat.
The Akakus is a vast Museum
situated in the mountainous
region east of Ghat. It is
ploughed with a great number of
wadis (dried beds of the
prehistoric waterways).
The valleys, whose border rocks
are formed by ancient dunes, are
divided into various plateaus of
several heights covered with
grey-black breccias. On the east
and southeast side, the Tadrat
is a steep slope formed of
scattered rocks, headlands,
pathways and turrets which
barely stand out from the rubble
and debris. The biggest wadi on
the exit of the Tadrat is named
Takhisset, a mass of sand dunes
forces its path north between
the Erg and the Akakus where it
consequently takes its names of
wen Eillel, wen Kassa and Taita;
their tracks leave themselves
between the dunes in front of
the Ubari Erg. It is a very
wonderful region and known for
its sand stone rocks that
reflects the development of
human societies and the fauna
such as elephant and giraffe
which used to roam in the
Sahara.
Wadi-Tashwint is
one of the major Wadis of the
Akakus.
It is about 60 kilometers long
with innumerable side Wadis
leading off.
It is popular not only for its
scenery but for its
concentration of caves with some
of the better examples of Akakus
caves carvings and cave
paintings.
It is likely that
you will encounter another group
in this Wadi.
Akakus is a natural
museum that offers gorgeous
desert scenery of cave paintings
and drawings up to 12,000 years
old. The scenes depict hunting,
festivities, wild and
domesticated animals and love
making. They suggest there were
a higher rainfall and more
temperate climate here in the
past. Cave paintings and
carvings of various styles are
scattered throughout almost all
the valleys, representing the
various cultural groups that
lived there during those long
periods of prehistory, the
engravings on the rocks
representing animal life around
12,000 B.C. Various European
experts have studied these
paintings and carvings, but it
was Professor Fabrizio Mori who
succeeded in clearly
distinguishing the different
periods represented:
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Carvings on the rock face
depicting the outline of
large animals from
the African savannah (around
12,000 B.C.).
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African savannah (around
12,000 B.C.).
-
stylized paintings using
yellow, green and red
pigments of asexual figures
with rounded heads, shown by
using carbon-14 to have been
produced some 8000 years
B.C.
-
Polychromatic
representations of bovine
animals and
Mediterranean-type human
figures (around 4000 B.C.).
-
representations of horses
and carts dated at 1500
B.C., believed to refer to
the Garamantes tribes
mentioned by Herodotus.
-
Monochromic paintings
corresponding to the
introduction of camels into
North Africa at the
beginning of the Christian
era.
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Nature has nothing to show but
beauty, when the blue sky and
the yellow ground merge together
to form a fascinating view of
sand sea that stretches to
thousands of square miles. It's
the Libyan desert. One of the
greatest places in the world.
It has features of real beauty
Mountains, oases surrounded by
palm trees are found in this
breathtaking place.
Temperatures range between
30-50c.Creatures such as snakes,
scorpions, lizards and rodents
are observed.
Animals like gazelles, hyenas
and camels are also present.
It's an unforgettable moment
when you ride a camel and take a
short journey between the
infinite sand sea. Morzug desert
is one of the most beautiful
deserts, not only in Libya but
in whole Africa. It's located in
the south west of Libya and made
up of Idehan Morzug (sandy
desert) and Hammadat Morzug
(rocky desert). Idehan Morzeg is
marked by sand dunes and covers
an area of 36,000 square miles.
The rocky desert of Hammadat
Morzeq lies west and northwest
of the sandy desert. The Sahara
desert of Libya is a real
evidence of the stunning nature.
Mountains such as Tibesti,
Awinat |
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and Tadrart Acacus cover a huge area of
the Sahara. Engravings and cave
paintings are found in these mountains.
It's a worthwhile journey, when you look
at the infinite landscape and find
yourself surrounded by sand dunes that
ran in straight lines for hundreds of
miles.
It's a real adventure and time to
discover the hidden secrets of nature.
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At one time it was told that Al
Awinat was an ancient qasr left
to ruin, and the French explorer
Duveyrier attributed its
construction to the Garamentes.
A lost oasis with a great tree
in the middle, where a spring of
considerable volume rises from
the surprisingly fertile,
somewhat salty ground. The
smaller water canals flowed to
irrigate the crops of cereals
grown at that time, and this is
probably the reason why the
Arabs called this place Al
Awinat (the springs). |
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It is a little higher than the other
bottoms of Kokemn mount. It lies between
25 latitude northward and 10 longitudes
eastward. It is 697 KM higher than the
sea level. The word Ghat was soght to be
derived from the word Rabsa, the
greatest desert city. It was mentioned
by the Roman historian Plinus who lived
from 22-79 BC. The Turkish book by Abdel
Kader Gamy mentions that the remains of
the city in the northern plateau prove
that it belongs to the Roman monuments.
Plinus said that the campaign led by
Palbus in the year 19 BC, against the
Germants reached Ghat. It was also
mentioned by Ibn Batoutta, the famous
Arabian Explorer in his famous trip in
the middle of the 14th century AD.
It was mentioned in the book of, Tasily
portraits, that the area was very
important as represented in the
engravings dating back to 5000 years BC.
Some say that the remains date back to
the old Germants civilization. Aghram
and Sharoun are deemed the oldest parts
of the city. There are Roman remains of
the ancient houses beside the engravings
dating back to more than 5000 years BC.
Others say that those monuments are
attributed to the Germants civilization.
Agram and Shern are deemed the oldest
oarts. It is thought to be built over
the debris of the old Ghat. There is the
ancient mosque and Ishly aqure the town
center surrounded with a fence with four
gates. It has been the tie between
the center of Africa to the north. It
became a station for caravans through
different paths. |
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