Libya ليبيا (Great Libyan Jamahiriya)

Within the limits of the Hamada al Hamrah ou "Red Plateau" (huge plateau extending the djebel Nafusah to the south), Ghadames, the "Pearl of the Desert", welcomes the traveler in the freshness of its ksar (fortified city). Ghadames, one of the oldest pre-Saharan cities and an outstanding example of a traditional settlement, opens up the doors of the Libyan far south to anyone that cannot go in the Fezzan. Its architecture is characterised by the different functions assigned to each story - the ground floor used to store supplies, another floor extending over dark enclosed passages forming a system of passageways, and the open-air terraces reserved for women. As a fortified oasis, whose somber streets scoot between dried brick houses, Ghadames was made by UNESCO a World Heritage Site.