Ghadames

Ghadames or Ghadamis /ɡəˈdæmᵻs/ (Berber: ʕademis; Arabic: ɣadāmis‎, Libyan vernacular: ɣdāməs, Latin: Cidamus, Cydamus) is an oasis town in the Nalut District of the Tripolitania region in northwestern Libya.

The indigenous language of Ghadames is Ghadamès, a Berber language.

Geography

Ghadames lies roughly 462 kilometres (287 mi) to the southwest of Tripoli, near the borders with Algeria and Tunisia. Ghadames borders Illizi Province, Algeria and Tataouine Governorate, Tunisia.

The oasis has a population of around 10,000, mainly Berbers. The old part of the town, which is surrounded by a city wall, has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. Each of the seven clans that used to live in this part of the town had its own district, of which each had a public place where festivals could be held.

Climate

Ghadames has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh) with long, extremely hot summers as average high temperature is around 41 °C (105.8 °F) in July, the hottest month of the year as well as short, warm winters. The town is virtually rainless throughout the year as average annual precipitation is only 33.1 mm (1.30 in) and the sky is nearly always clear all year long.