Time Code

Narration

Dialogue

Music

SFX

00,00,00,00

00,00,00,19

Soul Of Desert (1)

00,00,05,00

When its quite night withdraws and day breaks..  the sun rises to uncover the glamorous beauty in a very captivating scenery.

It carries stories in between its old cracked walls, and in the shades of the greatness of its palms..

A city sings with its birds amazing songs. and dances on its strong drums beatings...

Soul Of Desert (1)

00,00,28,10

00,00,49,00

A city with a legacy that has become priceless....

Ghadames oasis, as it is known “the Diamond of Sahara”.

00,01,01,00

Soul Of Desert (1)

00,01,51,02

Soul Of Desert (3)

00,02,00,02

The Libyan desert is considered a unique meeting point in the area between the Atlantic Ocean in the West and the Red Sea in the east

Soul Of Desert (3)

00,02,14,22

This intermediate site of the North African Sahara made it easy for the region, despite the long distances, to become such a geographical link between different ancient civilizations, and such a communicational point for a mixture of races..

Soul Of Desert (3)

00,02,36,05

A land with a history that goes back to 7000 years BC.

Soul Of Desert (3)

00,02,46,17

The Sahara desert in North Africa is not only one of the largest in our planet, but also one of the cruelest.

Soul Of Desert (3)

00,03,08,15

In such a completely dry environment, in where the temperature reaches its highest levels, the one fundamental thing humans need to survive... is WATER.

Soul Of Desert (3)

00,03,38,00

And while there are natural sources of water, such as the groundwater, the vegetation life found its suitable environment, and so did the humans who afterwards built one of the most ancient cities in the world...

Soul Of Desert (3)

00,03,43,03

00,03,55,29

Soul Of Desert (3)

00,04,47,19

Ghdames Oasis is situated in the southwestern of Tripoli the Libya capital. it is 30th parallel north, and 9th meridian west.

This site linked north Africa cost with the median desert. It was a quite link for commerce in that area, it also helped trade for spreading all over Africa.

00,05,17,04

This magnificent civilized culture of Ghadames depended on how its people could exploit the aquifers by using such a complex engineering.

But how did people of Ghadames do it? 

Ghadamsi engineers took advantage of the nature gifts, they controlled the water by surrounding the water spring in one big pool called “Ain Alfaras” or “Ghasouf”.

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,05,17,04

00,05,57,10

 “Ain Alfaras “Ghasouf” is in a high land outside the city walls. It is the most significant element in the city.

It is divided into five tunnels. Each tunnel has a specific name, direction and engineering. “

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,06,24,20

By exploiting the natural water slopes, the Ghadamsi engineer could build Stony tunnels to re-distribute the water inside the city, in accordance to the needs of farms and buildings.

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,06,42,07

 “People always look for water, wherever there is water, people would fight for it.

There were arguments about water in here. That’s why the first men of the city invented water distribution system to avoid all those quarrels about water.”

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,07,09,11

Here, unusual strategy had to be set... to divide the water into five main tunnels that extend for miles, to cover more than 215 Hectares of the green land surrounding the city.

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,07,28,05

“Water flows uphill from Ain Alfaras through natural slopes to all farms.

And then it is distributed according to a technical water distribution system.”

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,07,45,10

The weird fact about Ghadames water that it was owned by some families in the city who were using it for a trade; they would sell it, rent it and exchange it with other people’s possessions, using official contracts with determined quantities.

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,08,06,18

Ain Alfaras water is owned by some rich families.

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,08,16,20

This water is being rented in auctions to those who do not have enough water.

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,08,29,14

“Ghasouf” has what is called “water calendar” it starts May the first and end at the end of April every year.

In the first day of May, the water possessors and farms owners meet to buy, sell, and rent the water portions for the whole year.

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,08,59,17

For this Water partitioning process to be more organized, there is a special administration, it works the whole year to control the water distribution; by closing and opening the water channels.

There is a clerk in this administration, he keeps archive of all the water portions records..

Another clerk who is in charge of water distribution. And there are some other workers who work on cleaning and maintaining water tunnels.

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,08,50,09

00,09,16,09

00,09,31,00

00,09,42,02

“These registries are made of Ghazal leather and used for information recording.

There is a clerk for each tunnel to redistribute water according to each farm location, size and farmer portion.

This water circling process comes every 13 days in summer, and double this time in winter, which means it comes every 26 days in winter as there is no massive need to water in winter as there is in summer.

All employees who are in charge of this distribution administration are paid water portions, instead of money, from Ain Alfaras.

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,10,32,22

The need of survival in a dry environment pushes people to think of developing better ways of living, and that is exactly what people of Ghadames did.

They set up an accurate timing plan to regulate water calculations by inventing what was considered at that time as an intelligent mechanism… “Al Qadus‪".”

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,11,05,19

Al Qadus is in the heart of the city, in the main square. Which is known as the weekly market or parliament of the city.

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,11,15,26

Tasko, the main square of the city where the city chiefs used to meet, there is a small room in where Al Qadus is placed and connected to Ghasouf with a tunnel underground.

This is to enable the man in charge of Al Qadus to measure the time by filling Al Qadus with water from the water stream running through the tunnel.

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,11,50,01

The water runs from Tasko underground tunnel to farms, passes under Tasko square, Younis mosque, Atiq mosque and then to the other smaller mosques such as Zawiayat Squppa Ali, Zawiyat Tammalli and Zawiyat Endallat in where people pray and read Quraan from time to time.

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,12,30,13

Al Qadus is a water clock that calculates the time of water distribution process in a very accurate way.

Al Qadus is a copper vessel with a very tiny hole in the bottom for the water to drip.

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,13,13,17

This water clock is a vessel hanged in the roof. This vassal is with a tiny hole in the bottom.

The load of water in this vessel equals 300 water drops; tak..tak..tak till 300 drops.

There is a man who is charge of filling this vassal from time to time.

This man of al Qadus has bunch of green fronds and hay.

Each time the vassal empties of water, the man ties a knot of green frond.

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,13,58,18

This man sits in a small room, and fills the vassal with water.

And when vassal empties of water that means 3 minutes have passed. He keeps doing the same thing again and again until another man replaces him.

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,14,23,21

The man uses Al Qadus ties a knot of palm fronds every time Al Qadus empties of water, Each Al Qadus load of water equals about 3 minutes of time. Which means; At the end of one hour session, one palm frond is tied 20 times.

This timing measurement technique was also used to recognize the daily Islamic five prayers times.

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,14,59,22

Those none technician people may not be able to recognize all these calculations, on the other hand people of Ghadames set this intelligent technique in which they use the palm fronds.

They used to tie a knot of palm frond each time Al Qadus is done dropping.

Each frond contains 20 knots… everyone can know how much time has passed for each session.

When water comes to farms, the farmers use it for watering their trees in where winter and summers vegetables and fruits are planted.

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,15,51,14

Every year Ghadames oasis trees produce enough quantities of vegetables and fruits for its people. Palm trees are the most common in the area, they spread all around the city from the out side making a spectacular green ring which provides the city with the protection from the storms and the high heat waves.

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,15,51,14

00,16,31,19

Soul Of Desert (4)

00,17,35,22

Unlike the rest of the ancient cities, people of Ghadames have always enjoyed walking in their shadowy city, away from the heat of the sun.

The remarkable thing about the city for its visitors, that it is rich of squared holes in the ceilings that cover the whole city, and also of the various of its winding paths which make every corner of the city looks like a masterpiece itself.

Soul Of Desert (1)

00,18,41,17

The city architecture divides the city into 2 localities; Wazet and Waled..

And there are number of squares in the city other than Tasko;

Jarassan, Tenghazeen, Indo Khalif, Indo Tomain, Tadween and Tofarda..

These squares are usually used to hold the city political and business meetings.

There are also the main streets of the city

Jarasssan, Tafarfara, Amazig, Tangabeshen and Tengazeen.

The main institutions of the city were

Atiq mousque, Younis mousque, Tallawain school

Soul Of Desert (1)

00,19,41,08

Ghadames residents aimed to ceil their city to protect themselves from the high heated and almost dried climate of the desert. This innovation ceiling system gave a cooler atmosphere to the city from the inside.

Soul Of Desert (1)

00,20,03,12

This city is the biggest ceiled city in the world. Most of the old city streets are similar to subways, but in fact they are ceiled streets by Ghadamsi engineers. They are designed in a particular way to provide the shade and to attempter the high heat temperature.

The air outside the city is usually hot, so the architects could attempter it by some tricks made in the city design.

Soul Of Desert (1)

00,20,53,14

The temperature inside the city walls becomes about 15 degrees cooler than the actual temperature in the out side.

Soul Of Desert (1)

00,21,12,19

How did the Ghadamsi people make the desert suitable for them?

Soul Of Desert (1)

00,21,21,10

There had to be a way to adjust the temperature degrees, which get hotter in the Summer and colder in the winter. And also to stop the Wind and the sandstorms from storming inside the city.

A green belt surrounds the city from the outside helps to attempter the high level degrees and to modulate moisture, all this reflects the pleasant weather on the city inside.

Soul Of Desert (1)

00,21,57,00

215 hectors of Palm trees farms surround the city buildings…

Soul Of Desert (1)

00,22,06,14

Palm trees play a very dynamic role not only its fruits as a source for food or its trunks as a tool for industry, but also as a shield to protect the city from wind, dust and the sand coming from the desert.

Furthermore, the palm fronds relatively freshen the hot air towards the city.

Not to forget the palm trees contribution; providing the needed shade to the ground to remain wet and eligible for planting.

Soul Of Desert (1)

00,22,06,14

00,22,44,21

Ghadames people built their city depending on mud, stone, silt and palm trees trunks and fronds… their compacted houses and buildings give one of the most fascinating pictures your eyes would ever see.

Soul Of Desert (2)

00,24,00,18

The generosity of its people receives you along with its charming old streets, and with its sunrays coming through the ceiling holes, lightening up every lane you walk by.

Soul Of Desert (2)

00,24,29,24

These holes in the ceilings are from 10 to 15 meters apart. These holes have two important functions; the first one is to provide the city with the sunlight.

Soul Of Desert (2)

00,24,56,17

These holes are in the darkest places in the city.

After 12 pm when the sunrays are straight, they get through the ceiling holes to lighten up the dark places.

Soul Of Desert (2)

00,25,18,22

These holes in the ceilings are not only made for the light to get through, but also to renew the air.

These holes have different sizes according to their functions, so you can find the small, the big and the deep once…

Soul Of Desert (2)

00,25,44,20

These holes allow the air circling… and as everyone knows hot air is thin air, which means it easily goes up and then gets out of the ceiling holes. And as a result of that, the cool air automatically comes instead.

Soul Of Desert (2)

00,26,11,06

The sunlight and the fresh air, they all come through these holes, which also help to get red of the hot air…

Soul Of Desert (2)

00,26,25,20

When the hot air comes in through the main gates, it goes inside the curved streets. These streets were meant to be built up this way, so that the hot or the cold air currents, in summer or winter, hit the streets curved walls, this is to slow down the air speed.

Soul Of Desert (2)

00,26,52,08

The curvy roads in the city, work as barriers reflecting the hot air currents coming from the main gates into a pleasant air. This incoming air from the city gates helps to get red of the dust through the ceilings holes.

Soul Of Desert (2)

00,27,19,00

The Ghadamsi architect could provide air conditioning system to all Ghadames residents for free… yes I say for free.

Soul Of Desert (2)

00,27,32,17

With this highly technical architecture, agricultural wealth and water resources, people of Ghadames did really enjoy a good life in the very heart of one of the cruelest deserts on the earth planet.

Soul Of Desert (2)

00,27,53,18

When all the essentials such as water, food, comfort and safety are acquired, then the time for innovation and creativity comes…

In the heart of the desert you would rarely find as a civilized society interested in knowledge and science as Ghadames people‪

This oasis is rich of culture, science, commerce, industry and art; this legacy of Ghadames is still kept in folds of books and Manu-scripts full of inscriptions telling the great history of Ghadames.

Soul Of Desert (3)

00,28,44,17

The manuscripts of Ghadames are a great fortune. There are thousands of these manuscripts, and I say tens of thousands of the important ancient documents. This city in the previous centuries had so many links with Africa; Tunisia, Algeria and the whole north Africa.

There were travels of Ghadamsi merchants to Africa.

They used to bring more manuscripts into the city to sell them.

There is no family in Ghadames that has no up to 3 to 4 manuscripts. All families disparately have manuscripts. There are families who own tens, and other families who own hundreds…

Soul Of Desert (1)

00,30,06,29

It is something interesting to know that people of Ghadames still kept their antecedent’s heritage inside books and manuscripts.

Some of these treasures are revealed to us today for the first time.

The great pile of old hand written books about science, religion and history‪; they carry this unique oasis secrets.

Ghadames always surprises us with what is hidden behind dunes

Soul Of Desert (1)

00,31,03,09

There are a number of manuscripts, which were written by our Ghadamsi antecedence…

There are also the scribes who used to rewrite these manuscripts.

We have honor to keep this city important culture heritage.

There was a way for keeping these document sin the old city, in which every family keeps their manuscripts in a box.

A box made of leather of wood, in where the manuscripts are locked in and put in the basement.

Soul Of Desert (1)

00,31,57,18

The discovery journey inside Ghadames is endless, there are so many to know about the city, which gives us lessons and reveals to us how to survive and thrive in a cruel environment.

Today our need to know all those secrets has become a demand.

Soul Of Desert (1)

00,32,23,20

Soul Of Desert (3)

00,33,16,19

The houses in this city tell a lot about its people way of living, they show such innovation ideas of designing and color mixing… in a second you would be wondering if this is some kind of enchanting paintings…

Soul Of Desert (2)

00,34,04,03

Drawings decorating the walls... Mirrors and Copper utensils reflecting the sunrays coming from the ceiling holes enlightening every corner in the house... plates made of palm fronds... Cozy furniture... colorful walls…

This remarkable legacy must remain forever…

00,34,39,18

This precious heritage of Ghadames is threatened by extinction and vanishing due to the instability of the Libyan security situation at this time.

As it is still listed in UNISCO world heritage list, this city is in a need for massive care and renovation, if not, we may not be given a chance to discover more of Ghadames features in the near future.

00,35,13,26