Cydamus Transcript
A full time coded transcript contains all interviews, narration, music and SFX.
Time
Code |
Narration |
Dialogue |
Music |
SFX |
00,00,00,00 |
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00,00,00,19 |
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Soul
Of Desert (1) |
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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... |
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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”. |
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00,01,01,00 |
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Soul
Of Desert (1) |
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00,01,51,02 |
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Soul
Of Desert (3) |
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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 |
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Soul
Of Desert (3) |
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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.. |
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Soul
Of Desert (3) |
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00,02,36,05 |
A land with a history that goes back to 7000
years BC. |
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Soul
Of Desert (3) |
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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. |
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Soul
Of Desert (3) |
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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. |
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Soul
Of Desert (3) |
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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... |
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Soul
Of Desert (3) |
00,03,43,03 |
00,03,55,29 |
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Soul
Of Desert (3) |
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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. |
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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”. |
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Soul
Of Desert (4) |
00,05,17,04 |
00,05,57,10 |
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“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) |
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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. |
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Soul
Of Desert (4) |
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00,06,42,07 |
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“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) |
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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. |
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Soul
Of Desert (4) |
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00,07,28,05 |
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“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) |
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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. |
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Soul
Of Desert (4) |
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00,08,06,18 |
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Ain Alfaras water is owned by some rich families. |
Soul
Of Desert (4) |
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00,08,16,20 |
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This
water is being rented in auctions to those who do not have enough water. |
Soul
Of Desert (4) |
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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. |
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Soul
Of Desert (4) |
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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. |
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Soul
Of Desert (4) |
00,08,50,09 00,09,16,09 00,09,31,00 |
00,09,42,02 |
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“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) |
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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".” |
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Soul
Of Desert (4) |
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00,11,05,19 |
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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) |
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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. |
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Soul
Of Desert (4) |
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00,11,50,01 |
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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) |
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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.
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Soul
Of Desert (4) |
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00,13,13,17 |
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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) |
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00,13,58,18 |
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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. |
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Soul
Of Desert (4) |
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00,14,59,22 |
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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) |
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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.
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Soul
Of Desert (4) |
00,15,51,14 |
00,16,31,19 |
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Soul
Of Desert (4) |
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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. |
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Soul
Of Desert (1) |
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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 |
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Soul
Of Desert (1) |
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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. |
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Soul
Of Desert (1) |
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00,20,03,12 |
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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) |
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00,20,53,14 |
The temperature
inside the city walls becomes about 15 degrees cooler than the actual temperature
in the out side. |
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Soul
Of Desert (1) |
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00,21,12,19 |
How did the Ghadamsi people make the desert suitable for them? |
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Soul
Of Desert (1) |
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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. |
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Soul
Of Desert (1) |
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00,21,57,00 |
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215
hectors of Palm trees farms surround the city buildings… |
Soul
Of Desert (1) |
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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. |
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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. |
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Soul
Of Desert (2) |
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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. |
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Soul
Of Desert (2) |
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00,24,29,24 |
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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) |
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00,24,56,17 |
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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) |
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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… |
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Soul
Of Desert (2) |
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00,25,44,20 |
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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) |
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00,26,11,06 |
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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) |
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00,26,25,20 |
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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) |
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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. |
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Soul
Of Desert (2) |
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00,27,19,00 |
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The
Ghadamsi architect could provide air conditioning
system to all Ghadames residents for free… yes I say for free. |
Soul
Of Desert (2) |
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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. |
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Soul
Of Desert (2) |
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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. |
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Soul
Of Desert (3) |
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00,28,44,17 |
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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) |
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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 |
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Soul
Of Desert (1) |
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00,31,03,09 |
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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. |
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Soul
Of Desert (1) |
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00,32,23,20 |
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Soul
Of Desert (3) |
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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… |
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Soul
Of Desert (2) |
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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… |
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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. |
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00,35,13,26 |
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Credits
Producer and Director: Hitham Sawie
Writers: Khawlah Sawie
Narrator: Ibtisam Alajeal
Director of Photography: Akram Sawie
Production Manager: Akram Sawie
Second DOP: Ahmed Alallgi
Photography:
Akram Sawie
Ahmed Alallgi
Ahmed Aboub
Marwan Edernawi
Music and SFX:
Hamed Arebi
Editing:
Akram Sawie
Hitham Sawie
VFX, 3D, CC:
Camerapixle Studio
Technical Support:
Alla Joha
Mahmoud Alhashmi
Sand Abokhshem
Sound Engineer:
Alla Elwani
Production service:
Abdoul Kaber Ganjeer
Appearance:
Khadija Yousha
Basher Yousha
Ali Homany
Albokhary Hmoda
Abdoulslam Shmela
Abdoulbaryi Alarowse
Mohamed Sahnoon
Mohamed Althni
Special Thanks:
Alhadi Albkosh
Scouts of Ghadames
Alqadous Band
Municipal council of Ghadames
The Libyan Television and Radio Producer Union