Theme Week Algeria – Ghardaïa

28 September 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  10 minutes

© Taguelmoust/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Taguelmoust/cc-by-sa-3.0

Ghardaïa is the capital city of Ghardaïa Province. The commune of Ghardaïa has a population of 93,000, with an annual growth rate of 0.7%. It is located in northern-central Algeria in the Sahara Desert and lies along the left bank of the Wadi Mzab. The M’zab valley in the Ghardaïa Province (Wilaya) was inscribed under the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1982. The unique layout of the Ghardaïa village is dictated by the rocky terrain of the region. Apart from the mosques and the housing pattern layout, with the mosque at the top of the hill, and the houses laid in labyrinthine alleyways, there is also a large market centre. The houses in particular are oriented in such a way that it admits sunlight into every as they strongly believe: “Inhabitants of the house where sun comes in will never see a doctor”. Chimneys are also set in such a way that they do not encroach their neighbours comfort.   read more…

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