Ghadames International Festival

stupid accommodation & transport issues

Ghadames International Festival 2010

When and where: 22nd – 24th October 2010 – Ghadames, Libya

Have you ever wanted to attend a festival in the middle of the Sahara? Have you ever wanted to go out of the city to enjoy something you have not been to before?

Ghadames International Festival is the occasion and the place that you are looking for, this festival is being organised yearly and this is its 15th Round.

So what is this festival?

Each October a cultural festival is held at Ghadames, a desert oasis town on the edge of the Sahara. It is a colourful event in which people gather to feast, sing and dance. A celebration of local Tuareg’s culture and traditions.

What happens at the festival?

On the first day, the festival is expected to start with an opening ceremony; and the exhibition of various boards of activities that shall be exhibited throughout the days of the festival and also the exhibition of the participating artistic groups.

On the second day, visitors will be able to visit the old city and various traditional and cultural fairs like traditional dresses, manuscripts, historical documents, traditional crafts like the leather and wool fabrics and the fabric of palm leaves plates and the derivatives of palm.

On the third day, the traditional exhibitions of Touaregs shall be viewed as well as their customs and various traditions which reflect parts of the culture of the peoples of the Sahara.

The Festival is a vibrant and effervescent affair where the local townsfolk meet to eat, drink, sing, and dance. It is a truly wonderful experience for those visiting the country to witness such a celebration of spirit and camaraderie and visitors are urged to join in and enjoy the festivities

It is your opportunity to live with the original Libyan heritage (Ghadames and Touareg culture life & tradition). In just three days you’ll enjoy the amazing festival, feel some of original local culture and lifestyle, improve your knowledge about the ancient city of Ghadames, and enjoy the interesting dunes of Ghadames with its sunset.

This festival attracts tourists from all over the world and from Libya as well. It is a life-time experience that you do not want to MISS.

Some of the things that you will enjoy seeing in the festival are:

    * Camel shows
    * 4 wheel-drive car race
    * Traditional Libyan Music and food
    * Traditional industries
    * CHEAP souvenirs
    * Old Libyan Heritage
    * And many more interesting and enjoyable events

About Ghadames:

Ghadames is one of Libya’s highlights. As a matter of fact, it is a highlight of the whole of Sahara, often called “the jewel of Sahara”, and was in 1999 added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, as one of 5 places in Libya.
Ghadames is a tranquil old city, with covered streets that are both dark and quite cool even during summer. And of course, the colour chosen, is white. Ghadames represents popular engineering, and is the result of a complex knowledge on how to deal with extreme temperatures. The arrangement of the houses is far from casual. Every angle, every wall, every opening in the roofs over the alleyways, are parts of the same organism.

Eat and Sleep
There is a number of hotels in Ghadames, from very basic to medium standard. There are no places with any services resembling luxury. Value for money is good, but Ghadames being a popular place, often sees its hotels full. Locals do rent out rooms and houses to tourists, though!

You will enjoy eating very delouse Libyan dishes and recipes; there are several restaurants to choose from in the city but during the festival locals will be preparing dishes for tourists and visitors.

Transportation
The city of Ghadames is much smaller than the city of Tripoli; there are a number of companies arranging trips from Tripoli city centre to Ghadames, there also arrangements for short and long trips during your stay in Ghadames, either by 4WD vehicles or by camel.