M'zab Valley

M'zab Valley is a natural location in Algeria's Ghardaïa Province in the northern Sahara Desert. It lies 600 kilometers (370 miles) south of Algiers. The Mozabites are a branch of the Iznaten, a vast Berber tribe that once occupied huge swaths of central and southern Algeria. Around the M'zab Valley, Tifinagh letters and symbols are engraved.

The Pentapolis is a group of five qsur "walled villages" (ksour) perched on rocky outcrops along the Wəd Mzab, founded between 1012 and 1350. The five communities are Ghardaïa (Tagherdayt), the most important today; Beni Isguen (At Isjen); Melika (At Mlishet); Bounoura (At Bunur); and El Atteuf (Tajnint), the oldest.

As one of the most beautiful historical sites in Algeria, each citadel contains a fortress-like mosque with a lookout in the minaret. Around the mosque, standard-sized and-type houses were built in concentric circles. The M'zab villages were built with egalitarian communal living in mind, while also respecting family privacy. The M'zab architectural style is Libyan-Phoenician in origin, more specifically Berber in origin, and has been copied throughout the Sahara.

In 1982, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the M'zab Valley was designated as an intact illustration of traditional human habitat perfectly adapted to the environment.

Location: Ghardaïa Province, Algeria