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Ghurfa
Arabic: ghurfa; qasr
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Ksar Ouled Soltane, Tunisia.
Ksar Ezzahra, Tunisia.
Kabaw, Libya.
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In southern Tunisia and northwestern Libya, type of building structure used mainly for grain storage. Ghurfas are long chambers with tube roof, which in hot climates, protect against climate, as well as animals, insects and human thieves.
"Ghurfa" is from Arabic, and the most commonly used word for "room". In Tunisia and Libya ghurfas are single rooms in a larger structure known as ksar, kasr, ksour, qasr or (rare) qsar, all from the Arabic qasr, "palace". Still, a ksar is a more general term, representing a fortified structure, which may well not be made up of ghurfas. Ghurfas have traditionally been built in independent village communities from the western edge of the southern mountains of Tunisia, continuing into Libya in the Nafusa Mountains.
In modern times, most ghurfas have been abandoned, but a few are still in use.
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By: Tore Kjeilen
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