Ghorfa (architecture)

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Ksar Ouled Soltane , Tunisia. The ghorfas in southern Tunisia are built on up to four levels one above the other.

Ghorfas (from Arabic غرفة, DMG ġurfa  'room'; Arabic pluralغرف / ġuraf ) are arched storage chambers - mostly arranged in several levels one above the other - in the Ksour of southern Tunisia and western Libya, built by different Berber tribes . The - mostly also vaulted - storage chambers in the troglodytic caves near Matmata are called Ghorfas.

function

Ghorfas were used to store grain (barley) and other non-perishable foods (dates, almonds, raisins, oil, etc.) as well as the safe storage of farm implements, tools and family documents (deeds of ownership, marriage contracts, etc.), especially during the summer migrations of the Population living in the nearby villages with their herds in more fertile - ie mostly higher - regions ( transhumance ).

Since many of the ksour of southern Tunisia were located on trade routes in largely flat terrain, they were also visited by caravans or on market days - in contrast to the Agadirs of southern Morocco, which were constructed in a completely different way . therefore barter or trade goods were temporarily stored in the Ghorfas.

architecture

Ghorfas at Medenine

The arched architecture of the Ghorfas, which is rather unusual for North Africa, could be borrowed from some Umayyad desert castles of the 8th century (e.g. Qusair ʿAmra , Qasr Tuba ), the shapes of which could have been conveyed here by caravans and / or the Arab invaders . But some old mosques on the island of Djerba also have annex buildings of this type.

In contrast to the storage chambers of the agadirs of southern Morocco with their ceilings or floors made of wedged argan or almond wood branches, the 6 to 8 m deep, 2 m wide and 1.80 m high ghorfas are mostly vaulted due to the lack of wood a high stability of the chambers is achieved. The vaults were plastered from the outside with clay so that - in the case of rare rainfall - the water could drain off. Of course, this clay plaster had to be renewed regularly.

The entrances on the stepped-back upper storeys can often be reached via steep, handrailless external stairs; Sometimes movable tree or palm trunks with steps were also used as access ladders - in these cases there is a large stepping stone or a wooden beam construction in front of the chamber entrance. Lighter goods could also be pulled into the higher chambers via rope pulleys attached to long poles.

Current condition

As a result of technical progress and the pacification of the Berber population during and after the colonial period, the Ksour, which was once so characteristic of the Berber culture of southern Tunisia and western Libya, and, accordingly, the Ghorfas, have become largely inoperable. Its gradual decline can probably only be stopped by changing its use as a tourist attraction or as a film set, but - like most of the old wooden doors decorated with ornaments - many have already disappeared (see: Medenine ).

See also

literature

  • Herbert Popp, Abdelfettah Kassah: Les ksour du Sud tunesien. Natural Science Society, Bayreuth 2010 ISBN 978-3-939146-04-9 (French)
  • Joachim Willeitner: Libya, Tripolitania, Syrtebogen, Fezzan and the Cyrenaica. DuMont, Ostfildern 2001, p. 137f ISBN 3-7701-4876-2

Web links