Acacus

Unesco World Heritage Site

According to the Libyan Tourism Agency, the Acacus region is less visited than the South Pole.

Libya has more variety of Saharan landscapes than any other North African country; the most impressive of which are Tadrart Acacus; the world's greatest sand dunes of Murzuk; the black volcanic sands of Waw an-Namous; and the desert lakes. Tadrart Acacus , pronounced /akakous/, is well known for two things: its prehistoric cave drawings and paintings, and its alien-like, jagged landscape of bizarre basalt monoliths, towering granite mountains, massive sand dunes, wadis, and mushroom-shaped rock formations. The highest point of Tadrart Acacus is 1506m.

Tadrart Acacus, just east of Ghat, is a high, dark basalt mountain, with sand dunes sweeping its high cliffs, most of which eroded away into hundreds of complex rock formations and monoliths, overlooking sand rivers and wadis, zigzagging their way through this bizarre region of the great desert. In contrast to this alien-like, rocky landscape, one could only marvel at the massive sand seas of   Wan Kasa, Murzuq and Ubari.

This deserted region is the home of the most important open-air galleries of prehistoric rock art in the world, many of which are more than 12000 years old, and of the Tuareg people who sadly began to move away to the nearby towns like Ghat. The remaining few Tuareg families are now targeted by some tourists as one of the main attractions of the region. Such humiliating fate to a highly dignified people may signal an end to traditional life in Acacus as it has been known for thousands of years, and a beginning of a new era, namely that of tourism and development!

The Top Attractions of Acacus:

• Adad (Berber for 'finger'): 20m high.
• Afozedzhar (Afozzigiar) Arch: this giant stone gateway, located on the junction of three wadis, is the most impressive of Acacus' rock formations. Some of the images of   the human figures found around this area are strikingly modern in style.
• Wadi Tashwinat: (see below)
• Awiss: northern region of Acacus.
• Wan Kaza: a north-south chain of golden multicoloured sand dunes, parallel to Messak Mellet, running between Tadrart Acacus and Idehan Murzuq or the Awiss region. Neolithic cemetery. Pre-Holocene deposits indicate wet phases of the Pleistocene, with early Paleolithic artifacts, organic lake deposits and fossils mostly associated with Acheulean artifacts. The molluscs and the fragments of ostrich eggs were dated to about 7000 BP. Also several fossilized remains of large mammals and reptiles have been found in the area.
• Tin Khilqa: fine three-columned natural rock arch.
• Awanini: a small mountain, meaning "go up and see " .
• The Canyon: in Wadi In Ferdan: a steep-sided canyon leading to three natural springs, known as "ghelta" or "geltet " in Berber, which still provide drinking water for animals.
• Wan Traghit: the location of some of the best paintings and engravings in Acacus, like "the hunting scene " , giraffes, elephants and chariots. A 12,000 years old giraffe was defaced by bad tourists.
• Aminaner well: water point for traveller and locals: GPS location :( N 24 51'   34.21" E 10 39'  38.59 " ). Some visitors pump water out and use it to shower. We recommend to reserve water for future generations by using it only for bare essentials.

Entering Tadrart Acacus

The entrance to Acacus from Ghat: follow the pass to the eastern side of Tadrart Acacus, then up to Wadi Teshweenat. Crossing the desert dunes of Erg Wan Kasa, with Messak Mellet on the right ( see map ), one eventually reaches Messak Settafet, and then up towards the engravings of Wadi Methkhendoush and Wadi Tiksatin. From there you can either exit the area through Awbari (Ubari) or Germa (slightly to the east), from which you can drive back to Sebha. Note that this route can be reversed, and then from Ghat one drives back to al-Uwaynat (about 135 km) and then back to Germa.

Wadis:

There are hundreds of wadis in the acacus region alone. The following are only a tiny selection of the most popular ones.

• Wadi Tashwinat (Tashweenat): the Capital of Acacus. Wadi Tashwinat (or Tashweenat) is one of the main wadis of the Acacus region, with high cliffs surrounding the area, about 60 kilometres long, with numerous art sites at the bottom of the rock formations, and with several side wadis branching off towards more formations and prehistoric   cave treasures. Its intricate network of caves, which provided shelter for prehistoric people for thousands of years, is the home of thousands of drawings and engravings, telling various stories about the desert's primeval past. The art is mainly painted, with very few engravings, like the two elephants near Tintararat, and is engaging and vivid, full of scenes of cattle with exaggerated horns and various social activities. An ancient rock-carved map of Wadi Tashwinat can be found at: (N 24 51'   07.58"  E 10 31'  09.16 " ).
• Idehan Murzuq: the world's greatest sand dune deserts, where dunes rise up to 200 metres above the flat-bottomed valleys of white sand. The site is great place for camping and sleeping under the a sea of stars. Normally the site is used as base in the way to Wadi Methkhandoush, just 30 km north of the Murzuq Dunes.
• Wadi Methkhandoush: this deep, isolate, arid and rocky valley is frontier between the barren plateaux of the Messak Settafet and the stretch of land towards the sand dunes of Edhan Murzuk. This region once was teaming with rivers where hippopotamus and crocodile reigned and where elephants and giraffes roamed, as richly depicted and engraved across its caves and walls. Among the best visited art sites are the the fighting cats, giraffe, and the mythical dead rhino being towed away by two (Anubis-like) dog-headed therianthropes: (part man and part beast, from the Greek therion (wild animal) and anthropos (man). Representations of "sun-discs" or "sun-wheels " indicate the reverence of the sun, common to most North African cultures including Berber and Egyptian.
• Wadi Tiksateen: west of Wadi Wan Habetere: engraved scenes of a woman milking a cow, African buffalo, Bubalus antiquus, and the elephant.
• Wadi Meggedet: the alien-looking and bizarre rock formations
• Wadi Amraka and Wadi Tanshal: fantastic panoramic views over the Acacus, and some of the best rock art in the southern parts of Acacus. Scenes of cows, stylised human figures, and ancient Tuareg Tifinagh inscriptions.
• Wadi Anshal: elephant and giraffe engravings, and paintings of women.
• Wadi Tiheden: various animal carvings.
• Wadi Awees (Auis): northern Acacus: the home of abstract and stylish engravings, referred to as "ichthyomorph " by Mori, and thought to be the most ancient images of human figures in the Sahara.
• Wadi In-Elobu & Wadi Tilizagen: in Messak Settafet: rich representations of wild animals, indicating an earlier period than the later periods rich in domesticated animals.
• Wadi Meggedet or Maghdeet: a unique wadi running along the algerian border, often referred to as a miniature city of rock skyscrapers, with bizarre and alien-like formations. An isolated region seldom visited by tourists. It can be reached from al-Aweinat.
• Wadi In Ghanjuwan: west of Methkhandoush: engravings of elephants
• Wadi Wan Habetere: west of Methkhandoush: giraffe engravings
• Wadi In Ferdan: hunting scenes of humans carrying bows and arrows in pursuit of animals. A camel-shaped rock formation.

Links:

Italian-Libyan-Archaeological Mission in the Acacus and Messak: http://www.acacus.it/eng/ricter_arte_ru1.htm

University College London: Transitions To Farming In The Sahara: the Prehistoric Society's 2002 Study Tour of Libya's Fezzan www.ucl.ac.uk/prehistoric/past/past42.html

Some remarks on Saharan terminology: Pre-pastoral archaeology from the Libyan Sahara: http://www.arkamani.org/arkamani-library/neolithic/remarks_on_saharan_upper-nile_terminology.htm#