Ghat

(This is not a real photo)

Ghat is a Tuareg oasis, surrounded by an impressive and massive sand dunes. She earned her epithet the Last Oasis from being the last oasis before venturing into the desert regions of Acacus. Like many other desert settlements, the old village is connected via narrow streets, archways and passageways, very reminiscent of those of Ghadames, where Tuareg blacksmiths display their unique silver jewellery, and traders offer their leather products and indigo coloured materials.

The Medina (The Old City) of Ghat is almost uninhabited today with only a few families remaining within its ruins. The fortress, shown above in the art work, which combines several features from the area, is an interesting place to see. The old museum houses a range of artifacts from the area. Cultural events such as the Annual Ghat festival, which takes place at the end of December, and the Tuareg camel races will give a glimpse of the Berber way of life in the desert.

Garamantes

Germa or Garama was the capital of the Kingdom of the Garamantes, who were placed by Pliny twelve days  journey from the Berber oasis of Aujila.  They are said to have been of Cushite-Berber stock, who were conquered by the Roman General Balbus in 19 BC, and later subdued by the matrilineal Lemta Berbers in the 2^nd AD.

These invasions, and even the harsh reality of the Sahara, may have led to their disappearance. According to some sources, they were fused with the aboriginals of the Upper Niger where they adopted the local language, and survive today in the single village of Koromantse.The ancient Greeks knew of their ancestor Garamas as 'the first of men', who appeared  in classical legend as the son of the Sun. 

According to Robert Graves, in his Greek Myths,  The Libyans, however, claim that Garamas was born before the Hundred-handed Ones and that, when he rose from the plain, he offered Mother Earth a sacrifice of the sweet acorn.

Archaeological remains that have been found in numerous sites in Fezzan are stone implements dated to the late Acheulean and the Aterian cultures (circa 100,000 - 30,000 BC.). The cave paintings and carvings are said to be at least 12,000 years old. The remains of this ancient indigenous empire include the ruins of Germa, a system of underground tunnels, altars, sacrificial stones, and more than 50,000 pyramidal tombs. Plenty of work needs to be done in the area in order to shed more light on this enigmatic part of the Sahara.