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Nalut: Lalout

Nalut Castle, Libya.
The name
Nalut
is also pronounced by the local Berbers as
Lalut
or
Lalout
,
which may relate to the nearby site of Tala: the Berber
Spring-goddess, who is often mentioned in conjunction with
the title Nana, as in Nana Tala, in Jado, Nafousa Mountain.
Nalut
is one of the most interesting Berber settlements
of
Jabel
Nafusa (Nafousa Mountain).
It is located about 270 km south east of Tripoli, and approximately
2000 feet above sea level. It is the last Nafousa settlements
before descending into the desert road towards Ghadames,
passing by Sinnawen and Durj. Nalut, being only 60 km from
the Tunisian border, has played an important role in the
ancient caravan trade. Some of the best
preserved Berber granaries and castles are found in Nalut,
which attract a large number of tourists, in their way to
mythical Ghadames, including Nalut Old Castle. Well recommended.

The present town of Nalut is surrounded by the ruins of old villages
and settlements, most of which have never been excavated before.
Places of interest include several caves and castles, like those
of Nalut Old Castle, Tseenan and Teltayeen; several natural springs,
like those of Tala and Touneen; and, a number of ancient ruins and
villages surrounding Nalut city. The spectacular Berber
fortified granary, which has nearly 400 rooms, was originally used
to store grain, oil and other produce for safe keeping.
The
granary, also known as Ghasro
(The
Old Castle), is situated on a steep hillside, surrounded
by the remains of the old, deserted village. It was said that the
castle was built in 1240 AD, while locals say it is at least
2000 years old.
Proper archaeological research perhaps can settle the issue.

The Streets of Old Nalut.
According to some archaeologists, Libya is one of the last places left where very little work has been done. There have been five reports of dinosaurs discovered in Libya since 1960. One recent report came from the Nalut area, where fossil remains of a Dinosaur were
discovered in the Mardwat region,
about 1km north-east of Nalut.
Fossilised
dinosaur bone from Nalut.
You can see more of these at the
building of the Red Crescent in Nalut,
or
right
here.
Nalut Spring, Cultural & Tourist Festival
Ancient castle door
showing the Berber magical symbols:
the hand, the
star and the moon.
Nalut Spring Festival, as the name suggests,
was established to revive and promote
the local Berber culture, traditions,
industries and arts as part of Libya's
sacred heritage. Being on the main
route to Ghadames the festival has attracted a number of foreign visitors, in their way to the desert sites of Acacus and Ubari. In fact, many tourists come specifically to
visit this festival, as they do visit the festivals of Ghat and
Ghadames and also the Festival in the Desert:
the Tuareg Festival in Mali.

Nalut Festival: a man wearing traditional Libyan clothes and riding
a horse.
The History of Nalut Festival:
The first Nalut festival ever to take place was way back in 1976.
The festival was a great success and attended
by several ministers from the Libyan government.
The next festival was 29 years later, when
in 2005 the inhabitants of Nalut agreed to
revive the festival and declared the 2005
festival as the Second Nalut Festival. After
the success of the Third Festival in 2006,
the Libyan People's General Committee for
Culture endorsed the festival as as part
of the cultural heritage of Libya. The Fourth
Festival was then held in the Spring of 2007,
followed by the Fifth in 2008, and the Sixth
in 2009 (as shown in these photos).
Nalut Festival, Libya:
traditional Libyan music band:
the bagpipe is called zukra (zekrah) or
tishekwet (in Berber), and the
drum
(eddenget).
The Goals of Nalut Festival:
- Presenting the traditional heritage of Nalut and Nafousa Mountain.
- Preserving the traditional heritage of Nalut and Nafousa.
- Encouraging local voluntary work among the young generation.
- Preserving and restoring the archaeological sites of Nalut.
- Spreading the local Libyan culture among the new generations
and keeping them away from
foreign cultures.
- Encouraging and promoting local tourism.
- Work towards establishing an International Festival to attract
tourists from around the world.
- Encouraging the revival and preservation of traditional industries
and crafts.
Nalut Festival, Libya.
The Achievements of Nalut
Festival:
- Owing to the spirit of the festival, the people of Nalut
wore traditional clothes during
the festival; although
Libyan traditional clothes are still popular
without the need for any festivals, except
among the young generations, who recently
began to follow the fashion of jeans, t-shirts
and baseball caps. The festival has also
succeeded in sowing the seeds of voluntary
work and determination to work collectively
towards achieving its goals.
- The restoration of the ancient Nalut Castle through
three stages; of the road in the old town;
and of some of the ancient houses in the Old Town, together
with repairing the old track linking Nalut
Castle to the forest of Tala.
- The number of tourists has increased from 750 in 2005 to 3000
tourists in 2006, and to 7000 in 2007.
- An increase in the uptake of traditional industries, especially
among women, as a result of their participation
in the festival.
Nalut Festival, Libya.

Nalut Festival: Berber Tuareg Dance. |