Wadi Al-Kuf (Al-Kouf)

A view of some of the natural caves in the Valley of Caves.

Etymology of Wadi Al-Kuf:

The name Wadi Al-Kuf means "the Valley of the Caves". The name comes from the simple fact that the valley is the home of a large number of natural caves, just as seen in the above photo. The Libyan word for cave is kahaf, which is the same as 'cave', and its plural is kuhouf ('caves'), and therefore the name Kuf appears to be a corruption of kuhouf ('caves').

Location of Wadi Al-Kuf:

The valley is located in a fertile area in the Green Mountain (al-Jabal al-Akhdar), in Cyrenaica. At approximately 8 kilometres long the valley runs from west to east direction. This without a doubt must have been a prehistoric city of caves, inhabited by ancient Libyan tribes. There is not much known about these sites but future research hopefully will shed more light on this unique valley. The nearby Haua Fteah Cave, discovered by McBurney in 1950s, is currently being investigated by the Cyrenaican Prehistory Project. The Wadi Al-Kuf caves were used by the Libyan resistance hero the elderly Omar al-Mukhtar during the Italian occupation of Libya (see below for more details).

Wadi Al-Kuf Bridge:

Wadi al-Kuf Bridge ( جسر وادي الكوف ), is found about 20 kilometres west of Albayda, in Cyrenaica's Green Mountain, Eastern Libya. The project began in 1967, based on a design by the Italian civil engineer Riccardo Morandi, and was completed in 1972.

Wadi Al-Kuf Bridge

Omar (Umar) Al-Mukhtar Cave:

During the Italian occupation of Libya the caves were used by the Libyan resistance as a hiding place and as a fighting base, including the elderly Omar al-Mukhtar himself, the leader of the Libyan resistance during the Italian period. The fierce resistance of the Libyans eventually led the Italians to wage war against the entire region, using their superior machinery to kill nearly a quarter of the Libyan population.  After the capture of Omar Almukhtar in 1931 and his subsequent execution at the age of 70 in front of his followers inside one of the concentration camps, the resistance continued to fight the Italian fascists until Libya was eventually dragged into the battles of WWII to witness further destruction at unprecedented scale.  The Libyan hero was immortalised by Anthony Quinn in "The Lion Of The Desert".

The Cave of Umar Al-Mukhtar: a view from inside the cave.

The Cave of Umar Al-Mukhtar

The Memorial of Umar Al-Mukhtar as seen from inside the cave.

The Memorial of Umar Al-Mukhtar

The Memorial of Umar Al-Mokhtar near the cave.

The Village of Umar Almukhtar

The village of  Umar al-Mukhtar is located in the District of al-Jabal al-Akhdar in Cyrenaica, Eastern Libya. It was named in honour of the Libyan resistance leader Umar Almukhtar, also known as Omar Almokhtar. The village was previously known as Mameli.

Other Cyrenaican Caves:

• The Vertical Cave of Cyrene: http://www.temehu.com/Cities_sites/the_big_hole_of_cyrene.htm
• Haua Fteah Cave: http://www.temehu.com/Cities_sites/haua-fteah-cave.htm