Kabaw, Kabao or Cabao is a town in the Nalut District in northwestern Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

. It lies just 9 kilometres (6 mi) off of the Gharyan

Gharyan

Gharyan District or Garian District was one of the districts of Libya. It was located in the northwest part of the country and its capital was Gharyan. Under the 2007 reorganization of districts, it became part of Jabal al Gharbi District....

–Nalut

Nalut

Nalut is the capital of the Nalut District in Libya and is home to a Berber granary and community.Nalut lies approximately half way between Tripoli and Ghadames, at the western end of the Nafusa Mountains coastal range, in the Tripolitania region.-Architecture:Nalut is home to the Ksar Nalut,...

 road and about 70 kilometres (43 mi) west of Jadu

Jadu, Libya

Jadu [p] , in other languages also: Giado and Gado, is a mountain town in western Libya, in the Jabal al Gharbi District and the Nafusa Mountains. Jadu was the site of an Italian concentration camp during the Second World War...

, on the northern edge of the Tripolitanian Plateau in the Nafusa Mountains.

History

Historically, Kabaw was a Berber

Berber people

Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...

 town in the Ghadames administrative area. After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, it was occupied by the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 military and governed from Tunisia

Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

. It was returned to Libyan control in 1951.

Attractions

Kabaw is home to the ghurfas

Ksar

Ksar is the Arabic term for "castle", loaned from Latin castrum.The Berber equivalent is aghrem or ighrman ....

 or "Ksar Kabaw" a Berber hilltop village-fort, now abandoned. The ghurfas is built mainly of rock, gypsum and adobe

Adobe

Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...

, with doors made of palm wood.

The Spring Qsar Festival is held in April almost every year.

External links

• "Kabaw Map — Satellite Images of Kabaw" Maplandia World Gazetteer