several tracts under grass, corn and date-palms, and containing
some permanent reservoirs in the beds of the Wadis Sofejin
and Zemzem, where the plateau falls from a mean height of
2000 ft. to 1000 and 530 ft. respectively. But it again rises
rapidly southwards to a somewhat uniform level of 1600 or
1700 ft., and here the main caravan route from Tripoli to
Murzuk and Lake Chad traverses for a distance of fully 130 m.
a monotonous region of sandstone, underlying-clays, marls,
gypsum and fossiliferous siliceous deposits. In its northern
section this part of the Hammada, as it is locally called in a
pre-eminent sense, is relieved by a few patches of herbage,
scrub and brushwood, with a little water left in the rocky
cavities by the heavy showers which occasionally fall.
North-eastwards the Neddik pass over the Jebel Morai-Yeh leads down to the remarkable chain of low-lying oases, which, The Annu from the chief member of the group, is commonly Depression called the Aujila depression. Collectively the oases present the aspect of a long winding valley, which is enclosed on the north side by the southern escarpments of the The Aujilla Depression. Barca plateau, expands at intervals into patches of perennial verdure and shallow saline basins, and extends from the Wadi el-Fareg, near the Gulf of Sidra, through the Bir Rassam, Aujila, Jalo, Faredgha, and Siwa oases, to the Natron lakes and the dried-up branch of the Nile delta known as the Bahr bila-Ma (waterless river). The whole region presents the aspect of a silted-up marine inlet, which perhaps in Pliocene times penetrated some 300 m. south-eastwards in the direction of the Nile. Nearly all the fossil shells found in its sands belong to the fauna now living in the Mediterranean, and Siwa is 98 ft. below sea-level. This is true also of its eastern extensions, Sittra (80) and the Birket el-Kerun in the Fayum (141). But Aujila and Jalo stand 130 and 296 ft. respectively above sea-level, so that the idea entertained by the explorer Gerhard Rohlfs of transforming the chain of oases into a marine gulf, and thus converting the Barca plateau into an island or peninsula in the midst of the Mediterranean waters, and in fact flooding the Libyan desert, must share the fate of Colonel François Roudaire’s equally visionary scheme in respect of the Western Sahara.
The Barca plateau, which consists largely of strata of tertiary formation, falls in terraces down to the Aujila depression, and presents an unbroken rampart of steep cliffs towards the Mediterranean, is by far the most favoured region of the vilayet. Its many natural advantages of climate, soil and vegetation led to the establishment of several Greek colonies, The Barca Plateau. the oldest and most famous of which was that of Cyrene (q.v.), dating from about 630 B.C. From this place the whole region took the name of Cyrenaica (q.v.) and was also known as Pentapolis, from its “five cities” of Cyrene, Apollonia, Arsinoe, Berenice and Barca. The elevated plateau of Cyrenaica, which encloses the Gulf of Sidra on the west, is separated southwards by the Aujila depression from the Libyan desert, and projects northwards far into the Mediterranean, might seem, like the Atlas region in the west, to belong geologically rather to the European than to the African mainland. It has a mean altitude of considerably over 2000 ft., and in the Jebel Akhdar (Green Mountains) attains a height of nearly 3500 ft. Eastwards the Barca uplands merge gradually in the less elevated Marmarica plateau, which nowhere rises more than 1800 ft. above sea-level, and disappears altogether in the direction of the Nile delta. The most easterly spot on the coast belonging to Tripoli is the head of the Gulf of Solum; from this point the frontier line separating the regency from the Egyptian dominions runs south so as to leave the Siwa oasis on the Egyptian side of the line.
South of the Aujila depression the land rises steadily to a height of nearly 1200 feet in the Kufra oases, which lie between 21° and 24° E., north of the Tropic of Cancer and due east of Fezzan. The group consists of five distinct oases in the heart of the Libyan desert—Taizerbo, zighen, Bu-zeima, Erbena and Kebabo—which extend for a distance of 200 m. north-west The Kufra Oases. and south-east, and have a collective area of 7000 sq. m. and a population of 6000 or 7000 Arabo-Berber nomads. Good water is obtained in abundance from the underground reservoirs, which lie within a few feet of the surface, and support over a million date-palms. Kufra, that is, “Infidels” (in reference to the now extinct pagan Tibu aborigines), is a centre of the Seniissite brotherhood, whose zawya (convent) at Jof, in Kebabo, ranks in importance with that of Jarabub, their chief station in Cyrenaica. This circumstance, together with the great fertility of the group and its position midway on the caravan route between Cyrenaica and Wadai, imparts exceptional importance to these oases. Formerly the Turks did not exercise authority in Kufra, the influence of the Senussi being paramount, Kufra, moreover, is outside the limits usually assigned to Tripoli. But in 1910 Ottoman troops were in occupation of the oases.
Ghat stands 2400 feet above the sea, on the Wadi Aghelad in the Igharghar basin, and consequently belongs, not to the Fezzan depression, but to the Saharan plateau. The Aghelad, or “Passage,” trends north to the Iasawan valley along the east foot of the Tasili plateau, that is, the divide between the waters which formerly flowed north to the Mediterranean, west to the Ghat. Atlantic, and south to the Niger and Chad basins. Ghat, which is skirted eastwards by the Akakus range, is a sandy plain dotted over with clumps or groves of date-palms. In the centre is an open space where is held a great annual fair, and to this, combined with its position on one of the caravan routes across the desert, the oasis owes all its importance. For several years, at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, the only caravan route used from the Niger countries to Tripoli was by way of Ghat, disturbances in Bornu and raids by Tuareg having closed all other routes. There is, in the oasis, a population of perhaps 10,000, nearly all Ihajenen Tuare, about hall) of whom live in the town of Chat (350 m. south of Ghadames and 250 south-west of Murzuk), which appears to be a relatively modern place, successor to Rapsa, a great commercial centre and military station under the Roman Empire.
Ghadames, on the contrary, is ancient, being the Cydamus of the Garamantes, the capture of which by L. Cornelius Balbus Minor led to the overthrow of their empire. The oasis, which stands on the Cretaceous Tinghert plateau 300 m. south-west of Tripoli, and 1200 ft. above the sea, is enclosed by a circular rampart over 3 m. in circumference. The town, which Ghadames. occupies the south-west corner of the enclosure, has a population of about 7000. Owing to its perennial springs and artesian wells, the oasis yields an abundance of dates, figs, apricots and vegetables, besides some wheat, barley and millet. It occupies a highly advantageous position at the converging-point of several caravan routes, and has extensive trading relations with the markets of Tripoli, Tunisia and the Sudan.
Climate.—The climate of Tripoli is very variable; cold nights often succeed warm days. The rainfall in the northern regions varies from 5 in. to 15 in. a year-December, January and February being the rainy season. The mean temperature on the coast lands is 68°; it is very much higher in the Hammada, where rain seldom falls.
Flora and Fauna.—The Hora in the greater part of the regency is Saharan, the date-palm being the characteristic tree. The gum yielding acacia, the tamarisk, sapan, mastic and pistachio are found in the wadis, and shi (wormwood) grows in clusters on the stony plateaus. In the Barca plateau and in parts of the coast belt the Hora is more varied, resembling that of the Mediterranean countries generally. In these regions the laurel, myrtle and other evergreens are fairly common, and the oak, cypress, pine, carob and other trees occur, notably the olive, found also in the oases. Other fruit trees are the almond, fig, pomegranate, quince and apricot. Vines flourish in a few districts.
The larger wild animals are scarcely represented in Tripoli. The wild boar is found in Jebel Akhdar, the hyena, fox and jackal in the deserts. The mouflon, gazelle, hares, rabbits and marmots are among the commoner animals. Reptiles include the horned viper and the gecko. The characteristic animal is the camel, found only in the domesticated state. Horses and cattle are bred, but the horses are not numerous; goats and a fat-tailed variety of sheep are kept in large numbers. Birds include the ostrich, vultures, hoopoes, wood pigeons and doves. Bees are numerous and honey forms an article of export.
The explorations of Henri Duveyrier, Victor Largeau, Erwin von Bary and H. S. Cowper during the second half of the 19th century showed that Tripoli was not only inhabited primitive man, but was the seat of a flourishing Neolithic culture, comparable to and in many respects resembling that of Iberia, Brittany and the British Isles. As in Inhabitants. other parts of Mauretania, many now arid and uninhabitable wastes are strewn with monolithic and other remains, which occur in great variety of form and in vast numbers, as many as 10,000, chiefly of the menhir type, having been enumerated in the Mejana steppe alone. All kinds of megalithic structures are found-dolmens and circles like Stonehenge, Cairns, underground cells excavated in the live rock, barrows topped with huge slabs, cup stones, mounds in the form of step pyramids, and sacrificial altars. Most remarkable are the “Senams,” or trilithons of the Jebel Msid and other districts, some still standing, some in ruins, the purpose of which has not been determined. They occur either singly or in rows, and consist of two square uprights 10 ft. high standing on a common pedestal and supporting a huge transverse beam. In the Terrgurt valley “there had been originally no less than eighteen or twenty megalithic trilithons, in a line, each with its massive altar placed before it” (Cowper), There is reason to believe that the builders of these prehistoric monuments are represented by the Berber people, who still form the substraturn, and in some places the bulk, of the inhabitants of Tripoli proper. But even here the Berbers have for the most part been driven to the Ghurian and Tarhona uplands by the Arab nomads, who now occupy the Jefara flats
