M'zab
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How it came to be
In the M'Zab valley in the Sahara, 600 kilometres south of Algiers, the Ibadis built five walled towns, or ksour: El Atteuf, Bounoura, Melika, Ghardaïa and Beni Isguen, founded between 1012 and 1350.
Each stands on a hill, crowned by a mosque whose minaret served as a watchtower and which also held an arsenal and a grain store. Houses of a standard size and type were built in concentric circles around it, for communal life that respected family privacy. In summer people moved to summer towns in the palm groves.
The valley has kept much the same way of life and building since the 11th century. France annexed the M'Zab only in 1882, and it returned to Algerian rule with independence in 1962. It was inscribed in 1982.
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