Wazzin ( ar, وازن ') is a town in the western

Tripolitania Tripolitania ( ar, طرابلس '; ber, Ṭrables, script=Latn; from Vulgar Latin: , from la, Regio Tripolitana, from grc-gre, Τριπολιτάνια), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province o ...

region at the western boundary of

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

. It serves as a

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

crossing to

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. The town is located south-inland from the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

coast, and is west of

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

. Wazzin is in the desert near the western end of the

Nafusa Mountains The Nafusa Mountains ( Berber: ''Adrar n Infusen'' (Nafusa Mountain), ar, جبل نفوسة (Western mountain)) are a mountain range in the western Tripolitania region of northwestern Libya. It also includes their regions around the escarpment f ...

range, in the

Nalut District Nalut ( ar, نالوت ''Nālūt'', ber, Nalut ''Lalūt'') is one of the districts of Libya. Its capital is the city of Nalut. The second most notable city is Ghadames. To the north and west, Nalut district borders Tunisia (Medenine and Tataouin ...

History

Old town

The town is the seat of Gasr Wazzin, which was built in 1482 CE (860 AH ''anno hegirae''). The Gasr has 360 rooms on 4 floors. The building has a rectangular shape, with a

cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...

for storing water in its center. It was used as a

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

and

granary A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animal ...

. The Gasr Wazzin is surrounded by the old town district of present-day Wazzin, whose buildings are mainly

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywall. ...

based

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

. A network of tunnels is below this historic portion, and is reserved for women traveling around the old town, without encountering non-familial men.

2011 Libyan civil war

On 21 April 2011, during the

2011 Libyan civil war The First Libyan Civil War was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government. It erupted with the Liby ...

, anti-Gaddafi fighters took over the control of the border crossing and 13 pro-Gaddafi officers defected to

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. Since then control has been in flux. The Battles in Wazzin, the border, and nearby Nafusa Mountains are a campaign known as the 2011 Nafusa Mountain Campaign. The campaign has ended in a definite rebel victory with the capture of Gharyan, the last loyalist stronghold in the area.

Demographics

The people of Wazzin are divided into two clans, Awlad Mahmoud and Arrbai'a, both of which have several subclans as shown in the table below.Alqusur wa Atturuq liman Yurid Jabal Nafusa min Trabulus. Ibrahim Sulaiman Asshemmakhy.

Notes

References

External links

"Wazzin Map — Satellite Images of Wazzin"
Maplandia World Gazetteer {{Nalut Libya–Tunisia border crossings Populated places in Nalut District Tripolitania Baladiyat of Libya