Ksar or qsar (

Maghrebi Arabic Maghrebi Arabic (, Western Arabic; as opposed to Eastern or Mashriqi Arabic) is a vernacular Arabic dialect continuum spoken in the Maghreb region, in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Western Sahara, and Mauritania. It includes Moroccan, Al ...

: قصر ''qṣer'' or ڭصر ''gser'', plural ''qṣur''; Berber: ⵉⴴⵔⵎ ''aghrem'' or ''ighrem'', plural: ''igherman''), plural ksars, qsars, ksour or qsour, is the North African term for "fortified village," from

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

''qaṣar'' (), itself possibly loaned from Latin ''castrum''. The term generally refers to a Berber fortified village.

Related terms

The origin of the

term ''qsar'' is ''qaṣar'' () in Standard Arabic, which means "castle" or "palace"; this term is also found elsewhere in the

Muslim world The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. I ...

. See, for example, the Iberian '' alcázar''. The Berber (Amazigh) original word for "ksar" used in North Africa by the Berber-speaking populations is ''aghrem'' (singular) or ''igherman'' (plural). In the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

, the term has a more general meaning of "fortified village," or "fort". The Berber word ''igherman'' might be a cognate word, with an identical meaning, with the word ''

Garamantes The Garamantes ( grc, Γαράμαντες, translit=Garámantes; la, Garamantes) were an ancient civilisation based primarily in present-day Libya. They most likely descended from Iron Age Berber tribes from the Sahara, although the earliest kn ...

'', which is the name of the ancient Berber city-states in modern-day Libya.

Architecture

Ksour in the Maghreb typically consist of attached houses, often having collective

ghorfa A ghorfa ( ar, غرفة ''room'') is a vaulted room used by Berbers for storing grain. They are often stacked as multistory structures, sometimes reaching four stories high. Traditionally, the rooms were grouped together as a ksar, a fortification ...

(

granaries 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 animals ...

) and other structures like a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

, bath, oven, and shops. Ksour / ''igherman'' are widespread among the oasis populations of

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. Ksars are sometimes situated in mountain locations to make defense easier; they often are entirely within a single, continuous wall. The

building material Building material is material used for construction. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, rocks, sand, wood, and even twigs and leaves, have been used to construct buildings. Apart from naturally occurring materials, many man-ma ...

of the entire structure is normally adobe, or cut stone and adobe. The idea of the ksar as a granary is a confused notion of two things, the granary itself, found within a ksar, and the ksar, which is a village, normally with granaries within it. Ksars form one of the main manifestations of

Berber architecture , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 ...

Places named Ksar

The word is part of place names across

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, and

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

, — the region called the

; and is particularly prevalent on the Saharan side of the various ranges of the Atlas Mountains and the valley of the Draa River. *

Ksar Hadada Ksar Hadada ( ar, قصر حدادة), sometimes known as Ksar Hedada, is a village in southeastern Tunisia. ''Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' was filmed here. The population at the 2004 census was 1298, and 1142 in 2014. Geography ...

, Tunisia, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was filmed there. * Ksar Halloof, Tunisia. * Ksar Oulad Dabab, Tunisia. *

Ksar es-Seghir Ksar es-Seghir ( ar, القصر الصغير, ⵇⵙⴰⵔ ⵙⵖⵉⵔ, ''al-Qasr as-Seghir''), also known by #Names, numerous other spellings and names, is a small town on the Mediterranean coast in the Jebala region of northwest Morocco, betw ...

, Moroccan stronghold in the Straits of Gibraltar, between Tangier and Ceuta *

Ksar el-Kebir El-Ksar el Kebir (Arabic: القصر الكبير; ber, ⵍⵇⵚⵔ ⵍⴽⴱⵉⵔ, lqṣr lkbir) is a city in northwestern Morocco, about 160 km north of Rabat, 32 km east of Larache and 110 km south of Tangier. It recorded a ...

, location of the

Battle of Alcácer Quibir The Battle of Alcácer Quibir (also known as "Battle of Three Kings" ( ar, معركة الملوك الثلاثة) or "Battle of Wadi al-Makhazin" ( ar, معركة وادي المخازن) in Morocco) was fought in northern Morocco, near the t ...

, influenced Moroccan, Portuguese and Spanish history *

Ksar Nalut Ksar Nalut ( ar, قصر نالوت) or Ksar Lalot is a fortified granary, or ksar, located in Nalut, Nalut District in Western Libya. Like other ksars created by North African Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an eth ...

, Libya *

Ksar Ouled Soltane Ksar Ouled Soltane ( ar, قصر أولاد سلطان ) is a fortified granary, or ksar, located in the Tataouine district in southern Tunisia. The ksar is spread out over two courtyards, each of which has a perimeter of multi-story vaulted granary ...

, Tunisia

References

External links

www.ksour-tunisiens.com
– complete documentation of all ksour of southern Tunisia, Herbert Popp & Abdelfettah Kassah {{Islamic architecture Arabic words and phrases Arabic fortifications Berber architecture Fortifications by type Sahara Castles Ribats

Related terms

Architecture

Places named Ksar

See also

References

External links