Waddan, Libya
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Waddan (, ) is an oasis town of the Sahara Desert in the northeast
Fezzan Fezzan ( , ; ; ; ) is the southwestern region of modern Libya. It is largely desert, but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys (wadis) in the north, where oases enable ancient towns and villages to survive deep in the otherwise in ...
region of southwest
Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
, in the Jufra District. It was an important town on the ancient trade routes across the Sahara.


Geography

Waddan is the oldest city in Jufra District located south of Sirte, and northeast of Hun. The town is at the crossroads of the Sirte-Waddan Road and the Fezzan Road. The natural springs support native date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') groves.


History

In the Seventh Century C.E., Waddan was the primary town among the oasis settlements in the al-Jufra area. It was captured for
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
during the southern excursion of Amr ibn al-As in 642 C.E. by commander Busr ibn Artat, although he only extracted tribute and didn't garrison the town. However, the nephew of Amr ibn al-As, Uqba ibn Nafi, reconquered Waddan in 666-667, and established a military post there. During the Libyan Civil War,
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
forces bombed an ammunition store in the town. On 8 September 2011, the town was reported to be under the control of forces allied with the National Transitional Council. Although the Libyan government had declared in 2014 that it has destroyed all of its chemical weapons, after the fall of Gaddafi and the start of the Libyan civil wars additional chemical weapons were discovered. While the Libyan civil wars raged, some were destroyed at the GEKA facility in Germany, but the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency established a chemical munitions elimination facility in Waddan, where they destroyed 570 chemical weapons over the course of its operation.


Economy

The economy of the town is based primarily on the production of dates, the fruit of ''Phoenix dactylifera''. It is a travel stop on the road from Sirte to Hun and Sawknah, and boasts its Waddan Tourist Park. Since Roman times it has been a stop on the trade route down to
Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
. Waddan has geothermal resources that have yet to be exploited.


Archaeology

Above the town, in the upper stretches of Wadi Waddan, there are paleolithic rock art sites. In Waddan are the pre-Islamic underground water irrigation channels or foggaras (''al-Faqarat''), as well as a number of circular tombs. The pre-Ottoman Arab fortress (Toza) has not been fully excavated. The ruins of the ancient cities of Bossi and Dalbak lie one kilometer southwest of Waddan.


References


See also

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List of cities in Libya This is a list of the 100 largest populated places in Libya. Some places in the list could be considered suburbs or neighborhoods of some large cities in the list, so this list is not definitive. ''Source:Amraja M. el Khajkhaj, "Noumou ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waddan, Libya Populated places in Jufra District Oases of Libya