2012
This photo was taken from just outside the old wall, near the water pool. The white tower and dome is part of one of the mosque complexes in the town – the white paint also serving to reduce the temperature on the inside.
What this photo actually shows is a stretch of the Libyan-Algerian border about 90 miles (140 km) south of Ghadames. Libya is on the left, Algeria is to the right, as if you couldn’t tell for yourself!
Where my previous drilling photos were located near the center of Concession 20 and in the northern part, this one (I’m fairly sure from its sequence in my collection) is from the southern end of the concession.
On windless days there’d often be nothing to hear but the sound of your brain over-driving your ear drums to try and pick up the faintest vestige of sound. True silence – the absence of all sound – can be quite painful!
This wadi had obviously seen some reliable moister over the years judging by the palm tree. There’s also some scrubby bushes around. The surface also looks ‘caked’ rather than sandy or gravelly.
The summer house sits on a small island with the river threading around it. I can imagine when it was new it was a great place to sit and fish or sit and watch the river flow by. But by the time I took this photo it appears it’s best days were behind it.