From ancient fortified towns to Sahara sands, Africa’s largest country is an undiscovered tourism giant hiding in plain sight
, or hilltop citadels, that are collectively known as “the Pentapolis.” Once separate entities, the five walled towns have long since merged together into a labyrinthine conurbation that snakes along the desiccated valley of the M’Zab River. The French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir once likened it to “a Cubist painting, beautifully constructed.”
The Maison Traditionelle Akham is one of a handful of hotels in traditional plaster dwellings located in Ghardaïa.Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The citadel’s architectural consistency is a result of age-old norms of design and decoration. Up close, you can see that the walls are rendered in clay, then stippled with palm fronds to deflect the heat of the sun.
Change arrives slowly in Ghardaïa, but it does arrive. On the outskirts are the palmeries, groves of date palms whose fruits were once the backbone of the local economy. Now, its old summer homes are being converted into guesthouses.
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