Sabha
Encyclopedia
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
. It is located near the center of the country, in the Fezzan
Fezzan
Fezzan is a south western region of modern Libya. It is largely desert but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys in the north, where oases enable ancient towns and villages to survive deep in the otherwise inhospitable Sahara.-Name:...
region. The capital is the city of Sabha, with a population of 130,000.
The district populations' ethnicity is primarily a mixture of Arab, Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
, and Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
n Black descent. People of each ethnicity ('unmixed') are also common.
Geography
The Sabha District is in the northwestern Libyan DesertLibyan Desert
The Libyan Desert covers an area of approximately 1,100,000 km2, it extends approximately 1100 km from east to west, and 1,000 km from north to south, in about the shape of a rectangle...
section of the Sahara Desert.
The capital of Sabha is the largest and most important city of southern Libya. It has a small domestic airport. The Sabha Air Base
Sabha Air Base
-Overview:Sabha Air Base is a Libyan Air Force base southeast of Sabha, Libya. The base is home to the 1st and 1025th Squadrons of MiG-25 fighter aircraft.It also supports the Tu-22 bomber, but it is unclear if any of these aircraft are operational....
is in the district.
The Gaberoun
Gaberoun
Gaberoun is an oasis with a large lake located in the Wadi Al Hayaa District and Sabha District in the Fezzan region of the Libyan Sahara Desert, in southwestern Libya....
oasis
Oasis
In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source...
, on a spring
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
fed lake, is a rustic tourist resort and the site of Bedouin village ruins that is located in the district near Sabha city.
Neighboring districts
Sabha District borders the following districts:- Wadi Al ShatiiWadi Al ShatiiWadi al Shatii , sometimes referred to as Ash Shati , is one of the districts of Libya in the central-west part of the country. Its capital is Brak. The area is mostly desert.To the west, Wadi al Shatii borders the Illizi Province of Algeria...
- north - Al JufrahAl JufrahJufra or Jofra is one of the districts of Libya. It is in the centre of the country. Its capital is Hun.Jufra was originally one of the 25 baladiya in the administrative sistem of Libya established in 1988. In 2001 It became a Shabiya, and its territorial extension was reduced...
- east - MurzuqMurzuqMurzuq is one of the districts of Libya. It is in the south of the country. Its capital is Murzuk. The city was occupied by the Ottoman Empire in 1578 and served as the capital of Fezzan off and on until the Ottomans ceded Libya to Italy in 1912...
- south - Wadi Al HayaaWadi Al HayaaWadi al Hayaa is one of the districts of Libya. Its capital is the city of Ubari.- Towns in Wadi Al Hayaa :* Tikirkibh* Ghuraifa* Gurma* Ibreek* Ubari* Toosh* Bint Bayyah* Rageebah* Algaeerat* Alfuqar* Toyoh* Garagah* Al-Abyadh* Al-Fajeej...
- west
Settlements
The major settlements of Sabha District include:- Sabha
- Samnu (سمنو)
- Tamanhant (تمنهنت)
- Umm al `Abid
- Umm al Ahrar
- Al Mahdia (المهدية)
- Az Zighan (الزيغن)
- Sukrah (Sakra) (سكرة)
- Al Nssiria
- Ghadduwah (Goddua) (غدوة)
- Hagiara
- Al Tanawia
Politics
In the Libyan civil war2011 Libyan civil war
The 2011 Libyan civil war was an armed conflict in the North African state of Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Benghazi beginning on 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security...
, Gaddafi forces maintained control of large parts of the district and city longer than elsewhere in the country. The National Transitional Council
National Transitional Council
The National Transitional Council of Libya , sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, the Interim National Council, or the Libyan National Council,...
took control of the city on September 22, 2011.
There are legal and illegal passenger buses that pass through the district from the southern Sahara/Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
/Sahel
Sahel
The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition between the Sahara desert in the North and the Sudanian Savannas in the south.It stretches across the North African continent between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea....
countries - such as Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
. The journey can take seven days from the border to Sabha city. It can be one of the more dangerous routes in the country, as as it goes through the Libyan Desert. Bus drivers can lose their way and passengers sometimes die from lack of food or water. People from Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, Togo
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
, and Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
also come through Sabha to work in Libya, or in Europe via Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
and other North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
n Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
port cities.