The interior of a troglodyte house in Chenini. The houses are normally composed of a larger room with an alcove at the back, separated by a partition. The ceiling is made of a compact rock layer, walls and ceiling are entirely covered with gypsum plaster, the floor is made of bare rock and is conveniently covered with mats and carpets.
Gasr Beni Barca occupies the summit of a mountain and adapts its ellipsoidal plan to the shape of the relief. The gasr is surrounded by a high wall and has only one entrance. Inside there are dozens of vaulted ghourafs placed side by side and superimposed. Outside, other storehouses were built, since evidently the cells inside the gasr were not enough for an expanding community.
The interior of Gasr Tounket with its cells-ghouraf on multiple floors reachable through simple staircases built by superimposing stone slabs.
Diagram showing the construction system of the vaults of the ghouraf-cells of the gsour: the room is filled with bales of hay on which a sort of centring is built in sawn palm trunks. These in turn are sealed with a layer of clayey earth on which the decorations intended to remain in relief in the intrados of the vault are impressed. On this bed the gypsum mortar is laid on which the vault is built in stone elements bound with more gypsum mortar.
The partial collapse of a ghorfa in Guermassa shows the construction technique of these vaults: the catenary profile of the vaults allows its stability even with thin masonry. The vault is built with gypsum mortar, which has a very rapid setting. The stones used in the masonry do not work as voussoirs of an arch but are laid horizontally to give body to the masonry which therefore works structurally according to the principles of thin vaults. These are solutions of a vernacular architecture that does not know the calculations of a real project but is based on experiences handed down through generations.
The gasr of Doiret is composed, as in Chenini, of buildings where the single storage cells (ghouraf) are superimposed even up to 4 floors. The adding of cells and their refurbishment follow the needs of each family that vary over time, but the technique and the construction typology remain homogeneous over time, following a centuries-old tradition that is exhausted only with the abandonment of these villages and the socio- economic structure that supported them.
Interior of different ghouraf in Chenini, the single cells of the storehouses. The characteristic vaulted roof with the relief decoration may be built partly on the natural rock and partly on structures. Often the side walls are articulated in arcosolia to obtain more space for storage. This is organized using large jars, baskets or basins built into the ghorfa. Sometimes the large oil jars are sunk into the floor, another expedient that combines the saving of space with the benefits of the insulation of the natural ground. When a ghorfa is built partially underground, like it happens in Chenini, extensions are made by digging small rooms directly into the rock.
Relief decorations are a distinctive feature of the way vaults and arches are built throughout the region. They are found in all buildings where this type of covering is used, such as mosques, mills and mostly in the ghouraf of the gsour. These are mostly geometric decorations with symbols that are often obvious but sometimes ambiguous. Hand and foot prints are also common, serving both to declare ownership of the property and to protect it from malign influences. Inscriptions naming the executors of the work, the owners and the year of construction are also common.
The olive press located at the entrance to Chenini was in use until recent years. It is a troglodyte space, closed by a simple wall towards the outside. This infrastructure was shared by many different farmers who paid for the use of the millstone and the animal, a camel moving it, leaving a percentage of the product to the respective owners.
The interior of the mills is mainly occupied by two machines: the millstone for crushing the olives, operated by a camel, and the press for pressing the pomace. The pivot and arms of the millstone use olive wood, the hardest and most resistant available in the area despite the difficulty in finding elements that are not excessively twisted. The press is instead made with long palm trunks operated with ropes applied to the ceiling and to the machine itself.
The mosque of Guermassa stands out on the saddle that joins the two reliefs of the site. Even in completely abandoned centres like Guermassa, the mosque still receives periodic maintenance and is occasionally frequented. This is evident in the white plaster coating that makes the mosque an unmistakable landmark in the territory.
The mosque of Chenini is built on the edge of the main nucleus of the village and of the gasr. From its minaret the call to prayer resounds in the surrounding valleys where part of the population still resides.
The marabout of Si Baraka near the mosque of the Seven Sleepers, east of Chenini. Marabouts are tombs of spiritual leaders, mystics or teachers, who in Ibadi Islam are the object of deep respect bordering on veneration. These mausolea are simple buildings, usually single square chambers covered by a hemispherical dome, often isolated and located to become landmarks in the semi-desert territory.
